Assessment and Evaluation in Technology

The primary purpose of school-based assessment is to improve students' learning, and the quality of learning programmes. (The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, page 24.)

The sample assessment activities included with the learning examples in this document indicate the close relationship between learning, teaching, and assessment. In technology programmes, teachers and students have the opportunity to be involved in a wide range of learning and assessment experiences; those outlined are merely suggestions and are neither exhaustive nor definitive.

With all technological activities, assessment should be integral and systematically planned for, and focus on the ways that students are meeting achievement objectives so that a full picture of their progress can be built up. Assessing technology is more than the assessment of individual components: rather, the whole task or outcome should be evaluated. Emphasis on a narrow component or testing outside the context of learning does not enable reliable judgments to be made. Nor do single-focus standard assessment tasks, designed to rank or assess students in relation to levels, meet the purpose outlined above.

Coverage

The technology programme should provide a balanced coverage of all achievement objectives, but it is not expected or appropriate that all objectives will be assessed in each unit of work. The achievement objectives most relevant for assessment, in relation to the context and learning areas, should be carefully selected and suitable strategies designed. This selective, focused approach not only results in higher-quality assessment, but is more manageable for teachers. In selecting the objectives to assess, teachers should also monitor that their choices reflect a balance of the strands and objectives, not simply ease of assessment.

Both technological processes and outcomes should be assessed. These will often require a qualitative rather than a quantitative approach, especially as students may use a variety of suitable approaches and produce diverse outcomes. In technology, encouraging students to communicate their ideas and strategies as they develop them can assist in assessment of processes. Technology education invites innovation and creativity, but these aspects can present particular challenges in assessment. Teachers need to collate assessments that demonstrate students' achievement over time, such as annotated portfolios, photographs, or video- or tape-recordings of work, both in progress and on completion.

Teachers will need to devise assessment strategies to suit their intended purposes and activities. For instance, students will be involved in group and collaborative technological activities, so ways to assess group and collaborative work will need careful consideration. Peer review and self-evaluation are inherent parts of the technological development, and are suggested in the examples in this document. In selecting situations and strategies for assessment, teachers also need to be responsive to their students and their different communication and learning styles.

A topic or unit of work in technology will almost always involve all of the strands, and can also involve achievement objectives from other essential learning areas. It is, however, important to have a clear focus on a specific technological strand and objective if assessment is to be reliable and valid.

Recording and reporting

Assessment is also carried out by classroom teachers to provide students and others with an indication of students' progress. Teachers should discuss progress with students, as well as record and report on what has been achieved. The use of a variety of strategies, in a range of situations, over a period of time, will enhance the quality of the judgments and decisions that can be made and ensure that information gained from such assessment can enrich subsequent learning and reporting.

The levels of achievement are not intended to provide a rigid framework against which students should be measured, but rather offer assistance to teachers in making professional judgments on the student's overall performance, and to guide schools in planning for curriculum delivery.

Assessment practices must address the variety and scope of the programme as experienced by the students, taking into account the integrated nature of technological education. Because of the breadth and range of the achievement objectives, students are likely to achieve at different levels both within and across strands. It is important that assessment provides feedback which not only rewards excellence and progress but motivates students to develop in each aspect.

Guidance on assessment is available in the handbook, Assessment: Policy to Practice, Ministry of Education, 1994.

Learning, teaching, assessment, and evaluation in technology will draw on the professional experiences and understandings of teachers, and be consistent with the school's total assessment policy and programme.