Assessment tools

Assessment and tracking progress in technology education can be a challenge in intermediate schools. The authors show how a rubric may be a possible solution.

Some schools are busy challenging the assumptions Richard White details in item No.7, particularly the assumption that children of equal age must all be taught the same curriculum, and together. One secondary school tried other ways; very successfully, the researchers found.

The integrated learning system SuccessMaker is in many New Zealand schools. However, the author’s review of these systems concludes that few have proven effective in producing substantial gains in reading and language; gains in certain areas of maths do not appear to be transferred to other tasks; and system-generated progress data requires validation. Autonomous learning is not viable for many students, and curriculum integration is also an issue.

Charles Darr reports on his experience in creating a mathematics test using asTTle, comments on his perceptions, and discusses some of the strengths and weaknesses of this new assessment package for teachers.

This is the second of two articles in this issue of set based on some of the major findings from the survey of classroom assessment practices in English and mathematics at Years 5, 7, and 9 carried out by NZCER in November 2001. The first article briefly described the methodology and outlined the assessment tools and strategies commonly used by teachers. This article examines the section of the survey which asked how useful teachers found the tools and strategies for providing information for teaching and learning, for students, and for school management.

In November 2001, NZCER conducted a survey of the English and mathematics assessment practices of teachers at Years 5, 7, and 9.

In this article, two recent case studies are used to give examples of how Assessment Resource Bank (ARB) resources, along with other assessment tools, are being used for both formative and summative purposes in a primary and intermediate school. Staff at both these schools engage in a detailed analysis of their formative practices, and the data gained from summative assessments, to ensure that the results of assessments inform learning and contribute to improving classroom practice. 

A group of teachers examined over 400 assessment tasks in the NEMP probe study reports from 1995 to 2000. From mapping each task onto the curriculum, the teachers were able to identify 23 tasks which were particularly innovative, exciting, easy to implement, and excellent models of the wide range of NEMP tasks available. The resulting Teachers’ Choice of NEMP Tasks is a kit of assessment resources for teachers to use in their classroom.