Towards
an
agenda
for
professional
development
in
assessment
Michael
O’Leary
*
St Patrick’s
College,
Ireland
Introduction
Assessment as
integral
to good
teaching
and
learning
has come to be accepted as a
core principle
underlying
curricula in many educational systems around the world.
Indeed, the evidence that
high
quality
assessment
can make a big
difference
to pupil
achievement, especially
the low achievers, is
mounting
up (see, for
example,
Black &
Wiliam, 1998) and provides a strong
justification
for those who promote assessment
in schools. However, it
seems
that
many
teachers’
assessment skills
(what we
may
call
teachers’ assessment literacy) need to be improved. I will begin this paper by exam-
ining some of the
international
evidence for the last assertion and then proceed to
outline
an
agenda
for
professional development
in
assessment
that
acknowledges
the
place of both classroom assessment and official assessment in supporting teaching
and learning.
Assessment literacy
According to Black and Wiliam (1998), ‘there is a wealth of research evidence that
the everyday practice of assessment in classroom is beset with problems and short-
comings …’ (p. 5).
Among
the problems they found in reports from countries such
as Belgium, Canada, England and France were
marking
that
failed
to
offer
guidance
for
improvement,
poorly defined
criteria
to support
judgements,
tests that encourage
rote learning, quantity and presentation of work rather than quality in relation to
learning,
use of
approaches where pupils
are
compared
to one another, a focus on fill-
ing records rather than
analysing
pupils’ work, a lack of attention to the assessment
records or practices of other
teachers
in the
same
school,
little engagement
in critique
of what is assessed or the methods used. They also found
evidence
of lip
service
being
paid to
classroom assessment
and a
belief
that it was
unrealistic
in
present
educational
contexts
(Canada). The work of the
Assessment Reform
Group
over
the past six years
suggests
that the assessment
literacy
is still
firmly
on the agenda in the UK (see, for
* St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland. Email: michael.oleary@spd.dcu.ie
example, Black et
al
.
2003). Concerns about
assessment
practice also lie at the heart
of the
Assessment
Is
for
Learning
initiative
in Scotland (Hutchinson & Hayward,
2005;
Simpson,
2006).
The situation in the Republic of Ireland is no better. Ten years ago the Irish
National Teachers’
Organisation
called for a
comprehensive programme
of in-career
development
in
assessment
(INTO,
1997). A
number
of recent
evaluations
of a new
primary
school
curriculum
introduced into
primary
schools in 1999
highlight
assess-
ment
as an
area requiring ‘significant attention
and
improvement’
(DES Inspectorate,
2005a, p. 51). The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s
(NCCA)
Primary
curriculum
review noted that
teachers themselves
indicated ‘a need to increase
their knowledge
of and
competencies
in
assessment
of student progress’ and that they
‘requested greater advice on the use of different assessment tools and resources’
(NCCA,
2005a, p. 248). Problems with respect to assessment practice are also
discussed in two
reports
on
literacy
in
disadvantaged schools
(Eivers et
al
.,
2004;
DES
Inspectorate,
2005b).
Given the
high profile
of
testing
and
assessment
in the US it is
somewhat
surprising
to discover that
teachers
there are no more
skilled
in
classroom assessment
than their
counterparts elsewhere.
The
assessment literacy
of
teachers
has been an
ongoing
issue
in that country for many years (see, for example, Popham, 2004) with many states
not requiring competence in assessment as part of teacher certification standards
(Stiggins, 1999). Indeed, classroom
assessment
has been described as the ‘stepchild
of the
measurement
community’ in the US—the
argument
being that measurement
expertise
is devoted to
developing
sophisticated paper-and-pencil tests
rather
than to
teacher
professional development
in
assessment
(Stiggins,
2000).
An
agenda
for
professional development
We know there are problems with respect to many teachers’ assessment literacy.
Therefore, a
prerequisite
for
having
a sound
assessment
practices
system operating
in
our schools is that we put in place a plan to
ensure
all teachers become
highly
skilled
in classroom assessment. Below I provide a list of topics that I feel should be part of
a comprehensive programme of professional development in assessment. When
compiling
this list I drew on some of the key
international literature
on assessment
(Schaeffer, 1991; Stiggins, 1995, 1997, 1999; Gipps, 1996; Black & Wiliam,
1998;
Campbell Hill et
al
.,
1998; Clarke, 1998; Cowie & Bell, 1999; Tombari & Borich,
1999; Shepard, 2000; McMillan, 2001; ARG, 2002; Black et
al
.,
2003;
Hall
& Burke,
2003; Nitko, 2004; Wiliam et
al
.,
2004; Airasian, 2005). While I also used a number
of documents relevant to the Irish primary schooling (NCCA 1990, 1993,
2002,
2004, 2005a,b; INTO, 1997; Hall, 2000; Working Group on Primary Preservice
Teacher Education, 2002), my aim was to
develop
an
agenda
that
might
also be rele-
vant
beyond
the Irish
context. Moreover, no
assumption
is
being made
that classroom
teachers are
the
only
ones in need of
professional development
in assessment. The list
of topics
might
also
serve
as a
useful guide
for other
educational professionals
wishing
to up-skill in this area.
The task of
improving
assessment literacy is a formidable one, as the number of
topics in Table 1
suggests.
Indeed, one of the
key planning
decisions that would have
to be made is how these topics could be prioritised and how a balance can be struck
between the
assessment
needs of teachers at the pre-service, induction and in-career
stages of their professional lives. In Ireland and in the UK the work of the
NCCA
(2005b) and the King’s Medway/Oxfordshire Formative Assessment Project (Black
Table 1. A menu of topics for
professional development programmes
in assessment
Topic Focus
Assessment terminology
and concepts
The role of
assessment
in
learning
and teaching
The
terminology,
concepts and key
principles
teachers, inspectors,
in-service providers and teacher educator should understand.
The
implications
of the phrase
assessment
is
integral
to teaching and
learning
for
classroom
practice.
Distinguishing
between assessment
of
learning
and
assessment
for learning.
Sizing up assessment The
nature
and
long lasting effects of assessments teachers carry
out
in the first two weeks of the school year.
Planning
assessments The
importance
of
identifying
key
learning
outcomes across the
different
subject areas and
matching
them to
assessment
methods/
tools.
Assessment during
the
teaching
and learning
process
Observation as an
assessment
tool
Paper-and-pencil
assessments
of achievement
The nature, potential and conduct of
formative
assessment
including
provision for appropriate feedback. Assessment
approaches that can be
integrated
with
ongoing teaching
and
learning
to
improve
achievement.
The
nature
of
informal observation
in classrooms.
Planning
for and
conducting
systematic
observations.
The role of teacher made tests and
external assessments
of
achievement
in
teaching
and
learning.
Planning,
constructing
and
administering
tests;
using
test
data.
Performance
assessments Using hands-on tasks to assess and
improve learning
processes.
The
assessment
of pupil
dispositions
Assessing
cross-curricular
skills
Standardised testing of
academic achievement
Approaches to
assessing
student attitudes. Using
assessment
to
motivate pupils and to develop positive attitudes and interests.
Approaches to
assessing problem-solving,
critical
thinking,
and
reasoning
proficiency.
Interpreting
standardised test results. The role of standardised
testing in
teaching
and learning.
Pupil self-assessment Using portfolios, rubrics, self-report instruments, peer assessment
and pupil
involved parent/teacher meetings
to develop self-
assessment
skills.
Interpreting
assessment
information
Assessment
and
differentiation
Assessment
and digital
technology
Recording assessment
information
Making
judgements
about the
quality
of pupil work across the
curriculum. Identifying
standards of work at
different
achievement
levels.
How
assessment
can be used to help cater for the
range
of pupil
achievements.
How
technology
can be used to gather, record and report
assessment
information.
The
advantages
and
disadvantages
of the
recording
choices
available
to teachers and schools.
Table 1.
(Continued)
Topic Focus
Assessment
in the early
years context
Identifying key learning targets
in the
early
years.
Using
assessment
for the
early
identification of
learning
difficulties. Assessment
methods for the
early
years.
Grading Issues and
challenges
when
grading, making grading
procedures
explicit, report card writing.
Communicating
assessment
information
The
challenge
of
communicating
about
achievement
with pupils,
other teachers, parents, educational
psychologists,
the
inspectorate,
etc.
Ethical and
legal
issues Misuses of assessment. Equity issues.
Implications
of government
legislation
for
assessment
in schools.
et
al
.,
2003) provide
valuable
clues about possible
assessment
priorities. Five assess-
ment strategies
in
particular seem
to
provide
good
opportunities for successful
profes-
sional development:
sharing learning
intentions and success criteria, comment only
feedback, questioning, the formative use of summative tests and student peer and
self-assessment.
We know from the educational change literature that the content of assessment
change
as sketched out in Table 1 must not be confused from the process of assess-
ment change (e.g. Fullan, 1991). One of the key developments in terms of the
latter has been a move towards teacher learning communities (also called profes-
sional learning teams). Deriving from research that indicates teacher professional
development is more effective when it is school embedded, cooperative and
sustained over time, these communities of teachers are organised within and/or
across schools and focus on improving practice over time through the sharing of
knowledge, experience and expertise. A growing literature on the practice and
impact of these communities is becoming available (see, for example, Richardson,
2001; Hutchinson & Hayward, 2005; NCCA, 2005b; Lyon et
al
.,
2006; Thompson
& Goe, 2006; Wiliam & Thompson,
2006).
Conclusion
In this paper I
have attempted
to
outline
a
programme
of work for
professional
devel-
opment in assessment. This
programme
is now offered as a model for debate and
discussion. There is no doubt that addressing the assessment needs of teachers will
involve considerable financial
costs. For
example, Wiliam
et
al
.
(2004) report that the
one-off cost of
providing
in-depth
professional development
in
assessment
for learn-
ing in the UK amounted to
approximately
£2000.
So while we
might agree
on what
needs to be done in the
general
sense, the specifics of what can be done in a practical
sense
may
well be decided
using financial criteria rather
than educational ones.
That
said, if scarce
resources
are to be used, we must
encourage
our
educational leaders
to
target assessments
that will raise the
achievement
of all our students. We have never
before
been so conscious of the
importance
of
assessment
to good
teaching
and learn-
ing in the classroom. It is now up to us all to do
something
positive about
it.
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