Musings on Assessment at BIS secondary

“The unexamined life is not worth living” - reflections at a time of examinations

When Plato quoted Socrates on the unexamined life, he was clearly not referring to IGCSEs, nor to exams in general.  However, with examinations high on the school’s list of priorities this term, I will spend  a few moments reflecting on what examinations and assessment mean to us here at BIS.

One of the biggest balancing acts facing all educators is the balance of time spent learning and time spent being assessed.  The two activities are undeniably linked, and both need to fit into the 15 0000 or so hours of compulsory schooling (Rutter et al., 1979).  A key consideration is always the purpose, value and audience of particular types of assessment.   Summative assessments such as IGCSE and the IB DP are designed to certify and select and are facts of life.  We need to know which students are qualified and able to move onto higher levels of education once they are beyond the age of compulsory schooling.  We also need to recognise and certify achievements.  Prior to that, the assessment balancing act is more debatable.
It has long been recognised that teachers spend around 40% of their time directly involved in assessment related activities (Stiggins, 1988).  That’s a lot of time and so the imperative to spend this time effectively is clear.  An assessment, if well designed, can provide useful information to the teacher and to the student on what the next steps in learning should be.  Assessment, however, takes many forms, and can be as simple as a well-judged, well-timed private question to a student during a lesson.  The response to that question may well determine the course of action the teacher and student take over the weeks to come.  It could also come in the form of an observed behaviour or discussion, which may be noted, but where the evidence for the judgement is not recorded.

More formally, standard summative assessments taken by a class or a year group serve as signposts which, over time, indicate progress.  Where progress exceeds planned expectations, there is reason to congratulate and encourage.  Where progress is problematic, action can be taken to remedy the situation and help a student get back on track.

One of the greatest values in any assessment lies in whether it promotes learning in the future for the individual.  Revision and preparation is valuable in itself in consolidating prior learning.  Timed, written, individual examinations remain the norm at ages 16 and 18 and so practice in performing under such conditions is useful.  There may be lessons learned relating to preparation and exam technique that are separate from the subject knowledge itself and there is no doubt that success in exams comes from being good at exams as well as having a sound grasp of the subject matter.  A consequence of this is that formal summative examinations do not provide the complete picture.  What a student knows, understands, can do and can apply is not always revealed when sat behind an exam desk in silence.  This has led to IB and IGCSE assessments including teacher moderated coursework, presentations and portfolios to supplement and complement written tests.  


Our day to day assessments of students reflects this, and schools no longer exclusively rely on such practices as end of year tests to make judgements about progress.  Our Term 3 assessment and reporting schedule  is in line with this, balancing the time and the necessity for formal timed tests with the need for authentic and valuable assessment of progress.  Parents are involved, and feedback is provided on students in all year groups.

References

Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P. & Ouston, J., 1979, Fifteen Thousand Hours: Secondary Schools and their Effects on Children, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Stiggins, R., 1988, Revitalizing Classroom Assessment: The Highest Instructional Priority, Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 69, No. 5, pp. 363-368.