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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.

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.

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 0.62 to 0.80. 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.

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.

This article focuses on how assessment practices are used by teachers to develop and maintain their own professional standing -- how assessment works for them as professionals and the work they must do with it to be successful. Reporting on an empirical study involving interviews with 12 primary Key Stage 2 (7-11 years) teachers and using an analysis focused on teachers' accumulation of capital through their work, the paper examines how teachers construct assessment data in particular, often carefully managed, ways. This, in turn, subjectifies both pupils and the teachers themselves in ways which create tensions in practice. The paper argues that high-stakes accountability through assessment is unlikely to be helpful in two ways: firstly, it does not actually do what teachers claim in accurately measuring pupils' progress; secondly, that it is likely to lead to pedagogy that has negative effects on them as learners.

This paper describes the enlargement of the initial conception of formative assessment with reference to constructivist, sociocultural and situated theories of learning and the concept of co-regulation. It reviews research on student involvement in formative assessment practices (self-assessment, peer assessment, whole-class discussions of criteria and exemplars) in the area of writing, with a focus on primary school classrooms. Student participation in the co-construction of formative assessment is illustrated by qualitative observations from a study of a writing activity carried out in grades 5 and 6. The observations are discussed in relation to findings from other research and implications are presented for teacher professional development and for future studies of formative assessment of writing.

This paper reports on the evaluation of the final year of a three-year professional learning intervention underpinned by a student-centred model of feedback. School leaders, teachers, and students in 13 Australian state schools participated in the research. The professional learning was contextualised in Year 3 English, with a focus on writing. Data from school leader, teacher and student interviews, researcher field notes, classroom observations and student assessments were analysed to evaluate the impact of the intervention. Findings show the professional learning intervention was positively valued by teachers and school leaders. Evidence from multiple sources suggests that although there was variability in the nature of implementation, teachers and school leaders overall reported substantial changes to knowledge, skills, and classroom practices. Importantly, the results highlight substantial improvements in student self-regulation and writing achievement, providing evidence of the intervention's positive impact.

Currently, kindergarten education is shaped by two priorities: (1) the recognition that early learning must maintain a developmental orientation and support socio-personal growth; and (2) a growing emphasis on standards-based curriculum and the use of assessment to support children's learning. While some researchers have argued these two priorities are counter-related, research demonstrates the potential to embed these goals through play-based pedagogies. The purpose of this paper is to explore how kindergarten teachers leverage assessment practices, particularly Assessment as Learning (AaL), to support children learning within play-based classrooms. Centrally, we argue that a focus on AaL and self-regulation might be the fulcrum that hinges play-pedagogies with standards-based education and assessment mandates, helping to diminish the divide between these two priorities. Data are drawn from 20 kindergarten classrooms via initial interviews, observations and video-elicitation teacher interviews. Findings identify how kindergarten teachers are productively using assessment to promote learner independence within play-based classrooms.

This paper engages with debates about whether comprehensive prior specification of criteria and standards is sufficient for informed professional judgement. A preoccupation has emerged with the specificity and explication of criteria intended to regulate judgement. This has resulted in criteria compliance in the use of defined standards to validate judgements and improve reliability and consistency. Compliance has become a priority, the consequence being the prominence of explicit criteria, to the lack of acknowledgement of the operation of latent and meta-criteria within judgement practice. This paper examines judgement as a process involving three categories of assessment criteria in the context of standards-referenced systems: explicit, latent and meta-criteria. These are understood to be wholly interrelated and interdependent. A conceptualisation of judgement involving the interplay of the three criteria types is presented with an exploration of how they function to focus or alter assessments of quality in judgements of achievement in English and Mathematics. (Contains 1 figure.)

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.

In this paper, we present and discuss the results of a systematic review of concept mapping-based interventions in primary and secondary science education. We identified the following recommendations for science educators on how to successfully apply concept mapping as a method for formative assessment: firstly, concept mapping should be constructed in teaching, preferably on repeated occasions. Secondly, concept mapping should be carried out individually if personal understanding is to be elicited; however, collaborative concept mapping might foster discussions valuable for developing students' understanding and for activating them as instructional resources and owners of their own learning. Thirdly, low-directed mapping seems most suitable for formative assessment. Fourthly, technology-based or peer assessments are useful strategies likely to reduce the load of interpretation for the educator and are compatible with timely feedback. Finally, elaboration should be part of the feedback, activating students as the owners of their own learning.

In England accountability measures have often been used to steer school behaviour in pursuit of policy goals. In 2010, the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was introduced to increase uptake of traditional academic subjects at GCSE. These subjects, it was argued, would enhance students' future prospects, in part because they are favoured at A-level by high-ranking universities. However, such prospects are only likely to be accessible for students who achieve at least a grade C in these subjects since it is good grades that act as the primary gatekeepers for entry into higher education and employment. Hence, this paper seeks to problematise this claim using multilevel regression models to investigate the relationship between EBacc uptake and attainment. The findings are used to frame a discussion about the merits of encouraging more students to take the EBacc given the growing tension between the need to achieve good grades and the government-held view that all students should be studying this academic core.

Exploiting the potential that Assessment for Learning (AfL) offers to optimise student learning is contingent on both teachers' knowledge and use of AfL and the fidelity with which this translates into their daily classroom practices. Quantitative data derived from the use of an Assessment for Learning Audit Instrument (AfLAI) with a large sample (n = 594) across 42 primary schools in the Republic of Ireland serve to deprivatise teachers' knowledge and use of AfL and the extent to which AfL is embedded in their work. The data confirm that there is urgent need for high-quality teacher professional development to build teacher assessment literacy. However, fiscal constraints coupled with the fractured nature of current provision renders it impossible to offer sustained support on a national scale in the immediate term. In response, this paper proposes the adoption of a design-based implementation research approach to site-based collaborations between researchers, teachers and other constituent groups, such as that engaged in by the authors over recent years, as a mechanism for addressing teachers' needs in a manner that also supports other participants' professional interests.

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 investigates the validity of a national, standards-based teacher evaluation programme by examining the relationship between teachers' evaluation results and their students' learning progress. We used census achievement data that assessed the same cohort of students at the end of 8th and 10th grade. We applied multilevel modelling and calculated correlations between teachers' value-added estimates and their results based on the evaluation system's multiple measures of teaching quality, which include a portfolio of classroom teaching artefacts and a video-taped lesson, a peer interview, supervisor assessments and a self-assessment. Our study finds a medium-size positive relationship between value-added estimates in mathematics and teachers' portfolio results, while relationships with the other instruments are weaker. Correlations are lower for Spanish, but showing a similar pattern across instruments. We also find significant yet weak relationships between value-added estimates and three of six emerging factors of teaching practice based on the evaluation's portfolio data.

As schools become living sites of evidence-based practice, teachers increasingly accumulate large quantities of observations and records. In these times of an overabundance of documentation, there is a need to find the "unit of analysis" that determines the essence of what matters for assessment. In drawing upon cultural-historical theory, this paper presents the outcomes of a study which examined how 11 teachers from one primary school used the concepts of the social situation of development, motives, the zone of proximal development and the relations between the real and ideal forms of development in order to change their assessment practices. Findings show the tensions and struggles that emerged as teachers worked against the discourses associated with traditional institutionalised assessment practices where age dominates, and again as they worked with key concepts to theorise new ways of conceptualising and enacting assessment for building a new "assessment pedagogy" for their school.

The purpose of this research was to examine the implementation of a professional learning project aimed at building educators' knowledge and skills in assessment for learning (AfL) within two school districts in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, the research examined the value of a two-tier "Instructional Rounds" (IR) professional learning model. This professional learning model was unique because it engaged both teachers and principals in collaboratively learning and implementing AfL strategies in order to develop systemic capacity in assessment. In total, 12 principals, 48 teachers, two superintendents and two school district assessment consultants participated in the study. Data were collected through observations of IR sessions, classroom observations, interviews, IR session reflections and a post-project survey. Findings from this study report on positive changes in teachers' and principals' conceptions and implementation of AfL as well as on the value and challenges of IR as a professional learning model. The paper concludes with a discussion on developing systemic capacity in AfL through an IR model of professional learning.

Teachers committed to inclusive education have the potential to revolutionise pedagogical and assessment practices within regular classrooms simply because students with high needs challenge traditional assumptions about what it means "to learn" and "to assess". This creates opportunities for teachers to find creative ways to ascertain what and how a child learns, and how these assessment results can be communicated to the child, parents, the school and funding bodies to enable further learning. This paper explores diverse assessment practices including criterion-based, normative, ipsative and self-assessment, with both formative and summative functions, reported as being used by teachers in New Zealand who teach students with high needs. These multiple approaches can be integrated into learning stories to "narrate" student learning. An assessment framework is introduced to support teachers to appreciate the functionality of an integrated assessment approach to document student learning and outcomes, arguably a framework applicable for "all" learners.

Long-standing concerns within the field of educational assessment consider the impact of assessment policy and practice as matters of equity, inequality and social justice. Yet educational assessment policy and practice continues to have powerful social consequences for key users such as children and young people. This paper re-positions these consequences as a matter of ethics. It uses the work of Messick to frame how ethical matters extend beyond test instruments into the realm of uses and impact. A case study of the 11+ school transfer system in Northern Ireland is presented to illustrate ethical dilemmas emerging as a consequence of actions and decisions of using assessment systems for particular purposes. In looking forward to how we might attend to ethical matters in assessment policy and practice, a consideration of a children's rights approach is outlined that may provide a moral and legal framework for action. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.)

Adaptive Comparative Judgement (ACJ) is a modification of Thurstone's method of comparative judgement that exploits the power of adaptivity, but in scoring rather than testing. Professional judgement by teachers replaces the marking of tests; a judge is asked to compare the work of two students and simply to decide which of them is the better. From many such comparisons a measurement scale is created showing the relative quality of students' work; this can then be referenced in familiar ways to generate test results. The judges are asked only to make a "valid" decision about quality, yet ACJ achieves extremely high levels of "reliability," often considerably higher than practicable operational marking can achieve. It therefore offers a radical alternative to the pursuit of reliability through detailed marking schemes. ACJ is clearly appropriate for performances like writing or art, and for complex portfolios or reports, but may be useful in other contexts too. ACJ offers a new way to involve all teachers in summative as well as formative assessment. The model provides strong statistical control to ensure quality assessment for individual students. This paper describes the theoretical basis of ACJ, and illustrates it with outcomes from some of our trials. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

This paper is based on a study of classroom practice of primary school teachers who were engaged in a programme of professional development to implement formative assessment in their classrooms. The programme sought to develop the skills and expertise of teachers to enable formative assessment to be used to support and improve the learning of students. This study examined changes in practice in these teachers' classrooms, their students' learning experiences, pedagogical decision-making, and the challenges experienced by teachers and students in developing assessment for learning. Activity theory was used as an analytical tool and enabled the identification of important contradictions in the changing system that produced tensions and difficulties but also provided driving forces for change. The development of formative assessment practices was of necessity accompanied by a culture change in the complex classroom systems. For teachers change was characterised as a process of expansive learning that was motivated by a contradiction between the teachers' beliefs about learning and the existing culture in the classroom. The change in classroom practice was enabled by the formative assessment philosophy and a range of mediating artefacts. (Contains 6 figures and 4 notes.)

Information graphics have become increasingly important in representing, organising and analysing information in a technological age. In classroom contexts, information graphics are typically associated with graphs, maps and number lines. However, all students need to become competent with the broad range of graphics that they will encounter in mathematical situations. This paper provides a rationale for creating a test to measure students' knowledge of graphics. This instrument can be used in mass testing and individual (in-depth) situations. Our analysis of the utility of this instrument informs policy and practice. The results provide an appreciation of the relative difficulty of different information graphics, and provide the capacity to benchmark information about students' knowledge of graphics. The implications for practice include the need to support the development of students' knowledge of graphics, the existence of gender differences, the role of cross-curriculum applications in learning about graphics, and the need to explicate the links among graphics. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper reports findings from case study research into the impact of statutory testing in the UK primary school context on learners of English as an Additional Language. The findings relate to stakeholder perceptions and are predominantly drawn from inductive analysis of interview data with key stakeholders: teachers, learners and parents, as well as an extensive review of relevant literature. The findings are discussed in relation to the uses to which test data are put, the stakes for the school, teachers and learners, and parents and learners' understanding of the purposes of the tests and the meaning of levels. On the basis of the analysis, it is argued that, whilst the tests are not necessarily without value, particularly to the school, care needs to be taken in arguing that test scores are informative to parents and that there are no adverse affects on primary age learners. (Contains 1 table and 9 notes.)

The research set out in this paper attempts to identify whether one of three conventional IQ tests is more capable of identifying intellectual potential amongst poor children in Dar es Salaam. To this end 1857 children from 17 government schools in poor districts of Dar es Salaam were asked to complete a questionnaire and undertake a range of tests. The study included teacher, peer and self-nomination. It has been noted that static testing may not fully elicit the abilities of African children. It has been suggested that dynamic testing might provide a more fair and equitable means of assessment. Therefore 101 students took part in a control and intervention group in order to investigate. The findings show a significant correlation between IQ test scores and other test outcomes. Those with larger families and older children perform less well on IQ tests. Peer ability and self-confidence positively influence test scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the validity of a national, standards-based teacher evaluation programme by examining the relationship between teachers’ evaluation results and their students’ learning progress. We used census achievement data that assessed the same cohort of students at the end of 8th and 10th grade. We applied multilevel modelling and calculated correlations between teachers’ value-added estimates and their results based on the evaluation system’s multiple measures of teaching quality, which include a portfolio of classroom teaching artefacts and a video-taped lesson, a peer interview, supervisor assessments and a self-assessment. Our study finds a medium-size positive relationship between value-added estimates in mathematics and teachers’ portfolio results, while relationships with the other instruments are weaker. Correlations are lower for Spanish, but showing a similar pattern across instruments. We also find significant yet weak relationships between value-added estimates and three of six emerging factors of teaching practice based on the evaluation’s portfolio data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To enhance the effectiveness of formative assessment and self-regulated learning, this study focused on evaluative judgement. A process for developing evaluative judgement and co-regulation had proposed. However, this co-regulation and evaluative judgement model lacks validation for use in classroom settings; the process of developing evaluative judgement remains unclear. Thus, this study aims to examine the processes of co-regulation and development of evaluative judgement by applying the co-regulation and evaluative judgement model in a Japanese elementary school. We confirmed that evaluative judgements are shared with students through co-regulation and that both evaluative judgements and learning outcomes are enhanced. The results support the co-regulation and evaluative judgement model and partially reveal the process of the development of evaluative judgement. Evaluative judgements are expected to expand the effectiveness of formative assessment and self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Brazilian elementary schools on the chances of their students achieving at different levels of mathematics proficiency. Since student proficiency is classified at three levels – Insufficient, Basic and Proficient – the chosen model of analysis was the hierarchical multinomial model. The explicit use of proficiency levels, which have a clear normative and pedagogical interpretation, allows the findings to be expressed in language more relevant to schools and educational policy. The main findings are: the infrastructure factor (quality of the school buildings, library, computers, etc.) is related mainly to the effect of the school on the chances of their students being at the Basic level; only one pedagogical factor (homework) is related to the chances of students being at the Proficient level. The findings suggest that Brazilian schools need to undergo interventions of a different kind for their students to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The power of portfolios in enhancing student motivation is frequently emphasised. Portfolios are conceptualised as a tool to implement Assessment for Learning (AfL) in classroom practice. However, the relation between portfolios and AfL on the one hand, and student motivation on the other hand, is complex and subject to many assumptions. This study investigates whether portfolio use actually supports the integration of AfL in classroom practice and the relation with students' motivation. Questionnaires were administered to a total of 419 grade 4 to 6 students from seven Dutch elementary schools. The results of structural equation modelling did not confirm a direct relation between portfolio use and students' motivational orientation. The findings indicate that the relation between portfolios and motivational orientation is fully mediated by students' perceptions of AfL. The findings indicate that the tool portfolio is not related to students' motivation, however, AfL practices do affect motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the issue is presented that discusses topics including a professional learning project, assessment of literacy and students' possibility to choose between different exam tasks.

This article reports consequences for student writing quality based on a long-term professional learning project. Project teachers, representing all school subjects in grades 3-7, were presented with a writing construct, 'Wheel of Writing', and norms of expectation for writing proficiency. Participating teachers used the writing construct and norms as a basis for writing instruction and writing assessment. The project was conducted in 24 schools across Norway. 3088 students from 20 project schools participated. Two hundred and thirty three students from 4 schools were used as a comparison group. The investigation showed that students in primary school improved their writing quality significantly. Students in lower secondary school did not. However, there was substantial variation in writing quality effects between schools, classes, and individual students. For instance at a number of schools, project students from lower secondary school improved their writing quality significantly. The article discusses potential explanations of the effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study of elementary school science examines questions central to policy, practice and research on formative assessment: What is the quality of teachers’ content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge and assessment practice? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge, assessment practice and student learning? Drawing on multiple measures, hierarchical linear modelling and path analysis, results suggest that despite weaknesses in teachers’ content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge, teachers’ formative assessment practices are positively related to student learning. Relationships between teachers’ knowledge and assessment practices are mixed. Findings underscore both the potential and challenge of bringing effective formative practice to fruition as well as the need for continued research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study was designed to examine the extent to which 'content' accounts for variance in scores assigned in automated essay scoring protocols. Specifically it was hypothesised that certain writing genre would emphasise content more than others. Data were drawn from 1668 essays calibrated at two grade levels (6 and 8) using e-rater™, an automated essay scoring engine with established validity and reliability. E-rater v 2.0's scoring algorithm divides 12 variables into 'content' (scores assigned to essays with similar vocabulary; similarity of vocabulary to essays with the highest scores) and 'non-content' (grammar, usage, mechanics, style, and discourse structure) related components. The essays were classified by genre: persuasive, expository, and descriptive. The analysis showed that there were significant main effects due to grade, F(1,1653) = 58.71, p < .001, and genre F(2, 1653) = 20.57, p < .001. The interaction of grade and genre was not significant. Eighth grade students had significantly higher mean scores than sixth grade students and descriptive essays were rated significantly higher than those classified as persuasive or expository. Prompts elicited 'content' according to expectations with lowest proportion of content variance in persuasive essays, followed by expository and then descriptive. Content accounted for approximately 0-6% of the overall variance when all predictor variables were used. It accounted for approximately 35-58% of the overall variance when 'content' variables alone were used in the prediction equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects the role of assessment in the diagnosis of special education needs and in community with parents in Ireland. The significance of the contrast between development at primary and post-primary education is mentioned in the article including the initiation of addressing the assessment gaps in the curriculum. The impact of two formal public examinations on other assessment discourses were also discussed as well as the reform proposals for senior cycle education, and those for the reform of the Leaving Certification examination.

This article described a national study in Vietnam whereby a probability sample of students was chosen from each of the 61 provinces. A reading test consisting of 60 items was administered. The items were matched to the Vietnam reading and language curriculum for Year 5 students. Using a skills audit of the items, a variable of reading development was defined following an item response analysis of the data. Six levels of reading proficiency were defined. Standard setting procedures identified two benchmark levels for independent community and secondary school participation. The results showed an uneven distribution of student reading across provinces, socio‐economic groups and gender. The implications of large proportions of students in specific regions lacking independent reading skills for community participation and for secondary education are discussed. Action for addressing these concerns among isolated and rural populations is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]