Assessing the way ahead
Assessment is one of the most talk about issues in education. Everyone has a stake - from pupils and teachers to parents and schools. But what's the right way to assess pupils and the preformance of a school? Has the balance swung too far in the direction of external testing and targets?
Martin Prestage weighs the arguments.
Back to basics is a scary call to make in education, with its visions of chalkboards and a golden age of quietened children meekly learning. But back to basics in assessment might be no bad thing, the GTC believes.
"We need a fundamental review of the whole purpose of assessment," says GTC Chief Executive Carol Adams. "We need to go back to basic questions, such as: what do pupils need to help them best with their learning? What information is most helpful to parents who want to be involved in their child's education?" Such a review needs to encompass key stages 1 to 3, not withstanding the current KS3 review. Following the Tomlinson review, the lines of debate at KS4 are well drawn.
The GTC sees three major components for a future system of assessment.
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Teachers use a bank of nationally devised tests when pupils are ready.
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Formative and summative assessment are used side-by-side to better support learning, enrich public information and increase the accountability of schools.
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National standards are monitored through cohort sampling of pupils.
Jargon guide
Back in 1988, the Task Group on Assessment and Testing said that assessment should be:
Formative - so that positive achievements may be recognised and discussed and the appropriate next steps may be planned,
Summative - for the recording of the overall achievement of a pupil in a systematic way
