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Article in SSRN Electronic Journal · January 2011

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3165394

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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3165394

6/04/2011 1

Diverse Critiques and comments on some Models and Approaches to Assessment

 The results of student achievement may not be

directly referenced to any overt standard

 The results give no indication of what it is

students know and can do

 The results may not measure teacher

effectiveness

 Begs the question of how and if learning can be

measured objectively´ and how teaching may be measured

Tom Cockburn

• Dr. Tom Cockburn

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3165394

6/04/2011 2

Morality of Assessment

 The morality of a norm-referenced approach

is dubious.

 ‘Only some can learn’ is an unstated

premise.

 Basic fairness is at stake here  So 100% passes are not suspect, though

100% fails might be?

 Or, only some may reach particular levels of

attainment or understanding. In a subject? Everyone isn´t up to Prof Hawking´s level of understanding in science so is it unfair to recognise statistically significant levels of what constitutes a norm(+/- 2 std. deviations)?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 3

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Institutional racism and class divisions are

locked into the core of the norm-referenced paradigm.

 New Zealand is now a post-colonial nation

and that ought to be reflected more overtly in assessment.

 Assessment has been trapped by one of its

functions – sifting

 So is this an argument for scrapping all forms of

norm referencing or for changing to new ´post- colonial´ norms (e,g, using Kaupapa Maori)? Or is really just to enable more folk to achieve a pass?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 4

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Standards based assessment may only deal

with what is ‘crudely measurable’.

 The standards set are ‘external’ standards

that may not accurately reflect the actual ‘internal’ knowledge, skills and beliefs of the learners on a topic

 What would individual, internal standards

assessment look like? Self-reporting of project work or things students feel that they know or a preferred selection from a list of possible topics with/without compulsory modules?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 5

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Assessment can become focused on

narrow prescriptions and checklists with teachers becoming mere technicians

 Assessments may not promote

innovation and creativity

 True but that is an ever-present possibility

ALL teachers and course developers should aim to avoid

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 6

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Some students will always fail and as a

consequence they will have their ambitions and aspirations distorted

 Unhealthy competition destroys the self-esteem

• f low scoring students.

 So can/should everyone PASS in order to avoid

injuring egos or pride or job prospects? If so, will that not adversely impact calibre of graduates? Why bother assessing just hand out certificates, driving licenses etc. Or, should teachers not give more support to those who score low to bring them up to the level of others? Is failure not also possibly a learning –even a motivating factor-for some?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 7

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Emphasis is better focused on clearly

specified behavioural outcomes and relating instruction to learning theories that suggest that anybody can learn anything

 Students know what is expected of them  Is this not somewhat idealistic or even deluded in

many instances given that there are very complex subjects that tax the highest educated and most motivated people with highest self-esteem. Or is this about dumbing down ?

 There is plenty of current research on students

´ritualistically´ approaching threshold concepts and failing to get beneath a surface learning level

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 8

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Curricula have become atomized and student

achievement has been reduced to the lowest common denominator

 There is no incentive for more capable students

to extend themselves and to achieve at a higher level

 Should education only focus on the capable students?

Industry needs more high-calibre graduates so there is an economic imperative about ways and means eg import them versus grow your own.

 The above contradicts some of the arguments

presented earlier too, of course.

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 9

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Making consistent and balanced

decisions about what students have achieved can be a difficult process

 True but that is a bit of a ´motherhood and apple

pie´ sort of statement and still isn´t an excuse for not trying to do so

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 10

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Student performance is assessed against pre-

determined standards of achievement

 Once established these standards remain

constant

 Marks reflect the standard achieved rather

than a pre-determined distribution

 Do the standards remain constant? Should

they? We live in an age of Volatility and uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity with rapid and transdisciplinary change all round?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 11

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Qualifications act as a form of currency in

society, and particularly in the labour market and may be ´social capital´ for others in the same families and may even endow them with social mobility or advancement over generations.

 A qualification, and the basis on which a

qualification is awarded, therefore needs to be transparent and consistent

 Is that another way of maintaining the status

quo by limiting available social capital that may enable social mobility for some?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 12

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 A variety of ‘demands’ for qualifications

from stakeholders such as students, governments and employers require a transparent and consistent approach to the assessment and award of qualifications and attention from government, teachers, parents, students, unions and the general public too, so as to try to avoid changes which may become a ´hostage to fortune´

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 13

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 ‘Purchasers’ of qualifications want to know

what they are purchasing and to know that there will be quality delivery

 Institutions are constantly evaluating

different qualifications for possible credit transfer – the expectations and practices of different institutions are much more consistent

 Students and families may shop around  Marketisation and commercialisation can distort

curricula, teaching, social and individual

• utcomes etc

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 14

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 If marks are going to be awarded for

performances which significantly affect lifetime opportunities then students want to know in precise terms why they have been assigned those particular marks

 Families and students want ´value for

money´ if fees and loans are involved that mortgage students´ futures

 Inflation of fees and Higher Education export

marketing has impacted costs and competition between institutions

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 15

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Standards based assessment is

suspect when used to help make important decisions about students’ futures – eg winning scholarships, being selected for limited entry courses

 Demand and supply operates to

ensure competition to push up ´entry barriers´ or costs for ´quality´ provision to be ´seen´ to be being upheld

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 16

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Teachers and students may be

encouraged to emphasize trivial goals at the expense of more desirable long term

• bjectives if ´standards´ allow or enable

them to select or enact that option by default

 Are teachers the most qualified to make

long-term decisions about standards?

 Should a wider consortium of interested

parties not be more involved?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 17

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Many important objectives in curricula

cannot be pinned down to narrow levels

• f specificity

 Abilities such as writing fluently, drawing

inferences about characters’ motives and devising a strategy to solve a problem do lend themselves to specified standards as well as subjective notions held by teachers

 Is this not simply about whether or not

teachers show creative and innovation skills or have been taught them?

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 18

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 There is an inevitable tension between the

freedom of the teacher to select appropriate material for a group of students and the uniformity of topics and testing conditions necessary for standards-based assessment

 Is this tension ´inevitable´?  So do we need a better support and

training for teachers in class with some more access to creative and innovative or adaptable learning materials

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 19

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 Most skills cannot be decontextualized

and measured authentically in the abstract.

 Do they need to be measured

abstractly?

 Skills require a context if they are to be

properly assessed

 Education has limited capacity to

simulate All work environments, so more industry collaboration is needed

 Education isn´t just job training

Tom Cockburn

6/04/2011 20

Models/Approaches to Assessment

 In traditional examinations students answer

identical questions under standardized time

• conditions. The unpredictable influences on

difficulty are the same for everyone, and no crucial judgements against a series of vague standards are required.

 Is the unpredictable simply the unnoticed (by

teachers/examiners)?

 Or, is it about better exam preparation  E.g . Consider the ´cramming´ prep given to

students in private schools and colleges to better-ensure exam success? More like social capital for the better off?

Tom Cockburn

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