Assessment for Learning: Aligning Classroom Assessment with Life-long Learning

Abstract

Classroom assessment is narrowly practiced just for appraising the learning while overlooking its effectiveness for enhancing students’ learning. Assessment certainly is the bridge between learning and teaching. In the current study the teachers’ perspectives were explored about enhancing students’ life-long learning through the use of classroom assessment practices at public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) at Undergraduate level. The perspectives of 30 teachers, 06 teachers each from five sampled public sector universities in KP were collected through a semi-structured interview schedules by adopting a qualitative research methodology. Data was analyzed through thematic approach. Interviews with teachers deep probed their perspectives which resulted that the use of classroom assessment practices for learning enhance students attributes which leads not only to general achievements in academic accomplishment but also development in their life learning approaches, enhancement in their life skills as well as increasing their engagement in self-learning behaviors. Furthermore, the use of classroom assessment practices instill graduate attributes which make students enable to employ knowledge and skills in future real life settings (lifelong learning). The stud highly recommended that students should be provided with the variety of assessment practices in order to facilitate them in providing best possible opportunities for developing their lifelong learning attributes.