Margaret Forster

Progression and Assessment: Developmental Assessment

Significant advances have occurred in recent decades in methodologies for assessing student learning. These advances can be understood in terms of advances in measurement theory and in our understanding of learning itself. Central to modern approaches to assessment is the construction of research-based assessment and reporting frameworks in particular domains of learning. These frameworks, or progress maps, capture and make explicit the nature of progress within a domain and provide frames of reference for monitoring learning across the years of school. This article explores the conceptual and empirical underpinnings, and practice of developmental assessment – the use of progress maps.