Developing high-quality assessment tools
A range of high-quality assessment tools and procedures is needed
to gather information to evaluate and support learning. The current
range of tools provided by the Ministry of Education includes:
- School Entry Assessment/Aro matawai Urunga-ā-Kura (SEA/AKA),
which provides teachers with reliable diagnostic information about
each child's understanding in selected aspects of numeracy, oral
language, and emergent literacy. A review of SEA is underway in
order to strengthen SEA's relationships with the current literacy
and numeracy strategies.
- Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs), an online collection of assessment
materials available for mathematics, science, and English that reflect
the national curriculum levels 2 – 5. This year, more open-ended
items are being developed in English, maths, and science, and the
ARBs' presentation and accessibility are currently being enhanced.
For further information, look on the NZCER website at:
www.nzcer.org.nz
Tasks released by the National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP)
are also available for use by teachers and schools. Schools can either
modify the tasks to suit their own purposes or follow the original
procedures. For further information, look on the NEMP website at:
http://nemp.otago.ac.nz
In addition, the Ministry is compiling a database of assessment tools
that are available for purchase from a number of organisations. The
database will be available via the assessment kete on Te Kete Ipurangi
(TKI) from mid-September 2001.
Assessment
for qualifications – the National Certificate of Educational
Achievement (NCEA)
The level 1 National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
will be introduced into schools next year. This new qualification
will recognise student achievement across a wide range of studies.
Most achievement standards reflect the knowledge and skills that are
already assessed for the current awards. Additional curriculum-based
knowledge and skills such as carrying out investigations and performing
an acting role will also be recognised.
The development of the NCEA is in line with international trends that
encourage:
- a better alignment of curriculum and assessment that enhances
positive learning effects;
- a move to assess against standards and criteria;
- an increased use of school-based assessment.
The Ministry of Education invited Professor Paul Black of King's College,
London to review the publicly available background papers relating
to the development of the NCEA. Professor Black has been involved
in establishing the direction for qualifications and assessment in
the United Kingdom. His report, as well as a summary of the main points,
is available on the ministry website www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/ncea
Assessment
Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle)
Tools for assessing literacy and numeracy in years 5, 6, and 7, in
English and in te reo Māori, are being developed for the Ministry
of Education by the Universities of Auckland and New South Wales.
These tools will enable teachers to track the progress and achievement
of both individual students and groups of students against national
standards. The literacy tools will be available from the beginning
of 2002 and the numeracy tools from the beginning of 2003. They will
be supplied on CD-ROM, free of charge, to all schools who wish to
use them.
The information will be displayed in a set of easily understood graphic
formats that will enable teachers to:
- identify strengths and learning needs for individuals and for
groups of students;
Learning and Teaching Pathways
