Wynne Harlen

Assessment and Learning: differences and relationships between formative and summative assessment

ABSTRACT The central argument of this paper is that the formative and summative purposes of assessment have become confused in practice and that as a consequence assessment fails to have a truly formative role in learning. The importance of this role is argued particularly in relation to learning with understanding (deep learning). It is pointed out that the requirements of assessment for formative and summative purposes differ in several dimensions, including reliability, the reference base of judgements and the focus of the information used. This challenges the assumption that summative judgements can be formed by simple summation of formative ones. An alternative procedure for linking formative and summative assessment is proposed such that their separate functions are preserved.

Primary teachers’ understanding of concepts of science: impact on confidence and teaching

The specification of the science to be taught in primary schools has thrown into sharper focus the matter of primary teachers’ own understanding of the subject matter which has, for some time, been an area of concern. Research carried out in Scotland has explored in some depth the problems primary teachers encounter in science and technology and the extent to which these are associated with lack of confidence and/or background knowledge. The findings indicate that there are some ideas which primary teachers can quite quickly come to understand while others require more extensive in‐service attention. Confidence is not only dependent on subject knowledge; teachers with low confidence employ various strategies for coping, some of which when regularly applied have a severely limiting effect on childrens learning.

Purposes and Procedures for Assessing Science Process Skills

Science process skills are inseparable in practice from the conceptual understanding that is involved in learning and applying science. Nevertheless, it is useful to identify and discuss the skills which can apply to different subject-matter because of their central role in learning with understanding, whether in formal education or throughout life. That role is also the reason for the importance of assessing the development of science process skills. This paper argues that it is a content-dominated view of science education rather than the technical difficulties that has inhibited the development of effective procedures for assessing process skills to date. The discussion focuses on approaches to process skill assessment for three purposes, formative, summative and national and international monitoring. In all cases the assessment of skills is influenced not only by the ability to use the skill but also by knowledge of and familiarity with the subject-matter with which the skills are used. Thus what is a...

Trusting teachers’ judgement: research evidence of the reliability and validity of teachers’ assessment used for summative purposes

This paper summarizes the findings of a systematic review of research on the reliability and validity of teachers’ assessment used for summative purposes. In addition to the main question, the review also addressed the question ‘What conditions affect the reliability and validity of teachers’ summative assessment?’ The initial search for studies meeting the explicit inclusion criteria of relevance found 431potentially relevant studies. This number was gradually reduced, through the systematic review procedures, to 30 studies, which specifically addressed the review questions. These studies were subject to in‐depth data extraction conducted independently by two researchers, followed by reconciliation of any differences of interpretation. This procedure was also used to judge the weight of evidence provided for the review by each study so that greater emphasis could be given to findings from the most relevant and methodologically sound research. The findings of the review by no means constitute a ringing endorsement of teachers’ assessment; there was evidence of low reliability and bias in teachers’ judgements made in certain circumstances. However, this has to be considered against the low validity and lower than generally assumed reliability of external tests. The findings also point to ways of overcoming the deficiencies of teachers’ assessment and lead to implications for assessment policy, practice and research, which are proposed in the final section of the paper.

School science and public understanding of science

In this paper we trace how the idea of measuring the connection between school science and the public awareness of science has evolved. In doing so, we draw the science education communitys attent...

Children's ideas about evaporation

This article reports on research conducted as part of the Primary Science Processes and Concept Exploration (space) Project. The background to, and orientation of, space is briefly described. Classroom‐based research into childrens thinking about evaporation is reported. This work was conducted in close collaboration with teachers of the 5‐11 years age range with the intention of establishing the viability of the techniques for eliciting ideas and managing subsequent interventions within classrooms. Childrens thinking in relation to three main evaporation phenomena are discussed. Ideas about evaporation were categorized by reference to notions of conservation, change of location and change of form of the water.

Enhancing Quality in Assessment

Introduction - Wynne Harlen Issues and Approaches to Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Assessment - Wynne Harlen Approaches to Quality Assurance and Control in Six Countries - Patricia Broadfoot Quality in External Assessment - David Satterly Quality in Teacher Assessment - Caroline Gipps The Quality of Assessment in Further Education in Scotland - Harry Black Quality Assurance, Teacher Assessments and Public Examinations - Richard Daugherty Experience of Quality Assurance at Key Stage 1 - Mary James Towards Quality in Assessment - Wynne Harlen

Primary Teachers' Confidence about Teaching Science and Technology.

ABSTRACT As part of a larger research project, a national survey of 514 primary teachers in Scotland was carried out in 1993. The questionnaire that was used in the survey focused on teachers’ confidence about teaching various areas of the curriculum and about a variety of aspects of the teaching of science and technology. The design of the questionnaire allowed some comparison with the findings of a study of the perceived competence of primary teachers in England and Wales (Bennett et al., 1992). Primary teachers were less confident about teaching science and technology than about almost all other curriculum areas. They were rather more confident about ‘Living Things and the Processes of Life’ and ‘Earth and Space’ than they were about ‘Energy and Forces’ and design and control technology. Teachers’ confidence about developing science skills and processes in their pupils was higher than their confidence about developing understanding of science content. With respect to science and technology teaching, ma...

The development of assessment for learning: learning from the case of science and mathematics

This article introduces the ideas of ‘assessment for learning’ as a means whereby teachers can make their classroom assessment more directly focused on learners’ development and can actively involve learners in this process. Current practice in classroom assessment in England is described and the thinking that has led to a new emphasis on formative practices outlined. This is set in the context of recent research studies that have been influential in changing not only classroom practice but also the ‘lead’ set by Government in promoting effective practice. Several examples of assessment strategies are offered to illustrate the principles involved. Conclusions are suggested that show how these ideas could make learning more effective and learners more involved.

Research and the development of science in the primary school

The areas of research discussed in this paper concern surveys of participation in primary science, national goals, pupils’ achievement of goals and recent work on pupils’ own ideas. Implications of recent changes in the view of learning and in the view of science point to areas where research is now needed. This paper does not set out to summarize findings comprehensively but rather to use them to indicate the role research can and should be taking in this rapidly changing and under‐researched area of science education.