Assessment for the Learner
All learning needs assessment and evaluation if it is to be fruitful. As has been noted in the U.K education community the purpose of assessment is for learning and this has been brought to the fore by the DCSF. In the ‘Shakhsiyah Model’ this is considered to be in line with the Islamic concept of tarbiyah.

Essentially we should be assessing each child against their own individual potential instead of in comparison with their peers. In a small school this is possible, as the teacher is able to know each child well enough.

Islam was a pioneer in assessment by way of the teacher’s analysis and feedback to the student. The student was awarded a certificate of recognition of knowledge gained which was solely assessed by the teacher.  This method of assessment was called the ‘Ijaza’ method which was predominantly used across the Islamic civilisation.  In present times this method is used in accordance with Islamic tradition of teaching Qur’an.  It is also used in the learning of the Islamic sciences in order to become an ‘Aalim or Mujtahid.

This method is still valued and passionately defended by those who understand the Islamic approach to education. Assessment is part of ta’lim and tarbiyah, a tool for holistic development.
“The point of traditional education is not the ijaza system…. Rather, the point of traditional education is its methodology, which centers on the student-teacher relationship and close contact between the two, and makes the student an “inheritor” of a scholarly methodology and way. Its basis is transmission, continuity, and reverence. Following the footsteps of one’s teachers is virtue. Change for its own sake is blameworthy…. The goal is mastery of the knowledge, and to become an inheritor of the understanding, wisdom, and way of one’s teachers and predecessors. The point of the knowledge is inherently practical: one’s own practice, and serving the real-life needs of the community.” Sheikh Faraz Rabbani, Amman, Jordan

This is contrasted to the modern western method where “The system of teaching is lectures and examination. The student’s goal is passing the exam, and getting to the next year of study. There is no imperative to master anything…..the student does not identify with his professors. He does not see himself as having the sacred role of being an inheritor to their knowledge, understanding, and way. He does not imbue their taqwa and character. He does not interact closely with them, to intimately understand how they think and respond to issues that come up. Instead of being a link in a strong chain, he is a mere individual. He is cut off from his tradition. He is a modern man.” Sheikh Faraz Rabbani, Amman, Jordan

In the light of this children are set personal targets at the end of each term and these are reviewed at the end of the following term as part of a ‘Narrative Evaluation’ which is provided as feedback to the parent. The concept of narrative evaluation takes away grades and levels and gives the teachers’ ‘narrative’ account of the students’ progress. This aspect of the ‘Shakhsiyah Model’ is similar to methods adopted in several U.S. High schools and Universities.

“With our system of narrative evaluations of student work, we have opted instead for an approach that provides the student with genuinely informative and useful feedback while also eliminating the tensions that often exist between students and teachers when all parties know that “a grade” lies at the end of their shared experience.  Although labor intensive, our system of narrative evaluations retains strong faculty support, largely because it has helped to produce a campus atmosphere permeated by the love of learning rather than by a scheme of rewards and punishments.

“Our system is by no means perfect, and it depends heavily on the sustained commitment and conscientiousness of the entire faculty.  And I am quick to add that there are many other things besides our evaluation system that make NewCollege, as the State of Florida’s HonorsCollege, a very special place.  Still, the abiding respect for learning for learning’s sake that pervades the environment here is very real and something often remarked upon years later by NewCollege graduates.  Without question, the role that our system of narrative evaluations plays in engendering this environment is a central one.” [Gordon E. Michalson, President, New College of Florida, Summer 2002]