The present and future of

assessment systems

About the Group

City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development (CSD)

The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM)

City & Guilds NPTC

City & Guilds

Our vital statistics

What is an International Vocational Qualification?Competence-based awards that combine underpinning knowledge with practical assessment designed for use internationally with generic occupational standards. Holders of an IVQ can practise and work effectively at the level achieved.

Europass Certificate Europass Certificate SupplementCity & Guilds is the first UK awarding body to launch the Europass Certificate SupplementProvides additional information to a vocational certificate by describing skills City & Guilds graduates have obtainedEasier for learners to find employment or training beyond borders of their own countryHelps employers choose the best candidate to work for their organisation

Seven things that might makean assessment system work

What is an assessment system?A collection of exams, tests and qualifications.During schooling (~11 or 14)accountability testing: whole cohort or samplingEnd of schooling (~16+ and 18+)academic qualifications/university entrance examsVocational qualificationsAlternative to academic path in schools; workplace qualifications, licence to practice

Complications Not always a national systemRegional involvement (eg Poland, Switzerland, Spain)Globalisation is becoming a featureInternational systems (PISA, TIMSS) influence countries (Norway, Germany)International, private-sector providers becoming more prominent (IB; Microsoft)Doesnt have to be examinationsTeacher assessment (TA) can have major roleMany countries have mixture of exams and TA (Netherlands, Queensland Aus)Lots of different systems; lots of change within systemsWhat makes a system successful?

Seven things that mightmake an assessment system workHave regard to history, traditions and future.Involve people in decision making.Specify what the system is for.Try to make a fair and balanced system.Get the best technical experts to design it.Acknowledge that it can never be perfect.Support it.

Have regard to history, traditions and future needsPolicy learning is better than policy borrowingUK government Numeracy Strategy 1998 influenced by mathematics teaching in TaiwanBut English kids are different to Far Eastern kidsWhat works in one culture unlikely to work in another, unless very careful attention to context

Involve people in decision makingSimple ideaStakeholders (teachers, parents, employers, children and young people) have a point of view and insightsIf they can express their views, they are more likely to accept the system

Specify what the system is forPurposes can get loaded onto an assessment system over timeDont overload your assessment systemNational curriculum assessment (England)1988 started with four purposes2007 it had 22 purposesPurposes can work against each otheregProvide formative feedback to pupils (teachers highlight pupils weaknesses)Evaluate teaching quality and publish league tables (teachers hide pupils weaknesses)

A fair and balanced systemEnglish schools exam and test results are published in league tablesEncourages the idea of competition, winners and losersAlso gives teachers a natural reason to oppose the national testing systemTeachers supporters (unions, academics) campaigned against the tests for many yearsAlienating major group of stakeholders makes it more difficult for the system to succeed

Technical design ofassessment systemsAssessments are sophisticated technologiesReasonable to demand that technical experts set them upExpect transparency, but also sophisticated measurement scienceEinstein: as simple as possible, but no simpler

It can never be perfect Human beings are complex.Assessment provides a usable summary of a humans abilities.Error is inherent in assessment. For example:Strict and lenient markersStrict or lenient awarding panelSelection of questions in a testCandidate has a good day or a bad dayGood assessment systems can reduce the amount of error, but not eliminate it entirely.Users have to have realistic expectations of what assessment systems can do.

Support the systemA beautiful English summer sportAn ugly English summer sportMany commentators criticise assessment systemspoliticians, journalists, academics, teachers, parents, union leaders, former education advisorsAll parts of the systemnational tests, school-leaving exams, vocational qualificationsFrom variety of perspectives (eg different political viewpoints)It is important to report problems with qualifications systemsBut we also need balanceWhat is reasonable for a qualifications system?Error is inherent, practical problems will crop up.Are things better elsewhere in the world?Did the good old days ever exist?A qualification is a currency like money.It is only valuable if people trust it.Commentators need to give the benefit of the doubt to young people and education as a public good.

A vision of the future

Randy Bennett's Re-inventionBennett is a leading researcher from Educational Testing Services, USAHas done a lot to define electronic assessment (e-assessment)Re-invention is a blue skies thinking paperFreely available on the internetQuite short, non-technicalWritten in the late 1990sNot necessarily correct, but inspirational and visionaryInvites readers to formulate their own responses

The situation nowLarge-scale testing unchanged for many yearsServe institutional purposesMake little use of technologyBased on dated psychological modelsImpact of wider economyIntensified competitionNational and global competitorsNeed for: innovation, productivity, customer servicePopulations are becoming more diverse expect products and services to reflect this.

Three generations of e-assessment (1)

Three generations of e-assessment (2)

Three generations of e-assessment (3)

Some aspects of generation R (1)Computerized assessments will be embedded in the school curriculum and occur frequently. Sometimes an assessment will be made known in advance; at other times with informed consent it will simply be embedded seamlessly in the session and be indistinguishable from the instructional components of that session.

Some aspects of generation R (2)In the current model, large-scale tests are too often divorced from schooling in both content and delivery. By virtue of moving assessment into the curriculum, the locus of the debate over performance differences must logically shift from the accuracy of assessment to the adequacy of instruction.

Some aspects of generation R (3) Assessment runs the risk of falling out of synch on multiple counts, Change, unfortunately, does not always come easily or as quickly as it should to well-established institutions. But large-scale educational assessment must change in the most fundamental ways, for nothing short of reinvention will prepare it to meet the dramatically different demands it will soon face.

City & Guilds the UKs leading vocational awarding body The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) specialists in management qualifications and membershipCity & Guilds NPTC the biggest name in land-based qualifications and licences to practiseCity & Guilds Centre for Skills Development - In consultation with other members of the vocational education and training community, City & Guilds has recognised the need for an independent skills research and development body that will act to inform and influence international policy and practice. The City & Guilds Institute is dedicated to improving vocational learning and practice through research and development. Our aim is to raise economic and social prosperity for people, organisations and nations. We will use research and dialogue to encourage engagement, influence policy and create strong networks wherever possible. Improving the design, delivery and assessment of vocational skills internationally will be fundamental to this process. 130 Years experience City & Guilds have been established since 187899% of employers recognise City & Guilds brand Statistic from a study that Edexcel commissioned this year and published with CBI UK employers only.2million learners registered with us each year 20,000+ tutors registered to SmartScreen80,000+ pages of online support materials for tutors and learners80% online test taken

Information from Annual Review, New ventures, Corporate Brochure and Welcome pack Strategy slideAs barriers to workforce mobility break down around the world, more and more learners are using their City & Guilds certificates to find work outside their own country. Employers and learners are both looking for a tool to make the widening range of qualifications easily understood across national systems and the Europass Certificate Supplement will help them achieve just that.

The Europass Certificate Supplement provides additional information to a vocational certificate by describing the skills City & Guilds graduates have obtained. It makes it easier for learners to find employment or training beyond the borders of their own country and helps employers choose the best candidate to work for their organisation. City & Guilds is the first UK awarding body to launch the Europass Certificate Supplement.

www.cityandguilds.com/europassIntroduction page click on the words you want to replaceIntroduction page click on the words you want to replace