What is assessment for learning?

The idea that assessment is intrinsic to effective instruction is traced from early experiments in the individualization of learning through the work of Benjamin Bloom to reviews of the impact of feedback on learners in classrooms. While many of these reviews detailed the adverse impact of assessment on learning, they also indicated that under certain conditions assessment had considerable potential to enhance learning. It is shown that understanding the impact that assessment has on learning requires a broader focus than the feedback intervention itself, particularly the learner's responses to the feedback, and the learning milieu in which the feedback operates. Different definitions of the terms “formative assessment” and “assessment for learning” are discussed, and subsumed within a broad definition that focuses on the extent to which instructional decisions are supported by evidence. The paper concludes by exploring some of the consequences of this definition for classroom practice.     

High school biology: What makes it a challenge for teachers?

This study contributes to our understanding of the complex issues inherent in dealing with the heterogeneity of current high school science classrooms, by reporting on in-depth interviews with 38 experienced biology teachers. Analyses of teachers' responses revealed complex and occasionally counter-intuitive relationships among: (a) their perceptions of what was distinctive about their school, its biology program, or their students; (b) their allocation of class time; (c) their efforts to individualize instruction and meet the needs of a heterogeneous student population; (d) their student outcome goals; and (e) the methods they used to evaluate student progress. Thus, for example, of the 9 teachers who cited the diversity of their students. 4 also commented on their poor motivation, but another 4 also commented on their high motivation. In addition, teachers reported using a similar range of instructional formats but for different reasons, depending on the characteristics of their students (e.g., cooperative learning groups used to compensate for poor attention spans, to challenge bright students, and to foster social tolerance). Discussion of these findings addresses several points of relevance for science education, teacher preparation, and curriculum reform. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

What makes for a successful re-integration from a pupil referral unit to mainstream education? An applied research project

A qualitative research project was carried out in order to explore the views of Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and mainstream school staff regarding the process of re-integration of secondary school age pupils from the PRU to mainstream school. The views of 11 PRU staff members, six mainstream staff members and a member of the Behaviour Support Service were sought through focus groups regarding the re-integration of pupils from the PRU to mainstream education. Thematic Analysis of the data suggested that effective re-integration is perceived to be most successful when particular factors at the child, family, school and systemic levels are in place, such as the child wanting to return to mainstream school, support from and engagement of parents and timely re-integration into a truly inclusive mainstream setting. Suggested developments to improve the process and practice of re-integration in the future were also identified. The implications of the research findings are discussed.     

Avoiding split attention in computer‐based testing: Is neglecting additional information facilitative?

This study investigated whether design guidelines for computer‐based learning can be applied to computer‐based testing (CBT). Twenty‐two students completed a CBT exam with half of the questions presented in a split‐screen format that was analogous to the original paper‐and‐pencil version and half in an integrated format. Results show that students attended to all information in the integrated format while ignoring information in the split format. Interestingly, and contrary to expectations, they worked more efficiently in the split format. A content analysis of the ignored information revealed that it was mostly not relevant to answering the questions, unnecessarily taxed students' cognitive capacity and inefficiently increased the mental effort they expended. Further comparisons of different mental effort measures indicate that mental effort had an explicit (ie, self‐reports, explicit utterances) and an implicit component (ie, silent pauses in thinking‐aloud, eye tracking parameters). Consequently, when designing CBT environments, not only the design of the tasks but also the content of the given information and their effect on the different aspects of mental effort must be considered.     

e‐Assessment for learning? The potential of short‐answer free‐text questions with tailored feedback

A natural language based system has been used to author and mark short-answer free-text assessment tasks. Students attempt the questions online and are given tailored and relatively detailed feedback on incorrect and incomplete responses, and have the opportunity to repeat the task immediately so as to learn from the feedback provided. The answer matching has been developed in the light of student responses to the questions. A small number of the questions are now in low-stakes summative use, alongside other e-assessment tasks and tutor-marked assignments, to give students instantaneous feedback on constructed response items, to help them to monitor their progress and to encourage dialogue with their tutor. The answer matching has been demonstrated to be of similar or greater accuracy than specialist human markers. Students have been observed attempting the questions and have been seen to respond in differing ways to both the questions themselves and the feedback provided. We discuss features of appropriate items for assessment of this type.     

What (more) can,and should,assessment do for learning? Observations from ‘successful learning context’ in Singapore

Singapore has earned accolades as one of the leading education systems in the world, based on its record in international assessments, including TIMMS and PISA. This has contributed to the entrenchment of ‘assessment’ becoming an institutional authority of standards, teaching (performativity) and classroom learning. It is against, and amidst such contexts, that this article traces how the notion and discourse of formative assessment and Assessment for Learning (AfL) are widely introduced and used formally across all Singaporean schools, particularly after a recent introduction of new ‘Holistic and Balanced Assessment’ policies. We argue that the very institutional authority of successful high-stake examination results, which served as critical standards of performativity of teaching and learning in the classroom, is being challenged. The changing assessment context of Singaporean schools, therefore serves as an interesting case study site for studying how formative assessment and AfL can be adapted and understood when ‘learning’ is already seen to be successful.     

What are the essential work‐place prerequisites for successful mentorship?

The article gives guidance to prospective partners in primary school -based teacher trainingabout those factors which contribute towards the effectiveness of the school's role. Evidence from research conducted in primary schools and experience gained in setting up a primary partnership programme, is considered alongside points arisingfrom discussion of the recent HMI review of secondary partnership.     

What is a p‐value?

An in‐class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p‐value and power in a statistical test.     

Podcasting in higher education: What are the implications for teaching and learning?

A podcast is any digital media file, or series of files, distributed over the Internet for playback on portable media players and personal computers. This study explored the attitudes, perceptions, and use of podcasting as reported by instructors and students at a large American Midwestern university. The results of two online surveys were examined, focusing specifically on items related to teaching and learning. Findings suggest that students use podcast materials largely for reviewing concepts and issues raised in lectures that they have previously attended. While instructors and students agree that podcasts help students learn, students are less sure about whether podcasts improve instructors' teaching. The authors argue that podcasts can help instructors change face-to-face instruction from traditional didactic lectures to more constructivist learning practices.     

Treatment outcomes for students with learning disabilities: how important are internal and external validity?

This study analyzed the magnitude of experimental intervention outcomes as a function of violations in internal and external validity for studies that included students with learning disabilities. The results indicated that treatment outcomes were significantly affected by the following violations: teacher effects, establishing criterion levels of instructional performance, reliance on experimental measures, using different measures between pretest and posttest, using a sample heterogenous in age, and using incorrect units of analysis. Furthermore, the underreporting of information related to ethnicity, locale of the study, psychometric data, and teacher applications positively inflated the magnitude of treatment outcomes. A weighted hierarchical regression analysis revealed that composite scores of the aforementioned high-risk variables accounted for 16% of the total variance in effect size. The implications for interpreting intervention research to practice are discussed.     

A successful professional development program in history: What matters?

This study focuses on a successful Professional Development Program for improving students’ understanding of historical time, consisting of a training and the implementation of Timewise, a teaching approach in which timelines were used consistently. The PDP was carried out with 16 elementary school teachers in grades 2 (ages 7-8) and 5 (ages 10-11). Results indicate that the highest student learning gains were reached by teachers who successfully implemented the instructional behavior aimed at, while using educative curriculum materials. The clear structure of Timewise and the user-friendly materials, which included room for autonomy, supported teachers in their learning and teaching.