Notes:

1. The technique simply consists of the following: When verifying the results specified in the registry, the teacher fills out the corresponding check boxes with the appropriate mark, such as an X, an A, a B, or a C.

2. Clearly, it is impossible to observe all aspects of each individual student everyday.  Therefore, the aim is for teachers to gather the largest possible amount of data during class time.  This way, at the end of any given period of time (a trimester, for instance), the educator will possess extremely valuable information about the observed behavioral patterns of his/her students.

3. More often than not, traditional test scores are very unreliable.  One of the objections pointed out most frequently is that they attempt to measure only the acquisition of knowledge, while leaving out other areas that are just as important. Test results can only be convincing if each of them is statistically analyzed *item by item.  This, in turn, could be excessively time consuming and would require mastery of complicated mathematical operations, which could then turn the process into a true utopia.

“Because the curriculum will include a much wider range of objectives, the achievement of which can not be easily tested using the traditional type of examination, this will be replaced by continuous assessment.” (36)

“For most students, teachers, parents and employers, tests are presently the only valid criteria by which to measure academic success.  However, in almost all OECD countries, their importance is being increasingly questioned.  Tests do not accurately predict future performance and they exert a restraining influence on the introduction of new methods and content.  Above all, they focus all their attention on the examinable at the expense of other even more important educational issues.” (37)

“There are, however, many other types of desired behaviors that represent educational goals not easily assessed through pencil and paper tests.  For example, an objective such as personal-social adjustment is evaluated more easily and with more validity by observing children in situations involving social relations.  Observation is also a useful method for detecting habits and certain kinds of operational skills.” (38)

“Any means of obtaining data on types of behaviors represented by the objectives of the school or faculty is an adequate procedure of assessment.  This is valid for all types of human behavior: attitudes, interests, intellectual aptitudes, appreciations, etc.  We presume that it is possible to infer the characteristic performance of a person by evaluating their reaction in the face of a sample of situations where such a reaction is involved.” (39)