What important aspect does an effective assessment in a school setting need to have?

An effective assessment in a school setting should be reliable and valid because these two characteristics ensure that the assessment measures what it intends to measure consistently and accurately. Reliability refers to the consistency of the assessment results over time, meaning if the same assessment were to be administered multiple times under similar conditions, it would yield similar results. This consistency is crucial for truly evaluating a student's knowledge and skills.

Validity, on the other hand, pertains to whether the assessment accurately assesses what it claims to measure. For example, a reading assessment must effectively evaluate a student's reading comprehension skills rather than their ability to perform in unrelated areas. When an assessment is both reliable and valid, educators can make informed decisions about instruction and interventions based on the results, ultimately leading to improved student outcomes.

In contrast, focusing solely on written tests, emphasizing length and detail, or limiting assessments to teacher evaluations would not adequately capture the broad range of student abilities or learning styles, thus failing to provide a complete picture of student progress and needs.