EP assessment in practice Flashcards
what is the point in assessment
- important for accountability
- important to inform teaching & provision
- ability to compare child’s ability to others in the same group
why is assessment in education important
- ‘the most influential factor in whether a poor child grows up to be a poor adult…is educational attainment’ - department for work and pensions (2014)
- important the progress of children is monitored to ensure that effective interventions are targeted to those who need support
- closing the attainment gap - looking to ‘level up’ opportunity as certain groups of children have greater disadvantages than others
- direct link between poverty & school performance
differences at GCSE & a level
- the gap between gypsy/Roma, travellers of Irish heritage, Black Caribbean and other Black backgrounds can be 10.9 months in terms of English and Maths GCSEs (Hutchinson et al., 2020)
- diffs in overall attainment between diff ethnic groups in the achievement of 3 A grades at A level: 25.7% Chinese, 11% Asian and White
- diffs in attainment of girls vs boys in some subjects (boys may be over-represented at the extremes of the distribution)
- whilst curriculum based assessments may take measures of performance based on objectives derived from the curriculum used in the classroom, they may also be seen as reductionist & as ignoring the affective & social domain
BPS (2022) on education & working class families
- worse educational outcomes than their peers, more pronounced with progression
- use of free school meals at any point within a 6yr span are estimated to lag behind their peers by equivalent of 5 months of learning
- end of primary school this increases to 9 months
- by GCSE level increases to at least 18 months
- at A Level it is on average over 3 full grades lower than their peers
SES & education
- pupils eligible for FSM make less educational progress between ages of 11 & 16 than children not eligible (ONS, 2020)
- % of pupils with FSM increasing, especially since COVID
picture is complex & there are individualities as well as intersections of need
standardised assessments
- psychometric assessments
- curriculum-based assessments
- dynamic assessments
psychometric assessments
standardised assessments
- psychological measurement, scores on a test are compared to a comparison group, so the strength of abilities can be judged relative to other students (norm-referenced)
- not the most reliable
- IQ and g
what did cline et al. (2023) say about psychometric assessments?
use of psychometric assessment to categorise & label children & to inform decisions about provision continues to be debated, both in relation to historical & current practice
what did beaver (2011) say about psychometric assessments?
- when considering learning it is important to also reflect on the level of capability
- this is distinct from inherent ability as assumed to be measured by psychometric approaches
- compare to feuerstein’s instrumental enrichment model
feuerstein’s instrumental enrichment model
beaver (2011)
- provides a constructive approach to intervention & rejects the static concept of ability assumed in traditional psychometric assessment
- based on three broad preconditions for learning
- 1: input - process of gathering & assimilation of info
- 2: elaboration - interpreting & understanding info
- 3: output - reaching & communicating conclusions
curriculum-based assessments
standardised assessments
- comparing a student’s performance with criterion linked to the curriculum
- progress may be gathered systematically over time, especially in core subjects
- suggests there is a standard population but world is diverse
dynamic assessments
standardised assessments
- assessor is involved in assessment process
- add to the info that school already has
- helps the child during the test - what techniques help e.g. explain further or help reduce anxiety
- how to actually teach the child
what did beaver (2011) say about dynamic assessments?
dynamic assessment is consideration of the dynamics of the learning paradigm & the teaching approaches, or mediation, through which the individual child can be most effectively supported in their learning situation
what did kelly et al. (2017) say about standardised assessments?
experimental & strict psychometric methods are completely inadequate for elucidating the complex problem areas that confront them in the social context of human interactions
place of measurment
standardised assessments
- look at normal distribution
- example of a curriculum based approach, having observed criterion
- not measuring the ‘psyche’ but performance of a skill
binet
- published first ability test around intelligence
- although original test devised by Binet was to identify children who needed additional academic assistance, soon became a test to identify the ‘feeble minded’
british ability scales 3
- example of a psychometric test
- child’s verbal, non-verbal & spatial abilities
- overall cog ability = combining these scores = general conceptual ability (GCA)
- percentile figure indicates where a child’s score stands in relation
how psychometrics may be judged by a scientific standard
- reliability
- validity
- standardisation
- freedom from bias
assumptions made about intelligence & intelligence tests
- intelligence is static
- precisely measured
- essential intelligence can be expressed with a single number or with several numbers
- purpose of this test is to allow society to identify & promote the best & brightest among us
explanatory & predictive power of intelligence tests - problematic constructions over time
- 1947: 16% disagreed with the statement that intelligence tests are better than ordinary examinations for finding out about the brains a person was born with, in 1973 this was 27%
- 1947: 22% disagreed with the statement that the concept of intelligence will find the right person for the job, in 1973 this was 41%
- 1947: 41% disagreed with the statement that is a child’s intelligence is measured between the ages of 8 & 10, we can get an idea of how intelligent they are when grown-up, in 1973 this was 52%
shipston & burt (1973), flugel (1947)
theoretical scepticism around measurements of intelligence
how can a single construct such as IQ predict progress in literacy & numeracy?
alloway & alloway (2015)
practical scepticism around measurements of intelligence
how can norm-based measures of intelligence help teachers to plan & adapt teaching?
freeman & miller (2001)
moral scepticism around measurements of intelligence
could the measurement of intelligence be inequitable in its treatment of children who have had access to limited learning opportunities during early childhood?
scarr (1984)
ideological scepticism around measurements of intelligence
have some of the interpretations following intelligence testing been used in racist ways?
mackintosh (2007)
pedagogical scepticism around measurements of intelligence
would a concept of a child having a fixed level of ability discourage teachers from trying to develop untapped potential
adey et al. (2007)
vygotsky
- human dev is a social mediated process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, problem solving strategies through collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society
- community plays a central role in making meaning
- infants born with basic abilities for intellectual dev called ‘elementary mental functions’
- social interaction which promotes cooperative or collaborative dialogue promotes cog dev
- those working with a more knowledgeable other may show greater understanding & improvement than those working alone
what did cline et al. (2023) say about vygotsky’s theory
- how the culture where a person is brought up in influences the course of their development
- culture as a way to describe the customs of a particular people at a particular time - learned traditions including their habitual ways of thinking, feeling & behaving
- speech had role of containing & transmitting culture
- culture has key formative role in development (transmitted through social interaction & speech)
- language development may be helpful in trying to understand how these early developments lay foundation for effective communication in schools
dynamic assessment & link to scaffolding
- teaching from a skilled other can create buds of development
- wood et al. (1976)
- diff types of scaffolds - some may do better with visual cues, others do better with verbal cues
freernan & miller (2001) on assessment paradigms
- 125 teachers in west midlands
- curriculum-based assessments rated as most useful for understanding children’s needs & abilities & for planning teaching responses
- felt they new little about dynamic assessment but were interested
making decisions about assessment
- what is the rationale - is it to advocate for child & their education?#
- what is the most appropriate procedure which will facilitate the voice of the CYP?
- what theories & ev underpin the practice?
- how will the assessment take account of the child in diff contexts over time, & build upon multi-agency & staged intervention?
- how will the assessment build upon the child’s strengths?
- how will the assessment be used to develop the learning and community context?
is intelligence ‘a thing’ and how fixed is it?
- how might constructions around ability be perceived to change over time and culture?
- what role might motivation, engagement & experience play in relation to performance? (Dweck, 1999)
- what are some important social & political factors that should be considered when assessing children’s achievements more generally?
concept of growth mindset & motivation
assessment over time and in a range of contexts
- formative assessment that informs learning
- contextualised and collaborative
- child at the centre
- practice is ethical - to do good and to do no harm
- reflective
- take into account demographics
- talk with staff, child, parents
- create an ind story as to why they are behaving that way
- 4 principles: honest, fair, do good, no harm
