Assessment and reporting – Pedagogy or Politics?
The Independent Education Union of Australia believes that assessment and reporting policies and practices must by developed by education authorities in collaboration with the teaching profession to ensure that such practices are valid, reliable, fair, equitable, and motivate students to further develop their learning.
The full policy is accessible here
The current environment in which assessment and reporting changes are occurring is characterised by policy settings that link compliance with assessment and reporting arrangements to funding; increased focus on reporting on school performance and school improvement data and misuse of data by the media.
The development and implementation of assessment and reporting policies and practices must respect and involve the expertise of teachers and have their support and full confidence.
The IEUA remains concerned about mass standardised testing of student achievement such as through basic skills tests. The IEUA notes that international and national research shows such practices lead to a lowering of the quality of education and narrowing of the curriculum.
Principles for Assessment
The following principles should guide the development and use of assessment instruments:
Planning – Assessment methods should be planned as an integral part of course developments and be undertaken in a manner which is supportive of the learning process.
Assessment processes must be reliable, fair and equitable – which includes catering for a range of student learning styles and removing cultural bias.
Authenticity – based on an understanding of how students learn and requiring them to apply their relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to real-world challenges. Assessment must involve the examination of the processes as well as the products of learning.
Alignment with the curriculum Assessment practices are integral to the teaching and learning process and must be matched to the teaching and learning goals. Assessment items must be representative of the full curriculum.
Relevance – the assessment ensures that tasks are realistic, meaningful and worthwhile.
Diversity – effective assessment practices involve a range of measures and provide students with opportunities to display their knowledge, skills, understandings and attitudes.
Standardised Testing
IEUA expresses major concerns about mass standardised testing of student achievement such as through basic skills tests. In the light of international and national research, IEUA remains opposed to such practices because they lead to a lowering of the quality of education and the overall level of student achievement and because of the dubious educational validity of the instruments of testing.
The collection and reporting of general student performance data
The principal objective in collecting data on student performance must be to improve information and knowledge available in order to enhance the teaching and learning of students and the allocation of resources to achieve equitable outcomes in education.
Reporting
The primary purpose of reporting is to provide meaningful information so as to improve student learning. Reporting must be an integral part of the teaching and learning. Reporting should enhance students’ capacities to reflect on their learning, their successes and areas for further learning cycle.
Reporting should be based on teacher judgements, based on sound evidence and teachers’ shared understandings of the standards that apply. The development of reporting policies and practices must involve teachers and must value their professional expertise and experience.
Resourcing and Professional Development
Schools and systems must allocate sufficient resources for adequate time release for reporting and for professional development to enhance teachers’ skills and knowledge.
Parental Involvement
The IEUA believes that parents should have access to timely, meaningful information about their children’s progress and are entitled to comprehensive and accessible reports.
Teacher workload
The effective management of reasonable teacher workloads is central to the provision of quality teaching, assessment and reporting. New approaches in planning, assessment and reporting must not increase the workload of teachers. It is incumbent on school authorities to resource and integrate new approaches without causing increases in overall teacher workload and/or subsequent reductions in teaching and learning time in the classroom.
IEUA believes that there must be a systematic review of the growing requirements around individual student programming. The current expectations are leading to excessive testing, data collection and reporting. This is reducing the time available for teaching and increasing the stress and workload of teachers.
