Sense of reality — i.e. assessment
Assessment.
The issue
Let us start by getting an assumption out of the way: that examinations are necessary at all. Testing, and other analogue contraptions, are an invention of the modern educational system and intrinsic only to industrialised societies. They were practically non-existent when people learned from elders, governesses, or master tradesmen who organically and informally attested if one rose to meet whatever perfunctory yardstick they held in hand. Explicit testing existed only in the form of oral or practical examinations that (depending on the tradition) were the bases of teachers' methodology or took place as impromptu debates in cloisters or halls of academia. It is with the creation of public bodies of education that testing was established as a form of sifting, funnelling, or levelling students in a systematic way.
Clearly, this accounts for assessment often appearing contrived and imposed on learners. In reality, learning is only revealed when one is met with a real opportunity to demonstrate it. It was so for the mason apprentice in medieval times as is for the Medic in training today. But given that some opportunities come with fittingly high stakes and consequences, it is wise that we should rather simulate these scenarios in more efficient fashion along the way.
Consequently, methodical assessment ought to serve not the measurement of knowledge but its very development. And therefore reflecting on its nature becomes a necessary but complex part of one's professional practice. The difficulty of honing on what it is, however, begins with wording a simple definition: assessment is gauging if learning has taken place. Though it seems commonsensical enough, attempts to elaborate further turn the matter into quicksand: who's doing the gauging? With what instruments exactly? Whose learning? And what is learning anyways? But also, when and why is this necessary?
We could lean on the Western, hierarchical educational paradigm and respond:
- the teacher,
- with tests,
- the students',
- newly acquired knowledge and skills,
- periodically,
- for the purpose of accuracy and efficacy.
I know. That was one long question.
For short, have we approached assessment from the wrong angle all along?
The risk of narrow definitions is their narrowing effect on us as observers. In this case, the danger is losing sight of knowledge being the result of complex connections and relationships outside bidirectional teacher-learner interactions; something gained both explicitly and implicitly and not necessarily through the intervention of others but yes from a variety of sources and experiences nested in what Rincón-Gallardo (in Edwards, 2018) calls effective networks. In other words, learning as a phenomenon isn't always evident or fits inside the boundaries of narrow squares and rubrics. Unless we challenge this viewpoint, we might forever fail to recognise or validate learning when it actually takes place.
Assessment as inquiry
The Ministry of Education's position paper on the topic (2011) states that assessment ought to consider "a range of information from multiple sources in order to learn and respond appropriately to improve learning" (p.10) The most revealing part of this mandate is the implication that we assess with the purpose of adapting our teaching to fit the students' specific learning needs, which turns the original definition on its head. Rather than assessing the learning, we are ultimately assessing how effective the teaching has been so as to result in evident and transferable learning for every individual. To further this idea, it also states that such information includes learning gained "through reciprocal exchanges between participants (which) entails a process of reciprocal learning or ako" (p.10).
This implies that assessment and adjustment are two sides of differentiating our practice but only if we intentionally design it to provide us with the right kind of information and use it to make the right adaptations.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)
Best practices view assessment as the tools created for three purposes: to diagnose the state of affairs, to inform pedagogical decisions, and to summate progress after a learning sequence. They can take many different forms: from self and peer review to formative rubrics, open questionnaires, tasks, projects, self-testing quizzes, standardised tests, presentations, demonstrations, et cetera. All are useful in general but problematic in different particular ways.
Whatever the tools, however, they are only effective if devised to serve learners rather than teachers. And this can only be accomplished when and if the student can face an assessment free of anxiety, deprivation, or fear; if they have engaged with it under fair, equal circumstances; if they should trust its usefulness and relevance. This challenges the validity and reliability of nationwide assessments (Wiliam, 2018) and implies that scaffolding and reflection are integral to it as well. Ultimately, evaluation tools themselves ought to pass a test: has this assessment made a difference for you, dear learner?
Assessment as a method
A common concern of teachers here and elsewhere is that we teach to the test. We are all, at some point guilty of this. Assessment will often pull us in a certain direction or force us to make exclusions to the detriment of the learner's right to a well-rounded education. Does that mean that we should change our approach? Our evaluations? Both?
Indeed, profuse research into the effect of retrieval practice (Firth, 2018) shows that testing may be in itself a powerful didactic tool. Through the inclusion of various testing methods into everyday practice learners gain insights and develop cognitive or learning skills beyond our specific curriculum. Even for high-stakes assessments, whenever the process or development or ideas are considered, they can potentially lead to students reflecting on learning itself or making it personally relevant. I find this to be true particularly with internal examinations for Languages, which are assessed through portfolios.
It is also plausible when feedback, feed-forward, and self or peer assessement are involved (Hattie, 2012), or when we use adaptable means to attest learning by gathering authentic evidence from a variety of sources, not simply paper-based or standarised means (Biggs, 1998). In my subject, I can design relevant tasks to promote communication and record samples when they occur spontaneously. This is easier with juniors but possible for NCEA too. More importantly, tasks and feeback become sophisticated and useful only with "both teacher and learner valuing learning, not just outcomes or grades (and may) prepare learners for the multiplicity of learning contexts and personal and vocational changes they will experience throughout their lives" (Bourke, 2010, p. 140).
Assessment as a political stance and spiritual practice
Finally, we cannot ignore how the manner and purpose of assessment impact society outside our classrooms. Beyond discussing the extent to which a standards-based system like the one currently used in New Zealand is a political byproduct or flagship there is also an ethical point to make: that the way we assess or fail to assess learners can have deep social repercussions. This fact reveals assessment as both the means to elevate students out of vulnerable circumstances and the rock that might cause them to trip and fall. Because of that fact, quality-first teaching with embedded formative assessment (Edwards, 2018) is inextricably linked to the social and spiritual dimensions of our practice.
Learning should be accounted for in ways that are valid and measurable and not for the sake of political agendas but to improve upon education so as to create a better world. Therein lies an opportunity for radical action because nothing is more transformative than recognising every child's knowledge and ability as a way to manifest love and compassion for them. By honouring their process as a vehicle for "accessing their knowledge rather than assessing outcomes" (Bourke, 2010, p.139) we can do the same for their community and whanau; we can promote the wonder and joy of knowledge sprouting unexpectedly where we least imagine it.
Takeaways:
- Assessment is useful to safely prepare students for a world that will require them to demonstrate their skills and knowledge;
- is effective when focusing on how the teaching can impact learning;
- includes a variety of tools used throughout the teaching-learning process and aimed at gaining insights about it;
- is only fair when equitable, which invites scaffolding and proactive measures;
- can be highly effective as pedagogy when weaved into our practice and not exclusively undertaken by the teacher;
- implies the social and spiritual responsibility to assess learning fairly for every student.
Biggs, J. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning: a role for summative assessment? Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050106
Bourke, R. (2010). The chamaleonic learner: Learning and self-assessment in context. Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER.
Edwards, S. (2018, February 23). A research-informed journey to principled assessment practice. Impact.Chartered.College. https://impact.chartered.college/article/edwards-research-informed-journey-principled-assessment-practice/
Firth, J. (2018, December 23). Assessment as learning: The role of retrieval practice in the classroom. Impact.Chartered.College. https://impact.chartered.college/article/firth-assessment-as-learning-role-of-retrieval-practice-in-classroom/
Franklin, S. (2021, May 13). The four pillars of assessment: What does a focus on validity, reliability, purpose and value in assessment practice look like on the ground? Impact.Chartered.College. https://impact.chartered.college/article/four-pillars-of-assessment-focus-on-validity-reliability-purpose-value-in-assessment-practice-look-like/
Hattie, J. (2012). Know thy impact. Educational Leadership 70(1), 18-23.
Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. (2011). The Ministry of Education position paper: Assessment (Schooling sector).
Special Assessment Conditions (SAC). (n.d.). Ministry of Education. Retrieved 8 November 2020, from https://www.education.govt.nz/school/student-support/special-education/special-assessment-conditions/
Wiliam, D. (2018, February 23). Editorial: Evaluating education and improving it. Impact.Chartered.College. https://impact.chartered.college/article/wiliam-editorial-evaluating-education-and-improving-it/
Tymms, P. (2007, June 19). Where is the value in assessment? Center for Evaluation and Monitoring. https://www.cem.org/blog/where-is-the-value-in-assessment
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