International Literacy Conference Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of To

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International Literacy ConferenceOntario
Institute for Studies in Educationof the
University of TorontoNovember 6 -8 2003,
TorontoAssessing Literacies

• Professors Caroline V Gipps and Joy J Cumming
• Kingston University, London
• and
• Griffith University, Brisbane

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Models of Assessment

• Formal examinations
• orals/vivas and practicals
• multiple-choice tests
• open-ended assessment tasks.

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• Testing
• Psychometric
• Measurement

• Assessment
• Constructivist
• Interpretivist

Assessment for Learning Assessment integral to
the learning process
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• The psychometric model was based essentially on
  a scientific model of certainty and
  objectivity that certain things, eg. skills or
  abilities, exist out there and need only to be
  captured to be measured accurately or
  objectively.
• Assessment is built on models of learning which
  see it as a process in which new information is
  transmitted to the learner and is learnt (as
  given) in a linear hierarchical way.

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• Constructivist models see learning as requiring
  personal knowledge construction and meaning
  making. more intense, even interactive methods,
  such as essays, performance assessment and small
  group tasks and projects, are needed to assess
  understanding.

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• The implications of sociocultural approaches to
• learning for assessment practice
• the requirement in this frame is to assess
  process as well as product
• the conception must be dynamic rather than
  static
• attention must be paid to the social and cultural
  context of both learning and assessment.

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New View of Learning

• intellectual abilities are socially and
  culturally developed
• learners construct knowledge and understandings
  within a social context
• new learning is shaped by prior knowledge and
  cultural perspectives
• intelligent thought involves metacognition or
  self-monitoring of learning and thinking
• deep understanding is principled and supports
  transfer
• cognitive performance depends on dispositions and
  personal identity.

(Shepard, 2000)
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• Assessment then
• involves challenging tasks to elicit higher order
  thinking
• addresses learning processes as well as learning
  outcomes is an on-going process, integrated with
  instruction
• is used formatively in support of student
  learning
• makes expectations visible to students students
  are active in evaluating their own work
• is used to evaluate teaching as well as student
  learning.

(Shepard, 2000)
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Assessment for Learning

• Research indicates that improving learning
  through
• assessment depends on five, deceptively simple,
  key
• factors
• the provision of effective feedback to pupils
• the active involvement of pupils in their own
  learning
• adjusting teaching to take account of the results
  of assessment
• a recognition of the profound influence
  assessment has on the motivation and self-esteem
  of pupils, both of which are crucial influences
  on learning
• the need for pupils to be able to assess
  themselves and understand how to improve.

(Assessment Reform Group 1999)
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• The key notion is that the learner is an active
  participant in the assessment process. Rather
  than assessment criteria and standards being the
  exclusive guild knowledge of the teacher, the
  assumption is that they are shared with the
  learners who progressively take more control over
  their learning.

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• The key issue is fitness for purpose
• external assessment high stakes
• standardisation
• high reliability
• classroom/assessment diagnostic or formative
• validity
• use of results at the class/school level.

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• Literacy assessment that is fit for purpose
  depends on the literacy policy that is
  implemented through the curriculum, the models of
  literacy or literacies that the policies
  implicitly or explicitly endorse, and the purpose
  of the assessment.

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Assessment Model

• What models of assessment (psychometric,
  constructivist, assessment for learning) are
  indicated by the literacy/assessment policies?
• What guidelines are given to practitioners for
  effective classroom assessment of literacy?
• How well do the assessment policies in practice
  match the different literacy policies in place?
• Continued...

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Assessment Model

• How are issues of contextuality, authenticity and
  student engagement addressed?
• What evidence is available about the impact of
  the literacy assessment policies on students
  literacy performance?
• Will the use of assessment results affect
  teaching and learning practice?

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• Equity
• Do the literacy assessment policies accommodate
  cultural diversity, special needs?
• Has opportunity to learn been considered?

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• How well do the assessment practices fit the
  purpose?