Valentina Klenowski

Australian Indigenous students: addressing equity issues in assessment

This article provides the background and context to the important issue of assessment and equity in relation to Indigenous students in Australia. Questions about the validity and fairness of assessment are raised and ways forward are suggested by attending to assessment questions in relation to equity and culture‐fair assessment. Patterns of under‐achievement by Indigenous students are reflected in national benchmark data and international testing programmes like the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Program for International Student Assessment. The argument developed views equity, in relation to assessment, as more of a sociocultural issue than a technical matter. It highlights how teachers need to distinguish the “funds of knowledge” that Indigenous students draw on and how teachers need to adopt culturally responsive pedagogy to open up the curriculum and assessment practice to allow for different ways of knowing and being.

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.

Designing assessment for quality learning

This chapter explores the context, challenges and priorities for design- ing a robust, school-based, next-generation assessment system—one with the power to enable learning in a networked, digital world. The next-generation assessment envisaged here does not run counter to any national or state-based assessment sys- tem. Nor does it seek to compete with those next-generation, highly technologized assessment instruments developed by multinational business and educational part- nerships. Rather, this next-generation assessment is envisioned as a complementary assessment system suited to the unique profile of individual schools, developed by those particular communities, with modest funding. It positions schools as catalysts for extending their networks of mentors and partners in purposeful, inclusive yet accountable ways. Central to its design is the desire to engage and channel young people towards their best performances and future potential, while building their social and civic consciences as tomorrows citizens. To this end, we identify es- sential learnings for effectively navigating those interconnected spaces inhabited by young people, superimpose an axis of assessment options and propose an interweav- ing with relational and communication cables, or purposeful connections. We offer suggestions for design priorities for next-generation assessment.

Curriculum Evaluation: Approaches and Methodologies

Curriculum evaluation, as a field of study, is dynamic. For over the years it has been responsive to the developments in the conceptualization of curriculum and the associated processes of curriculum change. The concept of curriculum is integral to curriculum evaluation and can be defined in terms of what can and shall be taught to whom, when, where, how, and why. Much of the decision making relates to what knowledge is to be selected for inclusion in the curriculum.

Assessment Understood as Enabling

This chapter outlines a perspective of educational assessment as enabling, whereby the learner is central and assessment is focused on supporting the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary for lifelong learning. It argues that better education for young people is achievable when educational policy and practice give priority to learning improvement, thereby making assessment for accountability a related, though secondary, concern. The chapter describes how this work of internationally recognized scholars brings together diverse perspectives and theoretical frameworks and, in so doing, provides readers with a range of ways to consider their pathway through the book. A ‘map’ and summaries of chapters suggest a reading according to a thematic approach, geographical setting, author/s profile or content purposes depending on the reader’s own priorities. A section on assessment past, present, and futures calls for a rebalancing of improvement and accountability goals, and for countries to be careful to avoid privileging large-scale testing over other forms of data about learning and achievement.

Assessment Reform and Educational Change in Australia

This chapter addresses the changing climate of assessment policy and practice in Australia in response to global trends in education and the mounting accountability demands of standards-driven reform. Queensland, a State of Australia, has a tradition of respecting and trusting teacher judgment through the practice of, and policy commitment to, externally moderated school-based assessment. This chapter outlines the global trends in curriculum and assessment reform, and then analyzes the impact of international comparisons on national policy. The creation of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) together with the intent of establishing a standards-referenced framework raises tensions and challenges for teachers’ practice. The argument for sustaining confidence in teacher-based assessment is developed with reference to research evidence pertaining to the use of more authentic assessments and moderation practices for the purposes of improving learning, equity and accountability. Evidence is drawn from local studies of teacher judgment practice and used to demonstrate these developments and in so doing illuminate the complex issues of engaging the demands of policy while sustaining confidence in teacher assessment.

Who Pays for Standardised Testing? A Cost-Benefit Study of Mandated Testing in Three Queensland Secondary Schools.

This paper reports on an Australian study that explored the costs and benefits of the National Assessment Programme, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing, both tangible and intangible, of Year 9 students in three Queensland schools. The study commenced with a review of pertinent studies and other related material about standardised testing in Australia, the USA and UK. Information about NAPLAN testing and reporting, and the pedagogical impacts of standardised testing were identified, however little about administrative costs to schools was found. A social constructivist perspective and a multiple case study approach were used to explore the actions of school managers and teachers in three Brisbane secondary schools. The study found that the costs of NAPLAN testing to schools fell into two categories: preparation of students for the testing; and administration of the tests. Whilst many of the costs could not be quantified, they were substantial and varied according to the education sector in which the school operated. The benefits to schools of NAPLAN testing were found to be limited. The findings have implications for governments, curriculum authorities and schools, leading to the conclusion that, from a school perspective, the benefits of NAPLAN testing do not justify the costs.

Assessment understood as enabling: A time to rebalance improvement and accountability goals

This chapter explores the context, challenges and priorities for design- ing a robust, school-based, next-generation assessment system—one with the power to enable learning in a networked, digital world. The next-generation assessment envisaged here does not run counter to any national or state-based assessment sys- tem. Nor does it seek to compete with those next-generation, highly technologized assessment instruments developed by multinational business and educational part- nerships. Rather, this next-generation assessment is envisioned as a complementary assessment system suited to the unique profile of individual schools, developed by those particular communities, with modest funding. It positions schools as catalysts for extending their networks of mentors and partners in purposeful, inclusive yet accountable ways. Central to its design is the desire to engage and channel young people towards their best performances and future potential, while building their social and civic consciences as tomorrows citizens. To this end, we identify es- sential learnings for effectively navigating those interconnected spaces inhabited by young people, superimpose an axis of assessment options and propose an interweav- ing with relational and communication cables, or purposeful connections. We offer suggestions for design priorities for next-generation assessment.

Classroom assessment practices and teacher learning: An Australian perspective

This chapter draws on empirical evidence to explore the purposes and the approaches to classroom assessment used by some Australian primary and secondary teachers. Insights into how teachers learn in the development of classroom assessment for formative and summative purposes, and the strategies they employ to address student learning needs, are described and critically analyzed. The importance of teacher agency when learning about classroom assessment to enhance validity, consistency, and equity is addressed.

Elements of better assessment for the improvement of learning : a focus on quality, professional judgment and social moderation

This chapter explores the context, challenges and priorities for design- ing a robust, school-based, next-generation assessment system—one with the power to enable learning in a networked, digital world. The next-generation assessment envisaged here does not run counter to any national or state-based assessment sys- tem. Nor does it seek to compete with those next-generation, highly technologized assessment instruments developed by multinational business and educational part- nerships. Rather, this next-generation assessment is envisioned as a complementary assessment system suited to the unique profile of individual schools, developed by those particular communities, with modest funding. It positions schools as catalysts for extending their networks of mentors and partners in purposeful, inclusive yet accountable ways. Central to its design is the desire to engage and channel young people towards their best performances and future potential, while building their social and civic consciences as tomorrows citizens. To this end, we identify es- sential learnings for effectively navigating those interconnected spaces inhabited by young people, superimpose an axis of assessment options and propose an interweav- ing with relational and communication cables, or purposeful connections. We offer suggestions for design priorities for next-generation assessment.