Assessment in Teaching and learning  

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Prof. Paul Black, King's College, London, UK

Abstract

The growth in studies of formative assessment in the past 20 years has not been matched by a corresponding development in summative assessment. In consequence, the changes have not improved the state of discord between these two functions of assessment, a discord which can have harmful effects on teaching and learning.

An analysis of this problem will start by considering the purposes of assessment within the broader framework of a theory of pedagogy, setting out a model of the design and implementation of a programme for teaching and learning. This is followed by a discussion of formative assessment in the light of that model, which leads to an examination of the relationship, in principle and in practice, between the formative and the summative purposes of assessment. This analysis is then taken up in a section which emphasises the importance of enhancing the quality of teachers summative work, the problems of enhancing the quality of that work, and the related problems encountered in systemic initiatives which aimed to achieve this.

Two underlying themes will be the use of opportunities to enhance the power of pupils to become independent learners, and the counter-productive effects of many efforts to secure accountability by measures of limited validity. A summary of these will link them both to the issue of teachers' assessment literacy, and to the corrosive effects of any lack of mutual trust within and between the communities involved - pupils, teachers, school managements, parents and government. 

Biography

Paul Black has contributed to the development of curriculum in science and in design and technology, at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. He was chair of the UK government's Task Group on Assessment and Testing in 1987-88, and deputy chairman of the National Curriculum Council from 1989 to 1991. He also served on three committees on the USA National Research Council. He is a member of the Policy Advisory Group and of the Technical Advisory Group of the UK Examination and Qualifications Regulator, OFQUAL. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Science Education from the Association for Science Education and was recently elected as a member of the US National Academy of Education. He is currently engaged in research and development work to improve classroom practices in both formative and summative assessment. 

Selected References

Black, P., Harrison, C., Hodgen, J., Marshall, M. and Serret, N. (2011) Can teachers' summative assessments produce dependable results and also enhance classroom learning? Assessment in Education. 18(4), 451-469.