1. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION The field of assessment is moving away from simple testing towards a much more sophisticated use of 'feedback' and 'feedforward' – on real-world, authentic activities that students undertake as part of their learning. Also, there is still clearly a role for testing in learning and teaching. Regardless of the type of assessment, there are enduring issues of reliability and validity in assessment, and the material here addresses this.

2. ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION

3. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 Diagnostic and standardised tests produced by commercial companies National assessments Examinations by examination boards Vocational and occupational examinations Teacher assessments. SYSTEMS OF ASSESSMENT

4. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 The power of assessment depends on how it is perceived by the users. If they believe it to be important it will be. The more important a quantitative social indicator becomes, the more likely it is to distort the processes it is supposed to monitor. If important decisions are presumed to be related to test results, teachers will teach to the test. Scores may rise without skill improvement. In every setting where test results are important, a tradition of past examinations develops which eventually de facto becomes the curriculum. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF ASSESSMENT UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF ASSESSMENT

5. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 Teachers pay particular attention to the form of questions and adjust their instruction to teach exam technique. When test results are the sole or even a partial arbiter of future educational or life choices, society tends to treat test results as the major goal of schooling rather than a useful but fallible indicator of achievement. A high stakes test transfers control over the curriculum to the agency that sets or controls the exam. UNINTENED CONSEQUENCES OF ASSESSMENT UNINTENED CONSEQUENCES OF ASSESSMENT

6. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PRIMARY PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT  Certification  Diagnosis  Improvement of teaching and learning  Selection  Provide evidence of achievement  Chart the extent to which intended outcomes have been achieved  Chart rates of progress  Compare students  Report what student can do

7. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 SECONDARY PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT  Accountability  Evaluation of quality of teaching, learning, curricula, schools  Motivating students and teachers  Discipline  Control of the curriculum

8. Norm-referenced Formative Formative Ipsative Criterion- Criterion-referenced Domain-referencedDiagnostic Summative Authentic Authentic Performance

9. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 NORM-REFERENCING Measures a student’s achievements compared to other students. Examples: IQ test, reading ages. Notions of the ‘average’ student. Standardised tests. Guarantees certain proportions of grades.

10. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004

11. CRITERION-REFERENCING Measures a student’s achievements of pre- defined criteria. If students meet the criteria they pass – no minimum or maximum proportions (no quotas). Examples: driving test; music performance examinations.

12. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 ADVANTAGES OF MARKS Enables partial completion of a task to be recognised. Compensation is possible. Credit is given for successful completion of parts of a task. Enables weightings to be given to different elements of a task. Scores can be aggregated and converted into grades.

13. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PROBLEMS OF AGGREGATION Risks loss of specificity of criterion- referencing; Aggregation can yield a meaningless score, e.g.: A in creative writing, aggregated to E in spelling = C as the average. What does the ‘C’ mean? It is mixing like with unlike, oil and water.