Teacher-led assessment (TA)
Implications
for
qualifications and assessment?
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Some recent research
• Harlen, W. (2004) Impact on students, teachers and
curriculum…
• Harlen, W. (2004) Reliability and validity…
• Brown, Gavin T. L. (2004) 'Teachers' conceptions of
assessment: implications for policy and professional
development', Assessment in Education: Principles,
Policy & Practice, 11:3, 301 - 318
So what are the issues?
• Aims of the curriculum: assessment implications
• High stakes summative assessment: impact on
learning and teaching
• Soft skills, deep learning, understanding and
metacognition – assessable or not?
• Reliability and validity…and confidence in the
system of qualifications
Benefits of Teacher Assessment?
• Building up a picture of pupil achievement over time
and over a range of activities
• Less pressure – on students and teachers
• Greater pedagogical freedom: less teaching to the
test
• Formative use of assessments
• Avoidance of negative impact on student motivation
Some concerns about TA
• Impact on relationships between teachers and
students
• Increased workload for teachers
• Reduced reliability of outcomes
Key questions
• Are there outcomes which are best assessed by TA?
• Can problems of TA be overcome?
• Are end-users likely to accept increased amounts of TA?
• Can workload issues be overcome?
• What are the contexts and conditions within which TA operates most
effectively?
Purposes of the curriculum
• Successful learners
• Confident individuals
• Effective contributors
• Responsible citizens
Task
• …and able to:
• Take one of the four purposes/capacities and:
• Discuss whether we should/could assess each element
• Decide whether there are some which particularly lend
themselves to TA
• Suggest school-based assessment approaches which might
be appropriate
Can problems of TA be overcome?
• Yes, if…
• Learning goals are agreed and understood
• Teachers are given protected time to meet and share
practices and understandings
• Teachers have ownership of criteria
• If the move to TA is seen as being long-term, bottom-up
and has provision for local transformations
• If moderation continues to be part of the system
Are end-users likely to accept
increased amounts of TA?
• Yes, if…
• Issues of reliability and validity are clarified
• Criteria and learning goals are transparent and
agreed
• Trust is engendered through frequent discussion
and communication
Can workload issues be overcome?
• Yes, if…
• “Protected time” at local level is guaranteed
• If the national assessment and qualification system ceases
to be high stakes and accountability-driven
• Teachers recognise that TA can enhance their teaching and
their relationships with students
• If CPD is ongoing and of high quality
What are the contexts and conditions within
which TA operates most effectively?
• Teachers and students need to believe that
improving learning is the goal
• Criteria for success must be shared among
stakeholders
• Teachers/assessors should work collaboratively
within and across establishments
• The success of TA should not be judged in terms of
external examinations