Practical Applications of Learning-Oriented Assessment (LOA)

Abstract

While assessment serves many different purposes, traditionally the main aim of assessment has been to measure students’ performance in order to make a judgment about placement, progress, achievement, or proficiency. However, examination boards, test-writers, and teachers have begun to explore ways in which testing can also be used to facilitate learning. In a learning-oriented assessment (LOA) approach, all assessment, both formal and informal, contributes to learning, and assessment is aligned with the curriculum. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how assessment can be constructed to maximize opportunities for meaningful student learning in the classroom and become an integral part of the learning process. We begin by examining the importance of ‘assessment for learning’ in order to better understand how it has laid the foundation for LOA. After defining LOA, we turn to the main focus of this chapter, which is how to implement LOA in the classroom. We outline what teachers can do within an LOA framework before, during, and after an assessment, in order to facilitate learning. The final sections of this chapter address some of the criticisms that have been made against LOA and outline the implications of taking an LOA approach.KeywordsLearning-oriented assessmentAssessment for learningFeedback