Assessment : Principles & Planning

What is the Point of Assessment?

What is the Point of Assessment?

Harrow School, London

Common complaints about assessments?

Validity / Accuracy

Reliability / Consistency

How do we ensure reliabilty?How do we ensure reliabilty?

• Set questions/paper in an expected form

• Be consistent for all classes

• Use clear language / stimulus

• Have a good number of test items

• Use a standard marking scheme

How do we ensure validity?How do we ensure validity?

• Require subject mastery by setters and vetters

• Examination / Coursework must accurately represent syllabus

• Learning outcomes must be tested

• Fair and correct level of difficulty must be applied

Which is more important?

Accuracy or Consistency?

Which is more important?

Accuracy or Consistency?

(SHOW VIDEO)(SHOW VIDEO)

“In 21st century learning environments, decontextualised drop-in-from-the-sky assessments consisting of isolated tasks and performances will have zero validity as indices of educational attainment”

(Pellegrino, 1999)

Types of Assessments

Formal Formal AssessmentAssessment

Informal Informal AssessmenAssessmen

tt

QuantitativQuantitativee

AssessmentAssessment

QualitativeQualitativeAssessmentAssessment

Formative AssessmentFormative AssessmentFormative AssessmentFormative Assessment

Summative Summative AssessmentAssessmentSummative Summative AssessmentAssessment

MQA: Learning OutcomesMQA: Learning Outcomes

Competencies should include mastery of:• A body of knowledge• Practical skills• Social skills and responsibility• Ethics and professionalism• Scientific thought; critical thinking and problem-

solving• Communication skills and teamwork• Information management and life long learning• Entrepreneurship and management

StandardsStandards

Context

(Syllabus)

Learning Outcomes (Bloom’s)

Knowledge/

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

Diploma Year 1 70% 30%

Diploma Year 2

50% 50%

Degree Year 1 50% 50%

Degree Year 2 30% 50% 20%

Degree Year 3 60% 40%

How do we realise the standards?

How do we realise the standards?

AssessmentPlan

Assignments / Coursework

Examinations

What proportion of your assessment would you give to examinations and coursework?

Test BlueprintTest Blueprint

The Test BlueprintThe Test Blueprint

Topics

(Syllabus)

Learning Outcomes (Bloom’s)Total

Knowledge/

Comprehension

Application Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

Q1-E

Q2-E,

Q3-M

Q4-D

Q5-M

Q7-M Q6-M

Q8-M Q9-M

Q10-D

Total 2 7 1

1.List topics to

be tested

2.Decide number

of Qs per topic

3.Decide on the level e.g. Bloom’s Taxonomy

(Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, An

4.Decide on the number of Qs’ per level

5.Decide on difficulty level for each Q

The questions will change, not the

blueprint!

The questions will change, not the

blueprint!

“Factual knowledge is valueless in a culture where Google and Wikipedia are a mouse-click away”

(Elliot, 2008)

A Blueprint ensures…A Blueprint ensures…

• Congruence with teaching & learning plan

• Content validity - test what has been taught

• Assist test setter especially the uninitiated

• Maintain standard of test

• Comparable to other test(s)

21st Century Assessment?21st Century Assessment?

Peer-to-PeerAssessments

Collaboration

Multi-Media / Digital

Distributed

Real-world

TraditionalTraditional EmergingEmerging

Preparing students for professorship / De-contextualised

Training students for real-world action

Lower Order Lower Order ThinkingThinking

Higher Order Higher Order SkillsSkills

Teacher-Assessed Peer-Assessed

Individual Collaborative

Conformity expected Creativity demanded