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Over the past 15 years, "assessment for learning" (AfL) has emerged as a key area of teacher practice with policy mandates around the world supporting teachers' implementation of the underlying components of this pedagogical approach. While procedural and selective implementation of AfL strategies has been observed within research (i.e., implementing the "letter" of AfL), promoting a "spirit" of AfL appears far more challenging. There is a critical need to better understand how teachers develop AfL capacity within their practice to effectively cultivate a spirit of AfL in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to describe a learning continuum for teachers' implementation of AfL as based on data from 88 teachers. Specifically, interview and observational data were analyzed to describe five developmental stages demarcating shifts in teachers' conceptual understandings and enacted AfL practices. The resulting learning continuum provides an empirical foundation for responsive teacher education that facilitates teachers' continued learning toward more meaningful AfL implementation.

Integrated STEM education within North America has become a popular pedagogy; however, teachers identify challenges that arise when planning for and implementing integrated STEM education. These challenges may threaten STEM teachers' capacity to balance disciplinary and integrated learning, a core feature of effective STEM education. The purpose of this study was to investigate how exemplary STEM teachers navigate tensions of practice to balance disciplinary and integrated learning. Through an in‐depth qualitative methodology, drawing on interview and artifact data from 14 purposefully selected exemplary secondary and elementary integrated STEM teachers, this study identified tensions that teachers faced as they navigated planning for and implementing integrated STEM education: (a) curriculum content versus skills; (b) guided instruction versus inquiry and play; (c) process versus task completion; and (d) collaboration versus individual needs. In line with a Worldly Perspective (Rennie et al., 2020), balancing these tensions leads to enhanced integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing calls to develop assessment theories for integrated teaching and learning, we propose an evidence‐informed perspective on grading in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education. We leveraged a qualitative collective case study design to generate rich profiles of three exemplary STEAM teachers' grading approaches and practices. Data sources included semi‐structured interviews and artefacts of teachers' instruction and assessment practice. We analysed qualitative data from interviews and artefacts using a general inductive approach. The teachers in our study pushed back against 'objective' views of grading, whereby grades are composites of summative assessments, in favour of informed and contextualised grading, which aims to document and support a negotiated understanding of each student's learning journey. Teachers' grading practices aligned with a hermeneutic approach to classroom assessment validity: the teachers (a) collected and interpreted a wide range of evidence of student (re)learning; (b) centred students' perspectives and evidences; and (c) employed their professional judgement to determine students' grades. Teachers characterised grading as a process of accounting for all available evidence, blurring the boundaries between formative and summative assessment. Documenting the learning process, rather than focusing on products, can support deeply integrated learning. Importantly, the teachers supported students in documenting their own learning and negotiating their grades with reference to self‐generated evidence. This practice stands to reduce power imbalances between students and teachers and foster students' self‐regulated learning. Our findings inform a framework which STEAM educators can use to guide grading in integrated classrooms, an enduring challenge for integrated learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical foundation for inclusion in Canadian schools for this Special Issue on Inclusive Education. In response to the need for an interdisciplinary framework, this paper uses an interpretive literature review methodology to construct a framework for educational inclusivity based on four disciplinary perspectives: (a) special education and disability studies, (b) multiculturalism and anti-racist education, (c) gender and women's education, and (d) queer studies. The constructed framework elucidates four conceptions of inclusivity--normative, integrative, dialogical, and transgressive--positioned on a continuum with each conception representing a different approach to inclusion. Unlike previous models, this framework is not anchored to any one marginalized group; rather, it is intended to represent multiple forms of inclusivity to edify historical, existing, and idealistic educational practices and structures for all forms of difference. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

To date, research on admission processes has largely focused on either selection trends or on determining the predictive and concurrent validity of admission indicators. Unfortunately, comparatively little research has examined the subjective processes used in the selection of personal dispositions related to inclusivity and the impact of these processes on the validity and reliability of admission decisions. As contemporary validity relies on multiple perspectives to generate situated judgments about the accuracy and appropriateness of admission decisions, examining the subjective and interpretive processes in selection is a necessary component to understanding the general validity of teacher education admission policy and practice. Accordingly, this study examined issues in the assessment of prerequisite personal dispositions to contribute to understandings of the validity of teacher candidate selection decisions. Specifically, the purpose of this research was to examine how indicators of applicants' propensity for inclusive teaching were considered and integrated into admission and selection decisions for entry into one teacher education program. The following research questions guided data collection: (1) What provisions support the selection of inclusive teacher candidates into the teacher education program?; and (2) How do selection committee members and senior program administrators interpret and integrate applicant information to render a judgment on applicants' propensity for inclusive teaching? A qualitative research design involving in-depth interviews with selection committee members and senior program administrators was used to respond to these research questions. The findings from this research point to issues and challenges in promoting inclusivity in teaching and teacher education through current admission policy and practice. (Contains 1 table.)

This study explored how elementary teachers leveraged and structured student-involved formative assessment to promote metacognition and self-regulation. Research has suggested a connection between formative assessment practices (e.g., self-assessment and peer-assessment) and metacognition. However, this connection has limited empirical support, especially within early elementary contexts (i.e. Grades K-4). In this study, 44 Ontario elementary teachers completed a survey reporting their teaching and assessment practices and beliefs about metacognition. Five participants were then purposefully selected for semi-structured interviews to describe their experiences developing students' metacognition and self-regulatory capabilities through student-involved assessment processes. Data were inductively and thematically analysed. Participants emphasized the value of "assessment as learning" practices (e.g., self-assessment and reflective thinking) to develop students' metacognition and discussed the need for ongoing student feedback regarding metacognitive strategies. However, despite purposefully implementing formative assessment to enhance metacognition and self-regulation, participants articulated the need for additional resources to support the cultural shift towards assessment "for" and "as" learning within their classrooms.

Assessment for learning (AfL) has become a widespread approach across many educational systems. To date, AfL research has emphasized teachers' knowledge, skills, and practices, with few studies examining students' responses to an AfL pedagogical approach. The purpose of this research was to focus directly on students' perspectives on their use and value of AfL approaches through a survey of 1079 K-12 students and portfolio-based interviews with 12 purposefully selected students. Survey data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics across grade levels. Interview data were analyzed using standard thematic coding processes. Students most frequently used and valued teacher feedback and success criteria to support their learning. Peer feedback was the least valued AfL approach for all students. Some significant differences between grade levels were noted. Our results suggest that using AfL approaches is a learned behaviour; students need to be explicitly taught about AfL concepts, terminology, and use over time. This study also highlights that AfL implementation requires sustained focus, research, and support in schools and classrooms for students to value and fully benefit from assessment-based teaching.

Classroom assessment has become a cornerstone of today's standards-based system of education. However, recent policy developments, professional standards, and variable assessment education have led to significant variability in teachers' approaches to assessment. The primary purpose of this research was to use a new instrument predicated on recently published classroom assessment standards -- the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory -- to measure teachers' (a) approaches to assessment, (b) perceived skill in current assessment tasks and responsibilities, and (c) professional learning preferences and priorities. Based on 404 teachers from across North America, this study contributes initial evidence of how teachers approach classroom assessment with respect to four dimensions: Assessment Purposes, Assessment Processes, Assessment Fairness and Measurement Theory. Results from this study point to significant differences based on career stage and previous assessment education. The study concludes with four key implications for assessment research and practice.

In recent years, an increase in the number of large-scale assessment programs in Canada has been observed. However, due to the provincial/territorial control of education throughout Canada, the format and purposes of these assessment programs vary. The central purpose of this study was to document the format and explicit purposes of the current large-scale assessment programs in each of Canada's ten provinces and three territories. Through document analysis of publicly accessible policy documents, examination of Ministry websites, and telephone interviews with Ministry of Education officials, specific and general characteristics and purposes of large-scale assessment practices in Canada were obtained and analyzed. This analysis provided an opportunity to examine the commonalities and variations in the frameworks guiding the current large-scale assessment culture that is evolving in Canada. Assessment programs were categorized by their explicit purposes as they related to the functions of accountability, gatekeeping, instructional diagnosis, and monitoring student achievement over time. (Contains 3 tables.)

Inspired by the recent 21st century social and educational movements toward equity, diversity, and inclusion for disadvantaged groups, educational researchers have sought in conceptualizing fairness in classroom assessment contexts. These efforts have provoked promising key theoretical foundations and empirical investigations to examine fairness in assessment. This review study aims to critically review these theoretical foundations and associated empirical studies to examine their potential for addressing the complex and evolving notions of fairness in classroom assessment contexts. This study also builds on fairness and justice literature in social sciences and broader educational discourses to provide additional theoretical grounds to rethink fairness in classroom assessment. Overall, this study contributes theoretical grounds for future theory-driven empirical research to advance fair assessment practices in classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key digested message This article examines the expansive growth of ChatGPT and the implications for large-scale test design. The authors contend that the impressive test simulation results observed by Chat-GPT undergird ongoing construct validity concerns with student testing. In order to address these challenges, a set of strategies is proposed that emphasises authentic assessment, the importance of human elements in traditional paper-and-pencil questions, and the controversial issue of the stakes ascribed to test results. Collectively, these approaches are meant to help test developers more carefully consider existing limitations within traditional standardised and large-scale assessment programs. Ultimately, test design reforms that enhance validity are increasingly needed to address the challenges posed by AI applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across a number of countries, play-based learning is the mandated pedagogy in early years' curricula. However, a lack of consensus remains both in research and practice regarding the value and role of play in children's learning. This scoping review analyses 168 articles addressing play-based learning for 4-5 year old children divided into three categories: research on play for developmental learning, research on play for academic learning and factors influencing play in kindergarten classrooms. Much of the research endorsed play as fulfilling an important role in early learning. However, two disparate perspectives concerning the role of play for developmental versus academic learning demonstrate different orientations towards the value and potential benefits of play. Research focused on developmental learning endorsed the use of free play and a passive teacher role, while research focused on academic learning endorsed teacher-directed and mutually directed play where the teacher fulfills an active play role. A similar lack of consensus was found among research with educators regarding the role and benefits of play. These findings indicate a need to move away from a binary stance regarding play and towards an integration of perspectives and practices, with different types of play perceived as complementary rather than incompatible.

As one of the most high-stakes practices in education, grading has been the subject of significant debate and research over the years. However, it is only recently that researchers have started to explore the teaching and learning values embedded in grades by looking at grading policies. This study examined grading polices in China by focusing on the embedded teaching and learning values that could potentially influence teachers' grading practices. Three main types of policy documents were analysed in this research: Ministry of Education policy documents, curriculum documents, and discussion papers. A central theme derived from the analysis revealed the influence of the dominant guiding educational philosophy of comprehensive quality education on grading policies. This philosophy dictates that grading practices should include both achievement and non-achievement factors, with an emphasis on the learner as a whole rather than on the learning alone. The results of this study provide urgently needed empirical evidence of the teaching and learning values potentially embedded in teacher-constructed grades.

Teachers must meet the educational needs of diverse students. Occupational therapists (OTs) assist some of these students through the provision of school-based occupational therapy (SBOT). However, there can be challenges to collaboration between OTs and teachers, and this can engender difficulty in achieving desired results. This scoping review was conducted to determine the tensions in collaborations between OTs and teachers in SBOT. The search strategy yielded 266 articles, of which 31 described tensions in collaboration. Forty-six unique tensions were identified in three categories: professional socialization, person-level tensions, and environment-level tensions. Possible actions for addressing the identified tensions are suggested.

Background: In Canada, contemporary collaborative professional learning models for educators utilise multiple forms of evidence to inform practice. Commonly, two forms of evidence are prioritised: (a) research-based evidence and (b) classroom-based evidence of student learning. In Ontario, the integration of these two forms of evidence within professional learning is increasingly facilitated by "middle leaders"--school district level educators who support system change through sustained school- and classroom-embedded professional development with teachers. Purpose: This study investigated the role of the middle leader in supporting teachers' use of research- and classroom-based evidence within the context of collaborative professional learning. It was guided by the following research questions: (a) What is the capacity of middle leaders to use research- and classroom-based evidence within professional learning contexts? (b) What challenges do middle leaders encounter in using research- and classroom-based evidence within professional learning contexts? and (c) How do middle leaders develop their capacity for evidence use within professional learning contexts? Programme Description: The context for this study was a three-year networked professional learning project that included nine school districts in Ontario, Canada. An evidence-based collaborative inquiry approach was used to explore the common goal of improving mathematics teaching and learning across the nine districts. Participants: A purposeful sample of 30 middle leaders (i.e. system facilitators) and 54 teachers (36 Primary/Junior school teachers [student ages 4-11] and 18 Intermediate/Senior school teachers [student ages 12-18]) across the nine school districts was selected based on these educators' high degree of engagement in the project and willingness to participate in data collection. System facilitators were relative experts in mathematics instruction and provided differentiated and embedded support in mathematics pedagogy to school inquiry teams (i.e. school administrators and selected teachers), responsive to their local needs and goals. Design and Methods: A qualitative approach was used, comprising focus groups conducted at the end of each project year with study participants. Data collection yielded 27 system facilitator focus groups (nine per year) and 27 teacher focus groups (also nine per year), each transcribed verbatim. Findings: Standard thematic coding of focus group data was used to elucidate four emergent themes across system facilitators and teachers: (a) realising the need for data literacy in the construction of classroom evidence, (b) challenges to evidence use, (c) support enabling evidence use and (d) changing attitudes about evidence. Overall, findings indicated that both middle leaders and teachers required data literacy to use, successfully, classroom evidence within a collaborative inquiry. Although middle leaders encountered challenges to facilitating teachers' classroom evidence use in collaborative inquiry, they developed their own data literacy through regular cross-district middle leader learning sessions and targeted support from pedagogical and research experts. While both middle leaders and teachers shifted their attitudes and practices with respect to classroom evidence use within the project, this finding did not extend to their critical interrogation of research evidence sources (i.e. research literacy). Conclusions: Middle leaders play a central role in promoting evidence use within networked collaborative professional learning. Diverse strategies are needed to support middle leaders' use of both research- and classroom-based evidence throughout collaborative inquiry cycles, to inform and monitor classroom, school, district and regional impacts. While increased data literacy may enhance educators' use of classroom evidence, it may not directly impact their uptake of research to inform their collaborative inquiries.

Kindergarten education is changing. Current reforms have increased accountability structures requiring teachers to integrate assessments throughout their instruction to support academic learning while retaining developmentally appropriate pedagogies such as play-based learning. Despite these reforms, comparatively little research has been conducted on teachers' assessment practices within play-based instructional contexts. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' approaches to assessment in play-based kindergarten education and specifically to examine how assessment practices differed based on teachers' conceptions of the purpose of play in student learning. Data were obtained from 77 Ontario kindergarten teachers via (a) an electronic survey, (b) in-depth interviews, and (c) classroom observations. Overall, data from this study suggest a misalignment in teachers' perspectives of the purpose of play and what teachers assess during periods of play.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of the scholarly literature between 2016 and 2023 on the impact of classroom technology on higher education instructors' assessment practices through the lens of the assessment design in a digital world framework (Bearman et al., 2022). Specifically, the paper focuses on (a) describing the assessment design in a digital world framework, (b) identifying the scope and breadth of the literature relating to technology-integrated assessment, and (c) highlighting any gaps between the Bearman et al. model and the literature. This paper marks an important step in extending our understanding of the factors influencing instructors who integrate technology into their assessment practice and promoting ethical and equitable approaches to technologyintegrated assessment in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a new framework for understanding technology-integrated assessment in higher education based on a review of the literature using the assessment design in a digital world framework (Bearman et al., 2022) as a lens. Our review (Madland et al., 2024) revealed both congruities and incongruities between the literature and the framework, leading to the need for further work to accurately conceptualize technology-integrated assessment. In this article, we contribute to the literature on technology-integrated assessment in higher education by proposing the technology-integrated assessment framework. This paper marks an important step in extending our understanding of the factors influencing instructors who integrate technology into their assessment practice and promoting ethical and equitable approaches to technology-integrated assessment in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment literacy is a core professional requirement across educational systems. Hence, measuring and supporting teachers' assessment literacy have been a primary focus over the past two decades. At present, there are a multitude of assessment standards across the world and numerous assessment literacy measures that represent different conceptions of assessment literacy. The purpose of this research is to (a) analyze assessment literacy standards from five English-speaking countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and USA) plus mainland Europe to understand shifts in the assessment landscape over time and across regions and (b) analyze prominent assessment literacy measures developed after 1990. Through a thematic analysis of 15 assessment standards and an examination of eight assessment literacy measures, results indicate noticeable shifts in standards over time yet the majority of measures continue to be based on early conceptions of assessment literacy. Results also serve to define the multiple dimensions of assessment literacy and yield important recommendations for measuring teacher assessment literacy.

Teacher assessment literacy has become a central priority across many educational systems in North America and elsewhere in response to growing accountability demands. Although many scholars have aimed to measure teacher assessment literacy, recent research has identified that current assessment literacy instruments do not fully reflect current transformations in the assessment landscape and remain predicated on dated standards for teacher classroom assessment practice. Given significant shifts in classroom assessment over the past 20 years, the purpose of this article is to construct a reliable instrument reflective of contemporary assessment practices and contexts. Specifically, this article describes our instrument development process including construct validation and reliability testing with more than 400 teachers. The result of this research is the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory, which can be used by researchers and practitioners to support teacher assessment literacy in relation to the current accountability framework evident across educational systems.

This paper discusses the emergence of assessment for learning (AfL) across the globe with particular attention given to Western educational jurisdictions. Authors from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, and the USA explain the genesis of AfL, its evolution and impact on school systems, and discuss current trends in policy directions for AfL within their respective countries. The authors also discuss the implications of these various shifts and the ongoing tensions that exist between AfL and summative forms of assessment within national policy initiatives.