Journal of Psychology and Behavior Studies (JPBS) DOI: 10.32996/jpbs Journal Homepage: www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/jpbs Page | 26 Creating Inclusive Psychological Learning Environments Through Appropriate Learning Assessments and Relevant Curriculum Luisito M. Nanquil Bulacan State University, Philippines ✉ Corresponding Author: Luisito M. Nanquil, E-mail: luisito.nanquil@bulsu.edu.ph ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT Received: 08 September 2021 Accepted: 02 October 2021 Published: 14 October 2021 DOI: 10.32996/jpbs.2021.1.1.4 This paper presents the researcher's perspectives on the place and value of learning assessment tools that are applicable to the current situation and the traditional settings where students would like to grow and improve. The researcher decided to examine and cover various materials that could identify, explain, and capture the purposes of assessment and the tangible benefits students can get from it. Even the teachers can do self-assessment from the results of the test and through their own conscious and mindful practices. Further, this perspective article covers and explores the roles of relevant curriculum design and appropriate assessments in the teaching and learning environments. KEYWORDS Assessment, teaching strategies, inclusion, collaboration, curriculum 1. Introduction 1 Based on different situations and events in academic settings, the relationship of teaching, assessment, and test is shown clearly. From my own perspective and experience, the core variables or elements are teaching and assessment and testing is only a part of the traditional assessment, as Brown (2004) claimed. In the field of curriculum and instruction, the focus is how a teacher designs and delivers lessons, tasks, and activities but along this is an assessment of learning performance using various tools, procedures, and tasks. Assessment is broader in scope compared to testing. Testing is a method of measuring a student’s abili ty, knowledge, or performance in a given domain (Brown, 2004). It is also an instrument designed for a long time and has been pilot tested for validity and trustworthiness. Testing is similar to the quantitative method in which specific parameters and scopes are being observed to measure and determine a particular variable and/or performance. Being a seasoned teacher, I seldom administer formal and standardized tests. For me, testing only covers a certain aspect of the learner. It has a limited scope, even if the type of test is multiple choice. The big question is “Does failing a test mean a student is not capable? Definitely not. This view is also backed by Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences which goes , “No test can accurately determine the nature or quality of a person's intelligence. As Gardner has repeatedly pointed out, standardized tests measure only a small part of the total spectrum of abilities. The best way to assess your own multiple intelligences, therefore, is through a realistic appraisal of your performance in the many kinds of tasks, activities, and experiences associated with each intelligence” (Armstrong, 2018). Communicative competence or communicative language teaching has been widely used in other countries. In this approach, the focus is on developing the fluency of the learner before moving to accuracy. Language and formal testing may not be able to check the whole performance of the student using multiple choice and other types of tests. This is in exception of essays, which may combine different areas and represent the student’s writing and critical thinking skills. A test measures performance, but the results imply the test-taker’s ability to use a concept common in linguistics, competence. Most language tests measure one’s ability to perform language, that is, to speak, write, read, or listen to a subset of language. In line with this, the importance of a test is shown by intentional requirements such as IELTS, TOEFL, TOIC and the like. A worker who wishes to work in English speaking country is required to hurdle such tests. As stated earlier, assessment is in a bigger picture compared to testing. Even when language teachers employ instructional strategies and pedagogical tasks, the procedures and outcomes are considered as forms of assessment. For instance, when the Copyright: © 2021 the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Published by Al-Kindi Centre for Research and Development, London, United Kingdom.