Two Models of Educational Assessment

Many educational developments in recent decades pose a serious challenge to the traditional scientific measurement model that has dominated assessment practices. The scientific measurement model has led to an over‐emphasis on statistical tests and the reification of single measure test scores. The educational developments that challenge the scientific measurement model include problem‐based learning, newer understandings of cognition, and the rise of performance assessment. These developments reflect widespread attempts by educators to reform assessment practices so as to encourage more effective learning. As a result, a new model of educational assessment, which we call the judgemental model, is emerging. The basic assumptions, features and appropriate uses of these two assessment models are compared and contrasted by referring them to a three‐level conceptual model of education, training and assessment for workplace performance.     

Evolutionary trajectories in school assessment systems: the case of Bhutan

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of school assessment in Bhutan, briefly, as a background to considering the present and future school assessment issues especially as they relate to quality concerns and educational improvement in Bhutan. A benchmark for Bhutan, the National Educational Assessment (NEA) programme in Bhutan was inspired by a 2002 initiative in South Asia funded by the World Bank. In this paper, we address how the 2003 NEA was developed. Emerging issues are discussed including methods of reporting and the concept of “benchmarking” in three senses of that term. Technical issues are also addressed in the context of the desire to administer another comparative NEA in 2010. Out of these developments, the Bhutan Board of Examinations has developed ideas about expanding access to system-wide assessment data to different levels of stakeholders in order to achieve improvements. A 2x2 matrix is provided identifying four key questions around judgments of educational achievement at two key levels (system and school) within and between these levels. This matrix represents a model of the evolution of assessment in Bhutan. This paper should be of interest to education systems in developing countries that have undertaken or intend to undertake national educational assessment programmes.     

Critical Reflective Practice as a Pivot in Transforming Science Education: A report of teacher‐researcher collaborative interactions in response to assessment reforms

This paper investigates the impact of a current educational policy initiative in Singapore called ‘Science Practical Assessment’ (SPA). SPA is designed to overcome the limitations of single, high‐stakes examinations by placing emphasis on research processes, entrepreneurship and the development of science practical skills. Structurally, SPA repositions teachers as central in the selection of items to teach and assess during the academic years leading up to O‐level. However, it is contended that the effectiveness of SPA is rendered problematic without specific attention being paid to teachers’ readiness and capacity to understand and implement assessment innovations. In response, the author describes and analyses how he formed a research partnership with a local physics teacher to investigate how SPA could be used as a tool to improve science pedagogy. Results suggest that while the pragmatic considerations of assessment reforms are not sufficient in themselves to bring about policymakers’ desired outcomes, ways can be found to help teachers prepare for, bring about and crucially own change by adopting a critically reflective stance on problems and issues that arise when students work on completing laboratory tasks. The methods used in this study also identify some of the factors that impact on teachers’ ability to influence positive developments at the department and school levels of an educational system. Overall, the intention is that the teacher development strategies and classroom practices illustrated in the paper will eventually inform a programme of interventionist action in science pedagogy and practical work assessment with applications both in and beyond the immediate study context.     

A Decade of Transformation: Educational Policies in Central and Eastern Europe

The changes in Central and Eastern Europe caused by upheavals at the beginning of the 1990s had great impact on the formation and implementation of educational policies. A comparison of patterns in Russia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic shows common features which were rooted in the collapse of the communist system. At the same time these transformation processes were marked by considerable diversity. To elucidate these commonalities and differences, the following problem areas are examined: (a) decentralisation of responsibilities; (b) financing and privatisation; (c) structural reforms; (d) curricular reforms; and (e) evaluation, assessment and examinations. These developments are considered in the light of various theories about how periods of social transformation unfold. The article helps to throw light on the differences between the countries of the region in terms of how the educational changes were perceived and carried out.     

Problems of schooling today: Accessibility and the curriculum factor

Many of the current problems regarding quality in education are traced back, both in political and education circles, to post-war development of the comprehensive school as an alternative for the traditional categorial system of secondary education. In this article this statement is investigated further using comparative analysis of the educational developments in the Federal Republic of Germany, Denmark, England and the Netherlands. The results seem to indicate that the current discussion about quality should be traced back primarily to curriculum changes, both in terms of restricting conditions and in terms of educational contents. These changes have been brought about during the last 25 years by socio-cultural and educational impulses. The results of these developments are often seen as directly connected to the current social problems of effectiveness in education, in terms of dysfunctionality and loss of quality. Such a way of thinking obscures the objective acquirements of the cultural change, which brought about a more democratic structure of education. The increasing accessibility and retentiveness this resulted in, are insufficiently included as independent factors in the current assessment of educational effectiveness. In criticisms of comprehensive schools and the loss of quality attributed to them, we see only ideological feints. But behind these appearances lurks a question, which demands thorough reflection on the tasks of education in our present information age.     

A typology for a social justice approach to assessment: learning from universal design and culturally sustaining pedagogy

This paper aims to provide a tentative roadmap for ensuring that higher education policy makers and practitioners are apprised of what might be done to advance a concept of socially just assessment praxis. It extends current thinking around the notion of social justice approaches to assessment by further developing the conceptual framework proposed in McArthur's recent work (2016). It does so by extending understandings of how a socially just perspective might be realised. Drawing upon recent conceptual developments within both Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP), the paper proposes a typology for praxis and organisational change. Crucially, this typology focuses upon enhancing learning outcomes for all learners, but it is particularly concerned with enhancing educational experiences and learning outcomes for students that have been systematically marginalised by the normative procedural practices that have traditionally informed the nature of supposedly objective assessment.     

When are powerful learning environments effective? The role of learner activities and of students’ conceptions of educational technology

The goal of this chapter is to outline a theoretical and empirical perspective on how learners’ conceptions of educational technology might influence their learning activities and thereby determine the power of computer-based learning environments. Starting with an introduction to the concept of powerful learning environments we outline how recent developments in information and communication technologies might be used to implement these environments technologically. In the next step we refer to several exemplary empirical studies to argue that the power of computer-based learning environments will largely depend on very detailed aspects of the learning activities within these environments. In order to design these environments so that they elicit effective learning activities, it is necessary to analyze the factors that determine learners’ goals and their choices of processing strategies. The focus of this paper is on one of these factors, namely on learners’ instructional conceptions with regard to educational technology and its use in instruction. Up to now, there has been nearly no research conducted within the educational community addressing the issue of how this particular type of instructional conceptions determine learning activities. Therefore, we review several relevant findings from neighboring fields like epistemological beliefs, attitude research, human computer interaction, or cognitive modeling. We use this review to demonstrate that there are numerous findings outside the educational technology community that deserve much more resonance in this community than they currently receive.     

Interest Assessment and the Content Area Literacy Environment: Challenges for Research and Practice

Through our exploration of the assessment of interest, we highlight 5 issues that emerge in the effort to assess interest in content area literacy environments. First, we compare how interest is defined and generally how it has been assessed. Second, we focus more specifically on the assessment of text-based interest, and consider its assessment in less explored realms of the content area classroom that include hypertext and discussions. Third, we investigate how interest develops as students progress through their educational careers and how it is maintained over time. Fourth, we explore how assessing interest involves examining other student factors that are closely related to interest such as knowledge, importance, and strategic processing. Finally, we offer thoughts regarding directions educators can take in assessing interest within the complex literacy environment of today's content area classroom.     

对教育迎评的评价——一个值得研究的新问题

教育迎评评价是对教育评价对象评价准备工作和接受评价过程行为的系统描述,是一种不同于教育评价和教育元评价的特殊的评价活动。开展教育迎评评价研究,建立教育迎评监督机制,有利于在教育评价实践中端正迎评指导思想、规范迎评行为、提高评价效益。     

The impact of education reform on the quality assurance system in Japan

International assessment studies have shown since decades that Japanese students score highly on math and science tests. As a consequence, many scholars, education policy officials and journalists outside Japan share the opinion that quality of education is ensured and turn to the Japanese educational system to identify educational effectiveness enhancing factors. Simultaneously, a sense of educational crisis exists within Japan, which resulted into numerous education reforms. In this paper, we describe how quality in education has been ensured in Japan, what changes in the assurance of quality are brought forth by the most recent wave of reform measures as well as the reaction of scholars toward these measures.     

The eventful genesis of educational media

This paper is a reflection on the history and future of educational media. Over the last century various new media technologies were introduced in education. Most of these failed to meet the high expectations. The paper reviews the rise and fall of various “revolutionary” learning media and analyses what went wrong. Three main driving factors are identified that influence the educational system: 1) educational practice, 2) educational research, and 3) educational technologies. The role and position of these factors is elaborated and critically reviewed. The paper concludes with identifying a number of relevant developments that substantiate a favourable future outlook of media for learning.     

Teacher Assessment in the Inner City at Key Stage 1

This study examines the experience of national teacher assessment in a sample of inner‐city infant schools. In particular, it addresses the conduct of teacher assessment in the three core curriculum areas of English, mathematics and science, and modifications made for children with English as a second language and those with special educational needs. Two distinct approaches to teacher assessment emerged, with integration into classroom activities occurring in some cases, but frequently separate ‘bolt‐on’ activities being carried out. It is interesting to note that almost all the teachers used two or three standard assessment tasks instead of continuous teacher assessment to assess children’ s attainment. Teachers consistently saw time as a vital ingredient for meeting the needs of children with ‘additional educational needs’ in relation to teacher assessment. The findings are discussed in the context of recent policy developments and in terms of theoretical models of teachers’ approaches to assessment.     

Reasonable Adjustments in Assessment: Putting Law and Policy into Practice in Australia

The Australian Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth) require education providers to make reasonable adjustments in educational assessment so that students with disability can participate on the same basis as other students and be able to demonstrate what they know and can do. Reasonableness is governed by a determination of the balance of interests, benefits and detriment to the parties involved. The Standards require providers to consult with students and associates on adjustments, although guidance on how consultation should occur and how the views of students and associates are to be taken into account is vague. In this article, we identify three principles to be considered in order to put appropriate and effective reasonable adjustments in assessment into practice. While Australian law and assessment contexts are used to examine intentions, expectations and practices in educational assessment for students with disability, we argue that these three principles must be considered in any national education system to ensure equitable assessment practices and achieve equitable educational inclusion for students with disability.     

Educational Equity in the Access to Post-Secondary Education: A Comparison of Ethnic Minorities in China with Aboriginals in Canada

This study provides insight into equity issues in post-secondary education by exploring and assessing the history, the reality and the potential developments in higher education for minority students in China, in comparison to post-secondary education for aboriginal students in Canada. It highlights access to post-secondary education by these minorities in both countries in terms of educational policy enactment, orientation, and its enforcement. The study examines both commonalties and differences in the educational policies of both countries to shed light on how each country is able to grapple with the issue of equity in their respective post-secondary educational systems in response to the principles of liberty, equity and dignity as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This study employs a historical approach to identify the common trends by examining issues concerning access to post-secondary education for ethnic minorities in China and the aboriginals in Canada. Specifically, the study employs a comparative method analyzing how access and equity are defined, how policies have evolved, and the impact that the policy has on the minority students in China and aboriginal students in Canada. The assessment of the access issues in these two countries not only reveals some common trends in the evolution of access norms in the post-secondary education of both countries, but also identifies certain differences in response to their historical traditions, national cultures, and diverse educational structures. The findings are presented in three sections: growth and gap, equality versus equity, and equity and the difference among the difference.     

Ecological rationality in teachers' conceptions of assessment across samples from Cyprus and New Zealand

Teacher conceptions of assessment are influential mediators of how assessment policy initiatives are implemented in schools. Four hierarchical, intercorrelated factors (i.e., assessment for improvement, school accountability, and student accountability, and assessment as irrelevant) of how teachers' conceive of assessment have been reported. However, most studies have been conducted only in English in jurisdictions with policies of low-stakes testing. This paper extends the research by surveying 249 Greek-Cypriot teachers with a Greek translation of the Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment inventory. Cyprus has a relatively low-stakes assessment policy during the compulsory school years, suggesting, under the assumption of ecological rationality, that conceptions would be similar to previous English-language studies. Exploratory factor analysis of the Cyprus data led to a five-factor solution with 24 items within two inversely correlated second-order factors (i.e., assessment is positive and negative; r = −0.49). A multigroup nested invariance confirmatory factor analysis found statistical invariance between the Cyprus and the New Zealand data. Mean score differences were small for two improvement-oriented conceptions, moderate for assessment that is bad, and large for school accountability and ignoring assessment factors. Similarities and differences in conceptions appear to reflect commonalities and discrepancies in educational system policies and practices.     

The Return to Final Paper Examining in English National Curriculum Assessment and School Examinations: Issues of Validity,Accountability and Politics

There are sound educational and examining reasons for the use of coursework assessment and practical assessment of student work by teachers in schools for purposes of reporting examination grades. Coursework and practical work test a range of different curriculum goals to final papers and increase the validity and reliability of the result. However, the use of coursework and practical work in tests and examinations has been a matter of constant political as well as educational debate in England over the last 30 years. The paper reviews these debates and developments and argues that as accountability pressures increase, the evidence base for published results is becoming narrower and less valid as the system moves back to wholly end-of-course testing.     

Starting to make a difference: responding to the challenges of recent developments in the early years

Recent national changes in ‘Early Years’ policy are likely to have major impact on the practice and profession of educational psychology. In this paper, implications at the individual, service and systemic levels are examined and practice examples given of how an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) might rise to the new challenges these major changes engender. The paper concludes that in order to maintain a clear overview of the continuing developments and demands in this area and to ensure that there is a co-ordinated response, the ‘Early Years’ should increasingly become recognised as an area for a Senior Specialist educational psychologist (EP). This EP would be charged with the responsibility for drawing up the service development plan for the Early Years and at the same time ensuring that the opportunities offered by the ongoing developments in this area are capitalised upon.     

Factors,issues and interdependencies in the incorporation of a Web 2.0 based learning environment in higher education

This work investigates the effect a Web 2.0 learning environment may have in higher education in adding value to the students’ existing competencies. The major issues that this work examines are whether the incorporation of a Web 2.0 environment in higher education has an effect on the students’ performance and what are the significant factors that should be taken into account in the deployment of these technologies to achieve the maximum possible benefits and whether and how they correlate to each other. These factors are derived from the students’ views on the use of technology in a university course deployment and from the students’ personal opinions about a pilot course in a Web 2.0 learning environment. Although the results indicate no direct effect on the students’ performance, significant factors have been revealed via a thorough assessment, which has been performed in the context of a semester–long course, utilizing statistical process control techniques. The derived factors are namely: “Technology as an educational reinforcement”, “Technology as a tool to enhance comprehension” and “Enhancement of student interest and experience”, while in the second one “Completeness of the educational approach”, “Satisfaction from the educational approach” and “Course demands”. These factors can then form the basis for a feedback processes and a monitoring mechanism for a continuously updated educational process.     

Informing in the Information Age: How to Communicate Measurement Concepts to Education Policy Makers

Current educational policies rely on educational assessments. However, the technical aspects of assessments are often unknown to policy makers, which is dangerous because sound assessment policy requires knowledge of the strengths and limitations of educational tests. In this article, we discuss the importance of informing policy makers of important psychometric issues that should be considered whenever tests are proposed for specific purposes. We discuss the types of information that are important to communicate to policy makers, how to best convey this information in a manner in which it can be understood, and how to be seen as a valuable source of information to education policy makers. We end with some specific steps organizations such as NCME can take to inform policy makers and advocate for valid educational assessment policies.     

教育评价范式变革的“史”与“思”

我国当前教育评价范式的变革过程,正沿着"非此即彼"的变革路向推进,其中呈现出诸多的矛盾与冲突。基于"课程标准"的教育评价范式作为平衡点,可以看出,教育评价范式对变革中产生的矛盾和冲突是从量化测评到质性描述、从情境无涉到情境关联,从独自控制到对话协商、从预设判断到动态生成。这一变革始终遵循着从总结性评价向形成性评价转变的逻辑,对基于课程标准评价范式的反思应注意课程标准的科学性、合理性及课程标准与评价标准的关系。