Assessment Reform Research Articles

Conducting Web-based Formative Assessment Reform for ODL Students: A Case Study

Modern open and distance education is characterized by web-based instruction, web-based assessment and research. The significance and necessity on formative assessment have been well acknowledged in the educational field. This paper firstly introduces the formative assessment innovation project conducted by China Central Radio & Television University (CCRTVU). Based on the “web-based formative assessment for English II (1)”, a required course for the non-English majors following B. A. programmes at Yunnan Radio and TV University (YNTVU, now renamed Yunnan Open University), it will mainly discuss whether it is feasible and effective to put the formative assessment online from the following three aspects: a thorough data analysis of the pilot project results; the strengths of web-based formative assessment compared with the paper-based formative assessment and finally the constraints on implementing web-based formative assessment system in the remote areas like Yunnan province, China. In the study, semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed to collect the participants’ feedback. The study found that web-based formative assessment, when carefully designed, organized and managed, is a very useful way of stimulating and facilitating student learning, it will promote students’ learning autonomy, ensure students’ learning process and help students develop their overall language competence as well.

The politics of collaboration: discourse, identities, and power in a school–university partnership in Hong Kong

This article reports on how teacher educators from a university, acting as facilitators, supported teachers in conducting a school-based action research project as a practice of professional development in the context of reform in language assessment in Hong Kong. In particular, the article problematises how the facilitators and teachers negotiated and managed identities whilst being engaged in a collaborative action research project. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine the textual data. A key finding was that identities were neither fixed nor finite in the context of collaboration, but were negotiated within and against a range of contextually salient discourses. A major contribution of the article lies in its examination of the complexities of negotiating identities when educators from two different institutional cultures collaborate. The article suggests that collaboration has to be understood within broader sociocultural contexts to identify the interplay of forces that shape relations, identities, and practices constructed.

Curriculum and assessment reform gone wrong: the perfect storm of GCSE English

Curriculum and its associated assessment are at the heart of educational systems worldwide. In light of perceived national educational stagnation or decline, as well as of performance in international league tables such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), countries have embarked on curriculum and assessment reforms. This is particularly true in England, where currently wholesale changes are being introduced throughout the system. The curriculum and qualification system in England privileges that which is tested over any other expression of knowledge, which leads teachers to concentrate on teaching what is assessed, either externally through examination papers or internally through coursework. In the summer of 2012, following curriculum and assessment reforms to General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) qualifications, serious concerns were raised about the marking and awarding processes for GCSE English, culminating in legal action. Using that experience as an example of assessment policy and practice gone awry, this article explores the ramifications of rapid qualifications changes and posits that some of the problems that plagued GCSE English in 2012 could be repeated, albeit in different guises, after revised qualifications are introduced in 2015.

Beware Of the Consequences of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Implications for Students’ Learning

Beware Of the Consequences of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Implications for Students’ Learning

To Resist, Acquiesce, or Internalize: Departmental Responsiveness to Demands for Outcomes Assessment

Over the last 30 years, higher education has received the assessment movement with a substantial amount of skepticism. The purpose of this study is to advance our understanding of political science's responsiveness to assessment reform pressures using neoinstitutional theory. The influence of public status, institutional type, and accreditation region on curricular planning and assessment responsiveness is tested. Using an index to measure the responsiveness of a stratified, random sample of program descriptions at 241 U.S. institutions, results show relatively low levels of curricular planning and assessment responsiveness by political science departments. Institutional type and accreditation region are correlated with level of responsiveness.

Challenges associated with curriculum alignment, change and assessment reforms in Namibia

Aligning curriculum change and assessment reforms has been a topic of great concern in Namibia for over the past 23 years. This is because during the pre-colonial period and continuing in post-independence Namibia, national examinations have been used mainly for the certification and selection of learners at Junior and Senior secondary school phases. Despite this, there is great need to align curriculum changes, standards and assessment in Namibia, since this is viewed as critical for the effectiveness of any education system. Hence, this paper attempts to cross-examine the challenges associated with curriculum alignment issues, changes and assessment reforms in Namibia. This was done by reviewing and analysing relevant documents such as curriculum, policies and examination results among others. Particular attention is paid to the Junior and Senior secondary school levels due to the fact that at these phases there are two major national terminal examinations.

Institutionalisation of assessment capacity in developing nations: the case of Malawi

Building assessment capacity of educators has historically been unregulated practice in post-independence Malawi. However, recent attempts by government to integrate curriculum and assessment reforms and the introduction of continuous assessment in the system have represented a significant policy shift. These and several other initiatives have necessitated the empowerment, in terms of assessment knowledge and skills, of educators at different levels of the system to support implementation of the reforms. This paper discusses the strategies that Malawi has followed so far to institutionalise the development of assessment capacity and highlights the challenges that it has faced in its efforts to improve the capacity of its staff in assessment. Key lessons for other African and developing nations from the Malawian experience have also been noted.

The unbearable lightness of the curriculum: what drives the assessment practices of a teacher of English as a Foreign Language in a Chinese secondary school?

The Chinese authorities have spelt out their educational vision in a series of documents and provided explicit guidelines in terms of curriculum and assessment. How are these policy visions and curriculum standards translated into the classroom practices of the teacher? This paper tries to answer this question by looking into one teacher’s instruction and assessment practices in one unit of teaching. Interviews of an experienced teacher and video recordings of one unit of her teaching at a school in Beijing provide insights into the dynamics of classroom teaching and assessment in relation to curriculum and textbooks in the Chinese context. Findings suggest that textbooks provide the backbone of the what; teaching experience guides the how; high-stakes examinations define the what and the how; and curriculum standards become the garnish only. Discussion emphasises the importance of communication in curriculum implementation. Teacher assessment literacy is seen as another crucial factor in assessment reform.

Reinventing Strategies of Oral Examination in Taiwan Civil Service Recruitment

In Taiwan, both the academic and practitioner have noticed the disputation of high-rank civil service recruitment is getting worse due to the oral exam method. In this article, there are two research questions that need to be answered. One of them is, “How does the oral exam influence the test scores and to what degree?” The other is, “How can the oral exam be improved?” To answer these questions, the research methods of content analysis, Delphi technique, and in-depth interview were adopted. To provide persuasive evidence to disclose the serious problems of oral examination, our research chose four kinds of civil service exams as research objectives. The results of our research not only demonstrate measures for the reform of oral exam assessment but also reveal characteristics of oral exam assessment in Taiwan. Through these results, we get a better understanding of the stakeholders’ perceptions about oral examinations. Besides, it is helpful for the emergence of reinventing strategies.

Editorial: language testing in the Philippines

© L p Assessment reform is one of the keys to educational reform. In the Philippines, assessment reform is part of the K to 12 reform agenda implemented in June of 2012. As in any other reform, teachers are pressured to implement the changes in standards and student evaluation. One way to help teachers is by providing research reports that look into actual classroom assessment tools and models. School leaders also need to see how other educational institutions are able to successfully align national and school reforms. It is for this reason that this special issue brings together research reports that look into classroom-based assessment of writing and speaking as well as a report documenting the process of aligning standards and assessment in the school and department level. The first article will be of interest to those who have a writing process and writing assessment research agenda. The report provides a holistic scoring guide, a pilot-tested writing background questionnaire, and an idea generation process survey. Dr. Gustilo, the author of this paper, also reports findings that will be useful to those who want to find out if topic familiarity affects writing performance and if writing process affects written product. The second article, on the other hand, will be of interest to school leaders and education policymakers because it documents the process of aligning a school’s vision, its expected learning outcomes for all students, and assessment. It also describes the process that a department followed to integrate the school’s reform agenda in its English 1 syllabus. The third article is relevant to those who are exploring the topic of oral communication assessment. It reports how students used rubrics to understand their teacher’s expectations as well as how they used the scoring guide to assess their own performance. The fourth and final article, on the other hand, is relevant to those who are interested in the role of feedback. This article takes a different approach because it does not merely describe the comments given by language teachers, but it also compares the comments of language and non-language teachers. I hope that will issue will increase the interest of researchers not only in the Philippines but also in Asia as a whole on assessment reform. The collaborative efforts of researchers will help teachers and educational institutions to increase their assessment literacy and eventually improve teaching and learning. Finally, I would like to

Conceptualising teachers’ assessment literacies in an era of curriculum and assessment reform

Teacher assessment literacy is a phrase that is often used but rarely defined. Yet understanding teacher assessment literacy is important in an international curriculum and assessment reform context that continues to challenge teachers’ assessment practices. In this article situated examples of classroom assessment literacies are analysed using Bernstein’s (Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research and critique, Taylor and Francis, London, 1996; Br J Sociol Educ 20(2):157–173, 1999) theoretical tools of vertical and horizontal discourses, classification and framing. Drawing on a sociocultural view of learning, the authors define teacher assessment literacies as dynamic social practices which are context dependent and which involve teachers in articulating and negotiating classroom and cultural knowledges with one another and with learners, in the initiation, development and practice of assessment to achieve the learning goals of students. This conceptualisation of assessment literacy aims to make explicit some underpinning theoretical constructs of assessment literacy to inform dialogue and decision making for policy and practice to benefit student learning and achievement.

Towards improving public understanding of judgement practice in standards-referenced assessment: an Australian perspective

Curriculum and standards-referenced assessment reform in accountability contexts are increasingly dominated by the use of testing, evidence, comparative analyses of achievement data and policy as numbers all of which have given rise to a set of related developments. Internationally these developments towards the use of standards for assessment and accountability purposes have placed new demands on teachers, their students and parents. How measures of quality are communicated in policy, when represented as standards, how they are promulgated and how they are used in practice, by whom and for what purposes become central questions to an understanding of current assessment practice. The argument developed focuses on the importance of improving public understanding of the implications of standards-driven reforms for teachers in making judgements about the quality of student work. Research of teachers’ use of standards, judgement and moderation for both accountability and improvement of learning purposes are drawn upon in arguing the case for increased public understanding of the teacher’s role in classroom assessment and pedagogy. Quality processes that aim to develop and to sustain the dependability of teacher judgement within summative assessment systems, and that build trust in teacher judgement practice by the teachers themselves, the parents, the students and the public in particular contexts, are analysed. The role of judgement in assessment, who controls this field and whose judgement counts are critically considered.

Radical Assessment and Qualification Reform in New Zealand: The Rocky Road to National Certificate of Educational Achievement

Radical Assessment and Qualification Reform in New Zealand: The Rocky Road to National Certificate of Educational Achievement

‘Exactly what do you mean by consistency?’ Exploring concepts of consistency and standards in Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland

Scotland, in common with many other countries internationally, has paid considerable attention to the development of assessment for learning. Currently, schools in Scotland are engaged in a major programme of curriculum and assessment reform, entitled Curriculum for Excellence. As part of the reform process, there is concern amongst practitioners, researchers and policy-makers about ‘consistency’ and ‘standards’. In this article, we explore international issues of consistency and standards through a Scottish lens. In particular, we focus on how standards, and the idea of consistency of judgements and standards, are understood and applied in practice. We draw on international research and policy, and reflect on how that evidence relates to the findings from a recent government-funded research project in Scotland, ‘Assessment at Transition’. We conclude by identifying what the different communities need to do to help build an integrated, assessment-capable system that will be sustainable in the longer term.

Qualifications, examinations and assessment: views and perspectives of students in the 14–19 phase on policy and practice

This paper brings to the forefront students’ views on one of the most significant aspects of educational reform in the 14–19 phase in England, specifically qualifications, examinations and assessment reform. In this respect, the paper foregrounds students as ‘policy actors’, they are significant players in the mediation of national qualification systems rather than just subjects in their implementation. Data from a national dataset of focus groups with 243 students are presented. Key themes are highlighted relating to young people’s experiences of qualifications, examinations and assessment at this stage of education in a context of continuous initiatives and change as well as the impact on students of qualifications reform in situ which can be confusing, unsettling and ultimately detrimental to future success.

Devolving professional learning to subject specialists: towards embedding assessment reform in New Zealand

Professional learning to embed educational reform may need to take account of the stage of the reform rather than previous teaching experience. As reforms move to the embedding phase, some teachers have become more expert in executing the reform than others and may be well placed to provide professional learning. In 2007, the New Zealand Ministry of Education funded a ‘Senior Subject Adviser’ pilot to further embed the National Certificates of Educational Achievement assessment reform. This involved seconding 22 teachers from schools to advisory services in universities. This paper outlines that the pilot offered a successful structure that supported the needs of teachers. The key to success was the devolved nature of the pilot, which acknowledged that embedding reform can be facilitated by teachers.

Moderation and consistency of teacher judgement: Teachers’ views

Major curriculum and assessment reforms in Australia have generated research interest in issues related to standards, teacher judgement and moderation. This article is based on one related inquiry of a large‐scale Australian Research Council Linkage project conducted in Queensland. This qualitative study analysed interview data to identify teachers’ views on standards and moderation as a means to achieving consistency of teacher judgement. A complementary aspect of the research involved a blind review that was conducted to determine the degree of teacher consistency without the experience of moderation. Empirical evidence was gained that most teachers, of the total interviewed, articulated a positive attitude towards the use of standards in moderation and perceived that this process produces consistency in teachers’ judgements. Context was identified as an important influential factor in teachers’ judgements and it was concluded that teachers’ assessment beliefs, attitudes and practices impact on their perceptions of the value of moderation practice and the extent to which consistency can be achieved.

Prevailing pedagogies for classes in low SES contexts and the implications for standards-based reform in Australia

Current curriculum and assessment reform for schooling in Australia is based on ideas and practices associated with the setting of standards. Detailed descriptions of levels of achievement for each year of schooling are being ascribed the dual role of measuring the effectiveness of school systems and helping teachers to ensure all students are supported to gain common outcomes. The use of standards to inform teaching and learning has developed from research on differentiation practices and is associated with specific pedagogies designed to support students at risk of not succeeding in schooling. This project aimed to investigate the extent to which the ideas and practices associated with standards-based curriculum reform are currently influencing teachers’ thinking and practice in three Victorian primary schools situated in low socio-economic status contexts. Teachers’ beliefs and practices associated with supporting students from backgrounds traditionally linked with low achievement were collected before and after trialling units of work designed by pre-service teachers. The results reveal that the ideas and strategies currently used by teachers in three schools largely conflict with the pedagogies associated with standards-based reform and the findings question the extent to which current national agendas in Australia will influence classroom practices and student outcomes.

Assessment reform: students' and teachers' responses to the introduction of stretch and challenge at A‐level

This paper describes an exploration into a reform of the A‐level qualification in England in 2008; namely, the introduction of the ‘stretch and challenge' policy. This policy was initiated by the exams regulator and determined that exam papers should be redesigned to encourage the application of higher order thinking skills, both in the classroom and in examinations. The present study comprised two strands that explored the perceptions of students (n = 39) and teachers (n = 27) regarding the degree to which the incorporation of opportunities for stretch and challenge in the new examination papers had been achieved, and the likely effects on teaching, learning and exam preparation. On the whole, students and teachers welcomed the stretch and challenge policy and there were some indications that changes to the design of question papers could have some positive backwash effects.

Controversy over abolishing Iranian university entrance examination

PurposeAlthough the number of higher education institutes in Iran has been increased and the capacity of many universities has been expanded by the government and private sector, the tough competition among senior high school graduates is still a major concern. Authorities have been contemplating other ways to alleviate the discontent of applicants who seek access to free of charge public universities. The Cumulative Grade‐Point Average (CGPA) of senior high school level has recently been proposed by educational authorities as the most effective substitute for measuring students’ academic performances to enter universities. The purpose of this paper is explore the pros and cons of this proposal by interviewing ten purposively selected stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachIn total, ten purposively selected stakeholders were interviewed.FindingsOut of ten informants, six of them supported the modification of the University Entrance Exam (UEE), three supported its abolition, and one supported its continuation and repetition two or three times a year.Research limitations/implicationsSince any innovation or reform in the exam will affect other components in the whole education system, the informants emphasized that it should be done incrementally. The findings of this study contribute to improving the knowledge of the UEE reform options.Originality/valueOver the last few decades, there have been waves of assessment reforms around the world. This paper offers an update of the assessment reform in Iran, which adds information to current literature.