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The Programme for International Assessment (PISA) is an important cross-national study of 15-year olds academic achievement. Although it has traditionally been conducted using paper-and-pencil tests, the vast majority of countries will use computer-based assessment from 2015. In this paper, we consider how cross-country comparisons of children's skills differ between paper and computer versions of the PISA mathematics test. Using data from PISA 2012, where more than 200,000 children from 32 economies completed both paper and computer versions of the mathematics assessment, we find important and interesting differences between the two sets of results. This includes a substantial drop of more than 50 PISA test points (half a standard deviation) in the average performance of children from Shanghai-China. Moreover, by considering children's responses to particular test items, we show how differences are unlikely to be solely due to the interactive nature of certain computer test questions. The paper concludes with a discussion of what the findings imply for interpretation of PISA results in 2015 and beyond.

The Programme for International Assessment (PISA) is an important cross-national study of 15-year olds academic achievement. Although it has traditionally been conducted using paper-and-pencil tests, the vast majority of countries will use computer-based assessment from 2015. In this paper, we consider how cross-country comparisons of children’s skills differ between paper and computer versions of the PISA mathematics test. Using data from PISA 2012, where more than 200,000 children from 32 economies completed both paper and computer versions of the mathematics assessment, we find important and interesting differences between the two sets of results. This includes a substantial drop of more than 50 PISA test points (half a standard deviation) in the average performance of children from Shanghai-China. Moreover, by considering children’s responses to particular test items, we show how differences are unlikely to be solely due to the interactive nature of certain computer test questions. The paper concludes with a discussion of what the findings imply for interpretation of PISA results in 2015 and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As part of GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) reforms in England, requirements for assessing application in science increased. Setting examination questions in context facilitates testing application as students need to apply what they know and understand to a particular situation. This research explored the nature of the contexts used in reformed GCSE combined science examinations and compared contexts used in a specification which specifically emphasises contextualised learning to those in other specifications. Eight combined science specimen examination papers were selected, including four from GCSE Twenty First Century Science (21C). A qualitative coding frame was used to code each contextualised item. Various strategies for testing in context were present. Contextual features that might risk introducing construct-irrelevant variance were infrequent but may suggest areas for attention in setter training. 21C papers included a higher proportion of items with detailed contexts and a higher proportion of items set in science-related adult/professional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on educational research making considerable progress in describing activities promoting more effective student learning bridging the fields of educational assessment and self regulated learning.

Item banking involves tests being constructed by selecting from a bank of pre-written questions. There are various examples of multiple-choice tests where item banking is used, but few examples involving other question types. This research explored the use of banking with structured questions. Three question writers were asked to construct examination papers using a bank of structured physics questions and were interviewed. Factors considered when constructing examinations included the topic and skills to be assessed, the intended difficulty level of questions, and task type (e.g., definition, explanation, calculation, graph use). Participants' strategies varied with one spending time viewing a range of questions, the second using information about the questions to narrow down which to view, and the third relying mostly on information about the questions. Several issues arose such as challenges around achieving the necessary total mark and potential wastage of questions if the topics in a syllabus change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the historical development of the state's actions in educational assessment in Chile from the nineteenth century to the present day, based on the analysis of governmental decrees and regulations related to assessment, and their variability over time. The research identifies six distinctive periods, each of which expresses a different definition of assessment. In these six periods, the state consistently used assessment as a policy tool, hence this phenomenon is not a new or modern one. That much said, the use by the state of assessment has changed its mode of action and purpose. What is distinctive about the present is not only the way in which the state controls education through assessment by demanding the attainment of standards, but also its underlying educational programme which supports the systemic socialisation and economic integration of subjects, rather than their social socialisation and development as citizens.

High stakes testing in Australia was introduced in 2008 by way of the National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Currently, every year all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are assessed on the same days using national tests in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) and Numeracy. In 2010 the NAPLAN results were published on the Federal Government MySchool website. The impact of these high stakes tests on jurisdictions, school principals, parents and students is considered in this article. We draw on reported observations from the Australian Primary Principals Association during 2009-10 testing periods across the country and published Australian research on the impact of high stakes literacy and numeracy testing. We also examine alternative approaches that include the use of assessment evidence for learning improvement purposes and for accountability purposes. In considering alternatives to the current large-scale testing approach we draw on key insights from research on teacher judgement, achievement standards and social moderation in the context of national curriculum and assessment reform in support of the suggested directions forward. (Contains 1 table.)

While there is clear evidence that using classroom assessment for learning can improve learning significantly, research has demonstrated that it is particularly challenging for secondary teachers to change their practices in an assessment for learning direction. Many factors have been suggested as inhibiting change in these schools. Some studies do link improved student outcomes to changes in teaching brought about through professional development. They suggest that the same factors enhance professional learning in primary and secondary schools. However, the way large secondary schools are organised by subject departments exerts enormous influence on how professional learning in the sector can and should be structured. The results of three success case studies demonstrated the critical impact of school-level factors on changing assessment for learning practices in secondary schools. These factors enabled these three schools to address the departmental constraints and supported cross-curricular professional learning in assessment for learning. (Contains 2 tables.)

The article centres on formative writing assessment with children in the elementary grades. Participants in the investigations included in this special issue represent a span from the very youngest students just learning to write to students in fifth and sixth grades who generally have overcome the barriers of knowing how to encode writing, but who face increased demands for producing discursive, audience adapted texts.

This paper presents a scoping review of, firstly, how teachers use digital technologies for school-based assessment, and secondly, how these assessment-purposed digital technologies are used in teacher- and student-centred pedagogies. It draws on research about the use of assessment-purposed digital technologies in school settings, published from 2009 to 2019 in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. The findings indicate automated marking and computer- and web-based assessment technologies support established school-based assessment practices, and that game-based and virtual/augmented environments and ePortfolios diversify the modes of assessment and the evidence of learning collected. These technologies improve the efficiency of assessment practices in teacher-centred pedagogies and provide latitude to assess evidence of learning from more diverse modes of engagement in student-centred pedagogies. Current research commonly focuses on validating specific technologies and most commonly relates to automated assessment of closed outcomes within a narrow range of learning areas; these limits indicate opportunities for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that the journal "Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice" is looking for proposals on topics related to moderation practice and teacher judgments including online moderation, dependable teacher judgment, and curriculum reform and achievement standards.

The widespread adoption of technology-based assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about the digital divide, given global disparities in digital access, connectivity, and coping strategies. This systematic review was intended to assess how the use of technology-based assessments has affected the education system's functioning in pre-college education, compared to traditional assessments. It covered 34 countries from 34 full-text English sources in 2018–2022. A total of 12 assumptions were tested, corresponding to six hypotheses about the learning, educating, and management facets associated with the use of technology-based assessments. Our findings revealed mixed evidence about technology-based assessments in reducing cheating, enhancing learning, supporting monitoring, improving instruction, and reducing non-teaching workload. However, strong evidence supported the assumptions that technology-based assessments improve measurement precision, interpretability, engagement, interaction, and teacher-parent communication. Limited but positive evidence supported the assumptions that technology-based assessments may reduce the cost and time of test administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the phenomena of overclaiming – the propensity for individuals to claim more knowledge about an issue or topic than they really (or could possibly) do. Using Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data from nine Anglophone countries and over 40,000 young people, we examine teenagers' propensity to claim knowledge of three mathematics constructs that do not really exist. We find substantial differences in young people's tendency to overclaim across countries, genders, and socio-economic groups. Those who are most likely to overclaim are also found to exhibit high levels of overconfidence and believe they work hard, persevere at tasks, and are popular amongst their peers. Together this provides important new insight into overclaiming, how this differs across groups, and how it relates to other psychological constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become one of the key studies for evidence-based education policymaking across the globe. PISA has however received a lot of methodological criticism, including how the test scores are created. The aim of this paper is to investigate the so-called 'conditioning model', where background variables are used to derive student achievement scores, and the impact it has upon the PISA results. This includes varying the background variables used within the conditioning model and analysing its impact upon countries relatively positions in the PISA rankings. Our key finding is that the exact specification of the conditioning model matters; cross-country comparisons of PISA scores can change depending upon the statistical methodology used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic disruptions from COVID-19 have transformed the assessment landscape in Canada and across the world. Alongside repeated shifts to emergency remote teaching, large-scale assessments and summative evaluations were cancelled in many jurisdictions, and repeated concerns were raised about ensuring equity and access to quality education. This paper investigates the rapid – and in many cases innovative – responses teachers offered to these challenges at the height of the pandemic. Drawing on prolonged semi-structured interviews with 17 secondary school teachers in Ontario, Canada, the paper provides a detailed account of Ontario's approach to assessment during COVID-19, exemplified by participants' lived experiences. Results highlight the notion of emergency remote assessment, the vital role of assessment in stemming widening equity and well-being gaps, and emerging consequences from this period. These data offer critical insights into the future of our forever-changed education landscape, and position classroom assessment as a priority player in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on impact of COVID on high-stakes assessment. Topics include underestimating the impact having COVID for physically and emotionally on educational experiences and the mental health and wellbeing of everyone in the education system; and highlighting the different approaches taken to high-stakes assessment across a variety of country contexts during the pandemic.

The principle that 'what you test is what you get' is widely appreciated in education, so conventional examinations--bound by the limits of pen and paper--are often criticised for preventing teachers and students from fully embracing the new opportunities that modern technology provides. In this paper we argue that the need to be fair to students regardless of their schools' technological capabilities, and the requirement to avoid sudden discontinuities so that standards may be compared, may require a transitional period when computer and paper versions of conventional external examinations run in parallel, creating little scope initially for new types of assessment. We outline some of the issues that must be considered and the difficulties that must be overcome before conventional examinations can be computerised, and describe two illustrative cases. We conclude by noting how the computerisation of conventional examinations could lead to substantial changes to the nature of external assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study at the heart of this paper was conducted in 2017 to gather data on Irish post-primary teachers' conceptions of assessment at the time immediately following the introduction of a revised policy for assessment by the Department of Education and Skills (DES). Central to the reform policy was an increased emphasis on formative assessment and a requirement that teachers engage in summative assessment for certification purposes – something that had never applied previously. The paper provides an overview of the literature on teachers' beliefs, including Brown's (2004, 2006) Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Inventory. Data from an implementation of the inventory with 489 Irish teachers are used to consider how they conceive of assessment, how these conceptions compare and contrast with those held by teachers in other jurisdictions where the instrument has been used and how the data might be used to inform policy change and implementation in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of connecting research evidence with practice referred to as evidence-informed practice (EIP) has received considerable critical attention in the field of education. However, assessment literature has failed to fully acknowledge the significance of this issue. This conceptual paper concentrates on the process of informing classroom assessment practices by policy-makers, researchers, and teachers. It draws on the important literature on EIP in education and its scarce literature in assessment to highlight a possible productive relationship between assessment research and practice. The paper aims to propose a set of principles as to address the tension between AfL research and practice by defining the roles of each party in the process based on cultural and contextual issues. Accordingly, a cyclical process of collaborative research conduction is proposed. This process provides policy-makers, researchers and practitioners with important implications for practicing AfL research evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fairness has recently moved into the spotlight as a core foundation of classroom assessment (CA). However, despite its significance for high-quality CA, fairness definitions and theories have been limited in the literature. Driven by the critiques directed at the 'inadequacy' and 'fuzziness' around CA fairness and recommendations to conceptualise fairness particularly for CA contexts, this paper aims to provide an explicit definition of CA fairness. Specifically, this paper brings together current scholarship in organisational justice theory and recent findings from the CA fairness literature to offer a more thorough conceptualisation. This conceptualisation not only presents a distinction between justice and fairness, but also provides a novel discussion of the relationship between justice and fairness with consideration for potential effects on students' learning. The paper concludes with an agenda for further research on CA fairness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The more recent discussion in Ireland around post-primary teachers being responsible for assessing their own students' work continues. The new junior cycle reform (covering the first three years of post-primary education) is concerned with making fundamental changes in approaches to learning, teaching, curriculum and assessment, with school-based assessment as an important element of the reform. This paper sets out to map assessment policy in a changing and contested assessment environment in the Republic of Ireland. The paper tells the story of assessment in junior cycle from the first progress report in 1999 on a review of the curriculum that had been introduced for students in the junior cycle of post-primary schools in 1989 to the 2015 Framework for Junior Cycle. We document the intention to move away from assessment as solely a means of making summative judgements towards assessment as a support of learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educational system in Ghana has undergone various reforms as a result of colonisation, changes in government and constitutional amendments. These reforms have been accompanied by changes in educational assessment programmes. This paper explored the history of educational assessment in Ghana, understanding how educational reforms, colonisation and political accountability have shaped the use of assessment information in contemporary Ghanaian educational context. High-stakes nature of large-scale assessment in Ghana has cultivated infertile ground for teachers' formative assessment practices. Assessment is mainly perceived as serving accountability purposes, obscuring the improvement function (i.e. formative purpose) of assessment in students' learning and fuelling ongoing tensions between classroom assessment and the more visible, higher stakes summative assessments. Research-informed assessment policy and sustained collaborative professional learning about assessment are critical to support a conceptual shift among all educational stakeholders to help them understand, value, and use formative assessment to support the learning needs of every students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher and headteacher assessments and professional development are deemed critical levers for improving quality education in an increasing number of countries and contexts. However, prioritising improvement is not always evident, given that sometimes those subjected to assessments are not effectively informed about their performance (e.g. from national teacher examinations) or how to improve their work via feedback. This paper explores the bridging role of feedback concerning teacher and headteacher assessments and continuing professional development in the Mexican context, where scarce research exists. This mixed-methods research contributes evaluation evidence of Mexico's 2013–2018 education reform, including high-stakes staff assessments and individual feedback reports. Survey data from 122 primary school teachers and headteachers and thirteen interviews with teachers, headteachers and policymakers indicate the feedback report made it difficult to distinguish between poor and proficient performance and identify strengths and weaknesses. Challenges regarding suitable continuing professional development following assessment feedback are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on controversies in educational assessment continue to challenge researchers across countries and regions. Topics include aspiration for a world of peace, prosperity, and dignity where girls and women live free from discrimination; and education systems enhancing equality for all students through the large-scale assessment studies such as PISA.

With the pre-service student portfolio process and product well in hand in a paper-based format, in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) (B.Ed. Primary) at University of Western Sydney (UWS), new horizons have presented themselves. These new possibilities are facilitated but not driven by developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The impetus for this study comes from the changing context in which the students will work and from the rapidly evolving mediums of communication employed by the society these future teachers will serve. With new technologies being developed the use of digital portfolios could give an extra dimension to student learning as well as giving choice and variety to the reporting and presenting of that learning. This paper aims to report on the process of the development of digital portfolios as an alternative method of reporting and presenting student learning, as opposed to the current paper-based portfolios used in Pre-service Teacher Education at UWS. A study of the processes employed by nine students who elected to develop their portfolios digitally was carried out over a three-semester period. This resulted in a procedure that assisted students in using ICT to showcase their learning. The advantages and limitations of the use of such technology and the results of this process during its initial implementation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective diagnostic test can play a key role in language learning, allowing strengths and weaknesses in students' linguistic development to be identified and addressed. This paper describes the online Cambridge English diagnostic test, assessing English grammatical knowledge at A2 level. As most language tests focus on proficiency or achievement, relatively little research into diagnostic assessment has been conducted, and no real agreement exists on what it entails. For learners of approximately 15 years old, the test provides diagnostic feedback on seven grammatical categories at individual and class levels, to improve curriculum and lesson planning and accommodate students' needs. The test was trialled internationally, using surveys and focus groups. This paper outlines the trial and planned modifications for the next version, in addition to implications for wider practice. It should be clarified that this is a first iteration of the diagnostic test, rather than a fully established final model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Test developers and organisations that rely on test scores to make important decisions about students and schools are aggressively embracing computer-based testing. As one example, during the past two years, 16 US states have begun to develop computer-based tests that will be administered to students across their state. Without question computer-based testing promises to improve the efficiency of testing and reduce the costs associated with printing and delivering paper-based tests. Computer-based testing may also assist in providing accommodations to students with special needs. However, differences in prior computer experience and the degree to which items from different content areas can be presented and performed on computer ranges widely. In turn, these factors will have different impacts on the validity of test scores. In this paper, we examine the potential benefits and costs associated with moving current paper-based tests to computer, with a specific eye on how validity might be impacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the exponential increase in the volume of data available in the 21st century, data literacy skills have become vitally important in work places and everyday life. This paper provides a systematic review of available data literacy assessments targeted at different audiences and educational levels. The results can help researchers and practitioners better understand the current state of data literacy assessments in terms of issues related to 1) educational levels and audiences; 2) data literacy definitions and competencies; 3) assessment types and item formats; and 4) reliability and validity evidence. The results from the present review led us to conclude that teaching and assessing data literacy is still an emerging field in education. Therefore, high-quality assessment tools are greatly needed to provide valuable insights for students and instructors to monitor progress as well as facilitate and support teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following sustained discussion regarding the relationship between advanced mathematics and science learning in England, the government has pursued a reform agenda in which mathematics is embedded in national, high stakes A-level science qualifications and their assessments for 18-year-olds. For example, A-level Chemistry must incorporate the assessment of relevant mathematics for at least 20% of the qualification. Other sciences have different mandated percentages. This embedding policy is running in parallel with an adding policy that is encouraging all young people to include the study of mathematics to 18. In this paper, we present a detailed scrutiny of the published sample assessment materials in the new A-level Physics, Chemistry and Biology qualifications in order to consider what the impact of this policy move might be for the teaching and learning of mathematics, its applications in upper secondary school advanced science studies and the implications in the transition to mathematically-demanding undergraduate studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a procedure measuring student competencies in numeracy using school-based assessments, and demonstrates how the procedure informs the school system on quality improvement. The sample consisted of 7648 students, attending three different types of urban schools including government, formal private and low cost private in poor informal settlements in Kenya. The numeracy tool measures six curriculum outcome areas. Each outcome area is defined by 2–11 measured items based on the emphasis given to an area in the curriculum. Within each of the outcome areas, items are also hypothesised to measure categories of the cognitive domain of learning. Using the Rasch, we examine the item difficulties, person location and differential item functioning. The paper provides important implications to provision of evidence to inform teaching in poor urban informal settlements in Kenya and this can also be replicated in other sub-Saharan African countries. Abbreviations: APHRC: African Population and Health Research Center; CTT: Classical Test Theory; DIF: Differential Item Functioning; ICC: Item Characteristics Curve; INMS: Infit Mean Square; IRT: Item Response Theory; PASEC: Programme d'Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la Confemen/ The Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems; QUEST: The interactive test analysis system (software); RUMM: Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Models (software); SACMEQ: Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality; SSA: Sub-Saharan Africa [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper starts with an analysis of the twin purposes of an examination reform programme originally launched in Kenya during the 1970s: first, to broaden the spectrum of cognitive skills being tested; and second, to set up a feedback system based on the performance profiles, providing schools and teachers with guidance as to how pedagogy and learning might be strengthened. Then, in a change of time perspective, the paper looks back over 30 years of implementation experience, examining the reasons why some components of the original programme have proved more sustainable than others. A final section discusses three key issues which have emerged in recent years, and considers their implications for policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT In the context of a broader research study on the intercultural understanding of teachers in Australia, Japan and Thailand, this paper focuses on approaches to learning and the role of assessment in shaping such approaches. Popular contrasts portray Asian learners as compliant and favouring rote memorisation and Western learners as independent and favouring deep, conceptual learning. Yet Asian students frequently outperform theft Western counterparts in competitive tests purported to measure higher cognitive skills. Biggs and his associates have challenged the stereotypical view of Asian students as rote learners as a Western misperception. But data from the present cross-cultural study suggest it is more than a Western misperception, being shared by teachers in Japan and Thailand. With this background, this paper then explores the role of assessment through an analysis of examination papers in the three countries at the high stakes, year 12 level. This analysis of the ways in which knowledge and comprehension are assessed identifies different practices across cultures but not ones corresponding to the rhetoric on contrasting approaches to learning. Rather it concludes that assessment tasks classified superficially as comprehension can be approached through memorisation and conversely, those often classified as memorisation can require careful reading, thought and interpretation, while drawing from an extensive knowledge base. A shared understanding of the nature of assessment tasks in different cultures thus has the potential to dissolve the demarcation of culturally embedded learning styles and to enhance deep learning grounded in specialist knowledge for scholars, be they students or teachers, in all cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment systems reward certainty and thrive on predictability. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has punished our assessment systems severely for over reliance on controlled premises for our high stakes assessment, and this should compel us to re-examine the reliance on certainty and control in our assessment policies and reforms. Singapore is a useful context to examine such re-examination of assessment imperatives on a national scale. The city-state typically orchestrates its major policy reform with great discipline, standardisation, and detailed co-ordination. However, such qualities may not be ideal for its assessment reform needs in the post-pandemic future. Three recent assessment reforms are examined as examples of pre-pandemic assessment policies predicated on certainty. This paper discusses whether such reforms are fit for post-pandemic purpose(s), and argues for shifting the emphasis of assessment from securing examination reliability to developing learners' assessment resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this article is to explore the notion of pupil feedback and the possible ways in which it can be understood and developed using Jürgen Habermas’ theory of Communicative Action. The theoretical position adopted is framed within the concept of assessment for learning, and is particularly related to the notion of assessment as learning within AfL. Furthermore, the paper is located within a social constructivist perspective. Jürgen Habermas’ theory of Communicative Action enables us to recognise that feedback, and more importantly the interpretation of feedback, cannot be a one-way process. Without recognition of pupil interpretation, its very purpose (to alter the learning gap) is compromised. This paper offers new ways of exploring feedback, which recognise complexity and the importance of interpretation and relationships in shared negotiated communicative contexts. It further contributes to the ways in which assessment and learning are understood and intersect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses topics within the issue including early highly centralised education system of Chile, historical development of educational assessment in Chile, and educational effectiveness in Chilean secondary education.

Drawing on Kane's argument-based approach to validity and Toulmin's later work on cosmopolitanism and diversity, this paper asks whose validity arguments and evidence are being presented in International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs), where and when. With a case study of the OECD's PISA for Development, we demonstrate that validity arguments are assembled, negotiated and transformed by the network of actors. We claim that the challenge of ILSAs is not to establish a single authoritative argument through the displacement of plural interpretations and uses. Instead, the tasks of an argument-based approach should be to create a democratic space in which legitimately diverse arguments and intentions can be recognized, considered, assembled and displayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the Core Mathematics assessment of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Ghana for Depth of Knowledge and Context Characteristics over a 20-year period. In all, 1245 assessment items were analysed. The results indicated that nearly 80% of the items assessed students’ ability to either recall basic facts or perform straightforward routine procedures. In terms of the context characteristics, the results showed that about 70% of the items was framed within abstract context, with about 15% each framed within semi-reality and real-life reference contexts, respectively. Overall, the results indicated that the nature of the WASSCE Core Mathematics has not changed much over the 20-year period in terms of depth of knowledge and context characteristics. Implications of the results for teaching and learning of school mathematics, as well as recommendations for the Ministry of Education and WAEC, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores policy and practice in assessment in developing countries in anglophone Africa in the context of globalisation. A simple interpretation of some globalisation theory suggests that there should be a convergence in the form and content of assessment following on from innovations in practice in metropolitan countries, in this case England. The analysis of assessment instruments shows that there has indeed been some convergence across the nine African cases examined, but that this is not best explained by the adoption of innovations current in the metropole. More powerful explanations are grounded in the structural similarity between the African systems. Amongst other things this leads to gaps between the rhetoric of assessment reform and the reality of assessment practice. These persist despite consistent projections in the assessment literature (both national and international) and in externally supported curriculum and assessment projects of what should be valued, what should be assessed, and what may be relevant to future employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the processes of regulation of student learning that are associated with formative assessment in the classroom. It discusses the concept of co-regulation and presents a model of co-regulation developed in a situated perspective on classroom learning. This model conceptualises co-regulated learning as resulting from the joint influence of student self-regulation and of sources of regulation in the learning environment: namely, the structure of the teaching/learning situation, the teacher's interventions and interactions with students, the interactions between students, and the tools used for instruction and for assessment. Examples of research showing how co-regulation functions are discussed, in particular students' use of tools for self-assessment and peer assessment, and the role of teacher–student interactions that encourage active student participation in formative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details a two-stage process for standard setting using an extended pairwise comparison method. It describes the application of a new process of establishing a set of scaled and ordered performances as a basis for exemplifying standards. In stage one, the method of pairwise comparison was used to generate data from pairwise judgements made at the criterion level and overall grade. In stage two, judges identified where the pass/fail boundary lay in relation to a selected subset of ordered performances generated from stage one. The combined evidence from the two-stage process demonstrates the method's application to establish exemplified standards using on-balance judgements across multiple criteria. The approach combines expert judgement and statistical data to provide a basis for comparable cross-institution assessments against standards in the case of a summative assessment of professional competence in teacher education. It may be relevant to any discipline with professional standards and complex performance assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of internal assessment within GCSE qualifications has always aroused controversy, primarily because of concerns about the authorship of students' work. This has led to tighter controls and a reduction in its use over the last decade. The paper argues that the focus on the authentication of student work has neglected other aspects of fairness, such as ensuring that assessments elicit students' best performance. Students' accounts can contribute to our understanding of test fairness by showing what affects their performance and how these assessments are enacted within their contexts. The paper draws on a study which surveyed 1600 GCSE students and held focus groups with 128 others in Northern Ireland and Wales, in addition to data from the WISERDEducation multi-cohort study. A number of factors, including the assessment environment, reportedly affected students' performance. According to student comments, the ways in which the assessment guidelines were enacted varied considerably between contexts, with significant fairness implications. Abbreviations: CCEA: Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment; GCSE: General Certificate of Secondary Education; FG: Focus Group; FSM: Free School Meals; NI: Northern Ireland; UK: United Kingdom; UNCRC: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; US: United States; WJEC: Welsh Joint Education Committee [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial body of research suggests that young people's emotions – both positive and negative – are linked to a wide range of future outcomes. This paper contributes to this literature by investigating the link between young people's positive and negative emotions and their performance in high-stakes examinations. Using Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data from England linked to the National Pupil Database (NPD), I investigate how 15-year-olds positive affect, negative affect and fear of failure is associated with the grades they achieve in high-stakes examinations. I find that low levels of positive affect – i.e. pupils rarely feeling happy, lively and cheerful – is associated with a 0.10–0.15 standard deviation reduction in young people's examination grades. On the other hand, little evidence is found of a substantive link between negative affect or fear of failure and examination performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formative assessment is an important driver in supporting children's writing development. This paper describes a writing rubric designed for use by teachers to formatively assess the writing of children in Pre-K to Grade 2, how the rubric was received by teachers, and its implementation in classrooms. Writing samples from 337 children in 33 classrooms in 7 schools in the Write to Read literacy improvement project were scored on conventions, organisation, ideas, word choice and voice. Agreement among raters was good as overall weighted Kappa values at each grade level ranged from.62 to.80. Confirmatory factor analysis supported three- and five-factor models. Coaches endorsed use of the rubric for providing formative feedback to students, identifying learning needs, and differentiating instruction. They highlighted how the rubric provides a framework through which teachers and students engage with the language of writing assessment and raise expectations about writing quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented with topics including importance of assessment in teacher education and self-reports on the development of assessment competence, need for teachers to account for student learning, and increasing emphasis on teaching standards and accountability.

New evidence presented in this paper shows that existing accounts of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in developing countries underestimate both progress and inequality because they do not take into account the large proportion of 15–16-year olds who are ineligible for the PISA sampling frame, primarily due to dropout or delay. In such countries, who makes it into PISA (sample eligibility) heavily influences representivity and therefore the interpretation of PISA results. We use PISA in Turkey 2003–2012 as a case study to show how combining measures of access (from the Turkish Demographic and Health Surveys) and learning outcomes (from PISA) can account for changes in the underlying population. We find the percentage of 15–16-year olds reaching Level 2 in PISA is up to twice as large as that reflected in official PISA reports. These findings have strong implications for inter-country and inter-temporal comparisons using PISA, particularly for developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]