Jannette Elwood

Creating Communities of Shared Practice: The challenges of assessment use in learning and teaching

Teachers and researchers in the field of educational assessment have a strong professional interest in evaluating practices that constitute effective educational assessment at the classroom level. In pursuing these goals it is fundamental for teachers and pupils to grow in a community of shared practice where nothing in the assessment process is hidden and students become assessors of their own learning. The challenge for students and teachers within present-day classrooms is understanding and learning how these communities are created. This paper is based on action research carried out to investigate our own teaching of the subject of assessment at postgraduate level. The focus of the research was to integrate current research evidence within educational assessment into our own professional practice. Such research suggests that to improve learning and indeed teaching, educational assessment must be formative in both function and purpose and must put the student at the centre of the assessment process. The paper describes the processes and procedures by which common meanings of published criteria and assessment quality for masters level coursework held by one community of assessors were shared and interpreted by students to enable them to articulate their own learning through student-self assessment.

Gender Bias in Examinations: how equal are the opportunities?

Abstract Recent analyses of public examination results, particularly in the GCSE, have demonstrated significant gender differences in both entry patterns and outcomes. This generally involves better results for girls in subjects other than mathematics and some sciences. The article discusses whether examination boards should work for equal outcomes given that the assessment techniques used in examinations may differentially affect girls’ and boys’ performances, as evidenced by objective tests and coursework. We argue that the type of assessment is only one factor and that the different experiences and expectations of both pupils and teachers also play significant parts. Equal outcomes should not therefore be contrived simply by manipulation of assessment techniques. What may be required is more sensitivity to gender related differences in approach and experiences. How much the recent changes to national curriculum assessment will take account of these factors will need further monitoring.

Formative assessment: possibilities, boundaries and limitations

These two books are published at a time of growth of interest in formative assessment. They contribute to the debates in this area in a variety of ways and they provide reflection on key issues from both a perspective of practice and of research. In the essay that follows I present a review of each book, identifying key themes and focus. I then offer a critique of main aspects of the work based on my reactions to, and engagement with, some of the fundamental messages within these texts in relation to formative assessment. In this essay I use the terms ‘classroom assessment’ and ‘formative assessment’ interchangeably. I acknowledge that these two activities have different definitions in the literature but in relation to these two texts they do, to a certain degree, reflect similar assessment practice—i.e., the use of assessment to promote learning. In addition, at particular times in the text I also use the term ‘evaluation’ as an alternate for assessment. This reflects the common use of the two words in similar ways within the books reviewed.

Gendered experiences, choices and achievement – exploring the links

The divergence in girls’ and boys’ interests and pastimes outside of school has been established by many national and international studies. What has rarely been examined is how these gender differences emerge and what their consequences are for childrens learning both within and without school. The question considered in this paper is not what girls and boys can or cannot do but what is it that girls and boys choose to do. What lies behind their choices and how do gendered choices influence achievement? To address this, we examine the sources and nature of gender differences and how they are related to learning outside of school and learning in school. The paper concludes by looking at the way achievement is defined in subjects, how these definitions shift between the phases of education and the consequences of this for how ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ as groups are perceived both by teachers and pupils.

Undermining Gender Stereotypes: examination and coursework performance in the UK at 16

ABSTRACT Gender‐related differences in performance are a major concern in the public examination system in the UK which is undergoing major changes in both subject content and assessment technique. This is particularly so because the pattern of gender‐related performance is also changing. The paper examines these changes and challenges some of the current assumptions about gender related performance. In 1992 The University of London Examinations Council (ULEAC) and The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) investigated the extent to which the structures and assessment techniques used within the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) actually amplify or reduce the gender‐related differences that exist in examination outcomes. Evidence was collected which suggested that coursework plays only a minimal role in explaining substantial differences in English and mathematics. Teacher and pupil expectations, entry policies and emphases within syllabuses seem to be more significant factors...

Revisioning assessment through a children’s rights approach: implications for policy, process and practice

The linkage between the impact of assessment and compliance with children’s rights is a connection, which although seemingly obvious, is nonetheless rarely made, particularly by governments, which, as signatories to the relevant human rights treaties, have the primary responsibility for ensuring that educational practice is compatible with international children’s rights standards. While some jurisdictions are explicit about an adherence to children’s rights frameworks in general policy documentation, such a commitment rarely features when the focus is on assessment and testing. Thus, in spite of significant public and academic attention given to the consequences of assessment for children and governments committed to working within children’s rights standards, the two are rarely considered together. This paper examines the implications for the policy, process and practice of assessment in light of international human rights standards. Three key children’s rights principles and standards are used as a critical lens to examine assessment policy and practice: (1) best interests; (2) non‐discrimination; and (3) participation. The paper seeks new insights into the complexities of assessment practice from the critical perspective of children’s rights and argues that such standards not only provide a convenient benchmark for developing, implementing and evaluating assessment practices, but also acknowledge the significance of assessment in the delivery of children’s rights to, in and through education more generally.

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.

Assessment systems as cultural scripts: a sociocultural theoretical lens on assessment practice and products

This themed section of the journal aims to extend and enhance ongoing debates within the assessment community that consider the challenges raised by sociocultural theories of learning in presenting a different way in which to understand assessment practice and assessment systems. Moss, Pullin, Gee, Haertel, and Jones Young (2008), in their major work in this area, have debated the importance within the field of educational assessment of bringing to the surface the ‘tacit assumptions about psychometric and alternative assessment practices’ as well as identifying ‘the unintended consequences of current assessment practices’ and the specification of ‘the kinds of new knowledge that might be needed to inform more constructive and equitable practices in the future’ (p. viii). This paper and the others included in this themed section will explore some of the challenges for assessment raised by sociocultural theories within both formative and summative assessment frameworks and arenas. Thus, we are interested in how claims made about sociocultural theories of learning are informing the expansion of fundamental concepts of assessment and what this ultimately means for assessment practice.

Gender, achievement and the ‘Gold Standard’: differential performance in the GCE A level examination

ABSTRACT While interest in gender‐related differences in performance in examinations and assessment in the UK has been considerable, it has tended to focus on the compul‐ sory phase of schooling, particularly at age 16. This lack of attention to gender‐related differences in examinations at 18+ is somewhat surprising since outcomes at this stage of education are critical in terms of life chances and entry into higher and further edu‐ cation. This article discusses the picture of gendered achievement in the GCE A level examination. Trends in differential performance over time are examined and expla‐ nations put forward as to why these differences in performance occur. Explanations proposed cover links between gendered styles of learning and the style of examining; the statistical and educational impact of self‐selecting populations on performance patterns; and the contribution of different assessment techniques to differences in male and female examination performance. Finally, suggestions of where action ...

Educational assessment policy and practice - a matter of ethics

Long-standing concerns within the field of educational assessment consider the impact of assessment policy and practice as matters of equity, inequality and social justice. Yet educational assessment policy and practice continues to have powerful social consequences for key users such as children and young people. This paper re-positions these consequences as a matter of ethics. It uses the work of Messick to frame how ethical matters extend beyond test instruments into the realm of uses and impact. A case study of the 11+ school transfer system in Northern Ireland is presented to illustrate ethical dilemmas emerging as a consequence of actions and decisions of using assessment systems for particular purposes. In looking forward to how we might attend to ethical matters in assessment policy and practice, a consideration of a children’s rights approach is outlined that may provide a moral and legal framework for action.