Teachers' Use of Assessment Data

Abstract

The emphasis has to be on development, and teachers need to be clear about the difference between deficit and developmental learning approaches. Clinical and deficit approaches sometimes focus on the things that people cannot do and hence develop a 'fix-it' approach. 'It is a myth that intervention is only needed for the struggling student' (Tayler, 2007, p. 4). Developmental models not only build on and scaffold existing knowledge bases of every student, but they also have to be clinical in that they focus on readiness to learn and follow a generic thesis of developing the student. They ought not entertain a deficit thesis of focusing on and emphasising 'cures' for learning deficits. In ord..