Examination as a tool for Assessment

Examination is an evaluation of the understanding of the knowledge of a person. 

Assessment is a proper value judgement or worth of a thing, person or process. The quantitative as well as qualitative aspects of its worth are very much involved in doing assessment of a thing or process. 

Whereas, in examination, only the quantitative aspects of the knowledge attained by a person are involved. 

We all are familiar with the use and application of the term examination.
As a student we all have gone through a number of examinations, be it for getting promoted from one grade to another or for getting admission to academic classes or professional courses through entrance examinations.
Even in our B.Ed. degree course, we go through an annual examination in order to be declared passed. 

Examination is an age old concept used for measuring the achievement or performance level of the students well after a specified time measuring the achievement or performance areas determined by the curriculum or syllabus of a particular grade. 

In this way, examination is able to tell about the quantitative aspect of the knowledge attained by a person. 

But, in assessment we also look at the qualitative aspect of knowledge in addition to quantitative aspect. For this we use very different types of tools like observation, interview, rating scale, viva-voce, formative assessments etc., so that we get a clear and accurate picture about the amount of knowledge attained by a student. 

Examination alone cannot fulfill the role of these various types of tools, instead, it works as an aid in the process of assessment of a student. 

Thus, we can say that the examination works as a tool for the assessment.