Abstract
Increased recognition of the important role of assessment in learning has meant that assessment by teachers has taken on new importance in schools and indeed in education systems as a whole. External testing has forced schools to improve their performance and that of their students by striving for externally imposed targets and standards, resulting in a range of negative impacts. Assessment by teachers offers a complementary role to appropriately designed external testing, provided that the teachers involved are engaged and empowered. This chapter reports on the findings of the project entitled Analysis and Review of Innovations in Assessment project (ARIA), which set out to explore various initiatives associated with Assessment for Learning in the four countries of the UK. The project found that many initiatives in developing assessment by teachers are under-designed and there is uncertainty about defining quality in assessment practice. It also identified potentially successful approaches to professional learning and dissemination through a dynamic and complex process that requires commitment from, and empowerment of, teachers and appropriate support from policy-makers, researchers and educational support professionals.
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A third key question, not reported upon here, related to how policy on assessment by teachers needs to change at system level to ensure there is a productive balance between accountability in terms of standards and the quality of student learning.
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The national curricula of England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the same basic structure set out in “key stages” with, for example, Key Stage 3 covering the education of students in the approximate age range 11–14 years.
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It must be emphasized that the dimensions of change outlined in this figure should not be considered as part of a linear sequence, though it does represent the general direction of travel. The process of changing assessment practice may begin with a specifically identified innovation and (ideally) end with the establishment of sustained practice, but the processes in between are highly inter-related and inter-dependent.
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Appendix
Appendix
A List of the Main Projects Reviewed Under the Auspices of ARIA
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Assessment is for Learning (Learning and Teaching Scotland and the Scottish Government)
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Assessing Pupils’ Progress (Key Stage 3) and Monitoring Children’s Progress (Key Stage 2) (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority with the Primary and Secondary National Strategies)
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Assessment for Learning in the Northern Ireland Revised Curriculum (Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), Northern Ireland)
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Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (Queen’s University, Belfast)
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Programme for Developing Thinking and Assessment for Learning (Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Welsh Assembly Government)
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Assessment Programme for Wales: Securing Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 Teacher Assessment (Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Welsh Assembly Government)
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Project e-Scape. Goldsmiths, University of London
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Jersey Actioning Formative Assessment (JAFA) (King’s College London and the Education Department of Jersey)
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King’s Oxfordshire Medway Formative Assessment Project (KMOFAP) (King’s College, London, Oxfordshire LA and Medway LA)
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King’s Oxfordshire Summative Assessment Project (KOSAP) (King’s College, London and Oxfordshire LA)
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Learning How to Learn (University of Cambridge)
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Portsmouth Learning Community Assessment for Learning Strand (Portsmouth LA)
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Summative Teacher Assessments at the End of Key Stage 2 (Birmingham and Oxfordshire LAs)
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Gardner, J., Harlen, W., Hayward, L., Stobart, G. (2011). Engaging and Empowering Teachers in Innovative Assessment Practice. In: Berry, R., Adamson, B. (eds) Assessment Reform in Education. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0729-0_8
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