Recommended Reading
Some useful websites
Assessment & Evaluation
What is assessment of learning? This is another excellent offering from the
Assessment and Evaluation website from the Maricopa group with plenty of explanations
and links to further information/resources.
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ae0/al_what.html
Centre for Interactive Assessment Development (CIAD)
A neat, clean site with some useful guides and information on computer based
assessment. Extract from site: 'The following pages are designed to aid academic
staff in the production of computer based assessment. Each of the pages has
been written as a web based guide and is thus a pragmatic practical guide for
the busy academic. If you require more information on computer based assessment
or assessment theory, please go to the website'.
http://www.derby.ac.uk/ciad/dev/
Assessment for Learning Readings
If you are dead keen on reading more on assessment for and of learning, this
recent site from an assessment symposium held in July this year has a list of
links to more resources.
http://electronicportfolios.org/afl/
Assessment for Learning
A well-designed Australian website which examines assessment for learning not assessment of learning.
Extract from site:
'Assessment for learning is not the same as assessment of learning.
Assessment of learning is assessment for accountability purposes, to determine a student's level of performance on a specific task or at the conclusion of a unit of teaching and learning. The information gained from this kind of assessment is often used in reporting.
Assessment for learning, on the other hand, acknowledges that assessment should occur as a regular part of teaching and learning and that the information gained from assessment activities can be used to shape the teaching and learning process'.
http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/assessment/default.asp
Te Kete Ipurangi – Assessment
This is the Ministry of Education's official assessment site. You will find
information about all the aspects of assessment, including recent developments,
research, and new tools. There are also links to other organisations and resources.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/
Te Kete Ipurangi – ESOL Online
This is a glossary of assessment terminology developed by Dorothy Brown, Margaret Kitchen, and Breda Matthews. The list contextualises the terminology within an ESOL environment.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/esol/esolonline/teachers/prof_read/glossary_e.php
New Zealand Qualifications Authority
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/about/glossary/e-mi/index.html
A glossary of terms and acronyms.
Just available at Education Centres . . .
Four books by Dr Anne Davies that focus on assessment:
Making Classroom Assessment Work provides a framework that teachers and administrators can use to reconsider how assessment is working in their classrooms. From building the foundation for student involvement through to ways to report, the author provides a bridge between what the research shows and what teachers can do in their classrooms.
Knowing What Counts Bk 1 Setting and Using Criteria focuses on practical ways for teachers to involve students in their own assessment.
Knowing What Counts Bk 2 Self Assessment and Goal Setting provides ten practical self-assessment ideas and five goal setting ideas to use with students.
Knowing What Counts Bk 3 Conferencing and Reporting focuses on practical ways to involve students in their own communication with others about their learning.
Dr Anne Davies is an experienced Canadian educator and author. A recipient of the Hilroy Fellowship for Innovative Teaching and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship, she has taught both elementary and university-level students and has worked as a school administrator and district consultant. Currently she spends her time in classrooms, researching, writing and conducting educational workshops. She will be visiting New Zealand next year to share her knowledge on the best ways to improve learning among all students. A more detailed article on Dr Davies can be found in the April 5 2004 edition of the Education Gazette.
In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
Eric Hoffer