Self-assessment is a primarily critical process by which a student self-assesses their performance while highlighting their weakness and strengths and reviewing their performance as a whole. And that’s why you need to review the rest of the op-ed on “Why is self-assessment important to students?”
Self-assessment is an essential evolutionary tool passed on to us through the ages. Think about it; early man did not appear out of thin air; instead, it was an evolutionary process.
And in that process, he invented the stone ax, figured out how to use flint stones to start a fire, and even invented the Wheel.
These are essential inventions that helped speed up our development as a species. But you may need to realize that none of these processes took place in Isolation, nor were they invented in a matter of minutes.
It took a lot of “Rinse and Repeat” before they perfected the same. They utilized self-assessment to determine their immediate requirements and how to acquire the same – in this case, the Wheel.
And that should help answer the query, “why is self-assessment important to students?”.
Importance of self-assessment:
Self-assessment, as mentioned earlier, is a primal instinct that’s primarily common among all humans as a species. The need to self-assess, review your weakness/ strengths, and be better prepared is inbuilt in you.
Self-assessment is an essential evolutionary tool that has helped humans over the millennia. Chances are, students already have this aptitude to self-assess their performance and review the same.
Let’s break it down – you have a challenging exam to prep for and little time to do it in. So how do you self-assess your performance, and how is it going to help your performance on exam day?
Simple, you test the waters first with a mock test.
Make sure you recreate the exam conditions as best as you can. Now, set the clock and begin the test. Doing a mock-up should enable you to self-assess your performance and focus on what you need to perform better.
Self-confidence:
One of the key reasons that you must self-assess yourself is that it helps to build up your confidence. Think about it, as you self-assess, you evaluate your performance, your weakness, and factors that add strength to the same.
All of these should go a long way to building up your confidence. In due course, you will be able to handle these exams directly with less time spent on preparatory work since you will be well-prepared.
Time and Self-assessment:
One of the focuses of most self-assessment courses would be to teach you time management. These courses would teach you the importance of time and the need to manage it effectively.
Whether you like it or not, time is limited, irrespective of the exam. Whichever exam you appear for – you are liable to find that time is limited, and you are being asked to manage it effectively to answer all the questions. Sounds like a doozy, right?
It may surprise you that most students often need to manage their time to the point that they often flunk their exams.
One way to prepare better for this handicap is to learn how to manage your time effectively.
And that’s why you need to self-assess your performance often since, with practice, you can manage time better.
Check out past exam samples:
One of the ways for you to kick-start your evaluation process is by reviewing past samples of the exam in question.
Reviewing these samples should highlight what’s required, the scoring methodology, and even work out the difference between “percentile” and “percentage.”
The point is that self-assessment is not just an ordinary learning tool but one that evolves. And that’s why you are liable to find the process is neither new nor an experiment. It has been around for a while now. And students, at large, have benefited from self-assessing themselves periodically.
Prepare a checklist:
Start the process with a checklist. Prepare one for yourself, list all the items you are required to take to the exam hall, and do a check to make sure you have packed them all.
After all, there is no point in forgetting your hall ticket or your #pencil or pen. That only defeats the purpose. Similarly, prepare a checklist to prepare for the subject. Please note down each chapter as you cover them so that you can better understand what’s left and how to manage the balance time effectively.
These are some fundamental ways you can self-assess your performance and evaluate and hone it down to perfection. Remember that self-assessment is an essential learning tool, one that you will need in the days to come. Good luck!
