ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING IN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE EDUCATION

Abstract

Learning assessment is understood as an everyday, continuous, and collaborative activity carried out by teachers and students throughout the process of constructing scientific knowledge. Grounded in a dialectical conception of knowledge, we question the exclusively summative and classificatory assessment practices that still prevail in many schools, as they focus primarily on assigning grades and ranking students. In contrast, we propose a formative, reflective, and participatory assessment approach in which critical thinking plays a central role in the relationship among teachers, students, and knowledge. From this perspective, assessment should monitor learning, identify difficulties, guide pedagogical interventions, and foster the construction and reinterpretation of knowledge.The implementation of this approach in teaching has produced positive results, including greater student participation in class, enhanced critical-thinking skills, improved quality of discussions, and the development of teaching practices that are more meaningful and responsive to students’ needs. However, the main challenge observed is breaking the association between completing school activities and receiving grades, since students remain strongly influenced by a culture of classificatory assessment. Therefore, gradual changes in pedagogical practices and in the school community’s understanding of assessment are necessary, strengthening its role as an instrument for learning, dialogue, autonomy, and educational transformation.