How Grades 1-7 Teachers Assess Mathematics and How They Use the Assessment Data (original) (raw)

Changing Assessment Practices in Upper Secondary Mathematics in Western Australia

2013

The role of teachers in translating curriculum reforms into reality has been recognised previously (e.g. Torrance, 1993). The influence of teachers in this regard is exercised principally through their choice of content, pedagogy and assessment modes. The research reported in this paper focused on assessment modes, specifically in Year 12 mathematics in Western Australia, in the context of the first two years of the implementation of a major State-wide mathematics curriculum change. The purpose of the research was to examine the extent to which the types of assessment tasks used by teachers to assess student achievement in mathematics were consistent with the philosophy and approach of the new curriculum.

Teachers' assessments in a standards world

2011

Today most assessment schemes in education systems around the world are attempting to report in a more meaningful manner than simply grades or marks alone (Tognolini & Stanley, 2007). Increasingly assessment schemes are required to provide evidence that is credible to employers and end-users. At the heart of contemporary schemes is the reporting of student achievement in terms of a series of standards or verbal descriptions that indicate the characteristics of the learning, i.e. “what a pupil knows and can do”.

Curriculum and Assessment : A Question of Politics?

Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2000

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) has been subject to ongoing modifications since its full introduction in 1992. These changes were largely driven by vocal opponents of this educational reform. In this paper we give voice to teachers charged with implementing the curriculum and assessment directives of the VCE. Specifically, we draw on the experiences of close to 500 senior mathematics teachersthrough interview and survey data -to consider the impact on them of the evolution of the VCE.

Assessment for learning: An Australian study in middle schooling

Assessment for learning has been widely reported as a reform in educational assessment. The recently published OECD study provided several case study investigations of how assessment for learning is variously enacted in diverse policy and system contexts. In this paper we take up the topic of assessment for learning and draw on a recently completed large-scale study of teacher capacity-building in assessment in middle schooling (Years 4 to 9; ages 8 to 14 approx.) to explore characteristics of 'assessment as critical inquiry'. Specifically, we probe the question, How can we enact a framework of assessment as critical inquiry for improving learning outcomes? The paper proposes a conceptual framing for developing a professional mindset that places assessment at the heart of the pedagogic enterprise.

Monitoring Standards In Education: Mathematics 2002 Assessment

merga.net.au

This paper describes the 2002 Western Australia Monitoring Standards in Education system-wide random sample assessment of student performance at Years 3, 7 and 10 in mathematics. It presents the design of the sample, outlines the methodology used to analyse the data collected, and summarises the results. Students found the Working Mathematically tests harder than the Content strand tests, and there was variation in their performance across the Content strands. Strong evidence was found that the Content and Working Mathematically items fitted on a single measurement scale.

The Central Role of Assessment in Pedagogy

Handbook of Research on Science Education, Volume II, 2000

School governing boards at local and state levels in many countries long had the obligation of establishing the curriculum -by law, as in the United States, or by embedded practice, as in England, or by some combination of the two, as in Australia and Germany. These boards discussed and decided the subjects that should be taught and, not infrequently, determined the specific topics within each one that should be included.

Profiles of educational assessment systems worldwide

Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 2004

This paper explores ten common themes concerning assessment practice in Australian education across the six states and two territories. The themes are: (1) a strong curriculum base influencing assessment, (2) the incorporation of school‐based assessment in all certification, (3) preference for standards‐referenced assessment, (4) respect for teacher judgement, (5) increasing vocational education delivery within schooling, (6) multiple pathways to future

Analysing Annual National Assessments to improve both teaching and assessment practices

Working in a South African national context where investments have been made in the design, administration and collection of standardised assessment data in the form of the Annual National Assessments (ANAs), we ask: How can these investments be leveraged to focus attention on better learning, better teaching, and also better assessment? To stimulate debate relating to this question, we draw on an empirical base of Grade 3 ANA data from two public schools. We offer a descriptive account of how attainment in mathematics ANAs was analysed quantitatively and then qualitatively so that school managers and teachers in these schools could make decisions relating to improving their teaching. Further we present the results of a more sophisticated analytical technique (Rasch analysis) which was used to further make use of the ANA evidence to identify problematic aspects of the assessment process.