Preparing for a Renaissance in Assessment - Peter Hill and Michael Barber December 2014 - Pearson
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Preparing for a Renaissance in Assessment Peter Hill and Michael Barber December 2014
Preparing for a Renaissance in Assessment Peter Hill and Michael Barber
ABOUT PEARSON or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559
Pearson is the world’s leading learning Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California
company. Our education business combines 94305, USA.
150 years of experience in publishing with
the latest learning technology and online Sample reference: Hill, P. and M. Barber (2014)
support. We serve learners of all ages around Preparing for a Renaissance in Assessment,
the globe, employing 45,000 people in more London: Pearson.
than seventy countries, helping people to
learn whatever, whenever and however they ABOUT THE AUTHORS
choose. Whether it’s designing qualifications in
the UK, supporting colleges in the US, training
school leaders in the Middle East or helping
students in China learn English, we aim to help
people make progress in their lives through
learning.
Dr Peter Hill has held senior positions in
INTRODUCTION TO THE education in Australia, the USA and Hong
SERIES Kong, including as Chief Executive of the Vic-
The Chief Education Advisor, Sir Michael Barber, torian Curriculum and Assessment Board,
on behalf of Pearson, is commissioning a series Chief General Manager of the Department
of independent, open and practical publications of School Education in Victoria, Australia, Pro-
containing new ideas and evidence about fessor of Leadership and Management at the
what works in education. The publications University of Melbourne, Director of Research
contribute to the global discussion about and Development at the National Center on
education and debate the big ‘unanswered’ Education and the Economy in Washington
questions in education by focusing on the DC, Secretary General of the Hong Kong
following eight themes: Learning Science, Examinations and Assessment Authority and
Knowledge and Skills, Pedagogy and Educator Chief Executive of the Australian Curriculum,
Effectiveness, Measurement and Assessment, Assessment and Reporting Authority.
Digital and Adaptive Learning, Institutional
Improvement, System Reform and Innovation, He is currently a consultant advising on system
and Access for All. We hope the series will reform in the areas of curriculum, assessment
be useful to policy-makers, educators and all and certification. He has published numerous
those interested in learning. research articles and co-authored with Michael
Fullan and Carmel Crévola the award-winning
CREATIVE COMMONS book, Breakthrough, published by Corwin Press.
Permission is granted under a Creative Com-
mons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC by 3.0)
licence to replicate, copy, distribute, transmit
or adapt all content freely provided that attri-
bution is provided as illustrated in the refer-
ence below. To view a copy of this licence, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
iiStandards (from 1997 to 2001). Before joining
government he was a professor at the Institute
of Education at the University of London.
He is the author of several books including
Instruction to Deliver, The Learning Game:
Sir Michael Barber is a leading authority on Arguments for an Education Revolution and How
education systems and education reform. to Do the Impossible: A Guide for Politicians with
Over the past two decades his research a Passion for Education.
and advisory work have focused on school
improvement, standards and performance; Michael has recently been appointed as Chair
system-wide reform; effective implementation; of the World Economic Global Advisory
access, success and funding in higher education; Forum.
and access and quality in schools in developing
countries. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to recognise the significant
Michael joined Pearson in 2011 as Chief contribution of Simon Breakspear to the
Education Advisor, leading Pearson’s conceptualisation of this paper and Jacqueline
worldwide programme of research into Cheng for working with us to develop the
education policy and efficacy, advising on and paper. We would also like to put on the
supporting the development of products and record our gratitude to Carmel Crévola,
services that build on the research findings and Michael Fullan, Doug Kubach and many
playing a particular role in Pearson’s strategy colleagues within the Pearson North America
for education in the poorest sectors of the assessment community; to Maria Langworthy,
world, particularly in fast-growing developing Tony Mackay, Geoff Masters, Roger Murphy
economies. and Jim Tognolini, for the time they took to read
drafts and for their many valuable suggestions
Prior to Pearson, Michael was a Partner at for improving the text; and Lee Sing Kong for
McKinsey & Company and Head of McKinsey’s writing the foreword. Finally, thanks to Peter
global education practice. He co-authored Jackson and Tanya Kreisky for their editorial
two major McKinsey education reports: How work; to Olivia Simmons and Liz Hudson for
the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep managing production of the final version; and
Getting Better (2010) and How the World’s to Splinter for the design.
Best-Performing Schools Come Out on Top
(2007). He is also Distinguished Visiting Fellow Pearson © 2014 The contents and opinions
at the Harvard Graduate School of Education expressed in this report are those of the
and holds an honorary doctorate from the authors only. Figures reprinted with permission.
University of Exeter.
ISBN: 9780992422653
Michael previously served the UK government
as Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit
(from 2001 to 2005) and as Chief Adviser to
the Secretary of State for Education on School
iiiCONTENTS
FOREWORD by Lee Sing Kong 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
Setting the scene 3
Assessment: a field in need of reform 3
Transforming assessment 6
A framework for action 10
1. SETTING THE SCENE 11
The educational revolution 12
Key elements of the education revolution 22
When will the ‘revolution’ happen, and how? 24
2. ASSESSMENT: A FIELD IN NEED OF REFORM 25
Assessment for certification and selection purposes 26
Assessment for accountability purposes 27
Assessment for improving learning and teaching 37
Assessment as the lagging factor 40
3. TRANSFORMING ASSESSMENT 41
Transforming formal assessment programmes 41
Transforming assessment as part of the ongoing process of learning and teaching 50
Rethinking, aligning and rebalancing assessment 57
4. A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION 64
1. Think long-term 65
2. Build partnerships 65
3. Create the infrastructure 66
4. Develop teacher capacity 66
5. Allow variation in implementation 66
6. Adopt a delivery approach 66
7. Communicate consistently 67
8. Apply the change knowledge 67
Drawing together the threads 69
REFERENCES 72
vFOREWORD
Assessment is a very complex topic. As systems, a fundamental issue that must be first
this essay articulates, it is meant to monitor clearly articulated is ‘What is the purpose of
or to measure what students have learnt. education in this new world that we live and
For validity and reliability, and to minimise work in?’ Only when we can articulate with
subjectivity, standardised tests are often clarity the purpose of education in terms of
adopted and marks are awarded, followed by the learning outcomes that the education
a process in which test scores are converted process aims to achieve can we then articulate
into grades. The grades are then recognised what an assessment renaissance implies so
as measures of students’ learning attainment. that the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of assessment can be
But what assessment actually means is seldom crystallised.
articulated. Is it a measure of the body of
knowledge that a student has acquired, or is it For an assessment renaissance to be
also a measure of other attributes? meaningful, it also needs a total cultural shift
within society to accept the different ‘what’ and
Institutes of higher education have often found ‘how’ of assessment. The current mindset of
such assessment grades to be so lacking in assessment is all about test scores, irrespective
substance for admission purposes that many of of whether the meaning of the test scores is
these institutes have introduced other modes well clarified. In realising the outcomes of the
of assessment so as to gauge the other desired assessment renaissance, there may not always
attributes of their candidates. The complexity be a test score to contend with. It may just be a
of assessment is further compounded by the series of qualitative descriptions of the extent
way in which test scores are utilised. Apart to which a student may have demonstrated
from being considered for entry into further various attributes that cannot be quantified.
education, they are also used for the purpose Can society accept such assessment outcomes?
of accountability of schools or the system, as
well as the performance of teachers. Going forward, assessment will remain
a complex issue, no matter what form
In the twentieth century, the standardised test the assessment renaissance may take. It
approach could be valid and reliable, though is here that the importance of research
never perfect. However, in the twenty-first- and development into assessment issues
century landscape, where the demands go cannot be overemphasised. If the ‘what’ and
beyond just knowledge and technical skills, the ‘how’ can be conducted with clarity of
there is, indeed, a need for an ‘assessment meaning, and considered valid and reliable
renaissance’ so that the desired attributes with minimal subjectivity, and if society at
can be meaningfully monitored or measured. large can be educated about the need for
However, in this new world, where there are such a renaissance, then there will be light at
so many ‘drivers’ that are impacting education the end of the tunnel. I believe this will take
1FOREWORD time, but the journey must start immediately. I congratulate the authors for writing this think piece, which sets out so clearly where we have come from and where we need to go. Professor Lee Sing Kong Vice President for Education Strategies, Nanyang Technological University Director, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (2006–14) 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SETTING THE SCENE and systems that are already operating in or
contemplating moving towards some of the
Three core processes lie at the heart of directions indicated, but this is inevitably a
schooling: sporadic process.
1 c urriculum (deciding what students ASSESSMENT: A FIELD IN NEED OF
should learn); REFORM
2 learning and teaching; and
3 a ssessment (monitoring student learn The primary purpose of educational assess
ing). ment is to seek to determine what students
know, understand and can do. While that
When well executed, they work together in would seem a relatively straightforward
a symbiotic fashion, and all other activities intention, in the real world of policy and
function in support of this triad. Of the three, practice, educational assessment is complex
this essay focuses primarily on assessment, and frequently controversial.
but we are aware that it is not possible to
talk about changes in the field of assessment This essay reviews the key purposes of
without relating them to a much wider set of assessment, namely its use in formal assess-
changes taking place in education. ment programmes for the purposes of
certification, selection and accountability; and
The educational revolution its formative use in classrooms and schools
We believe that two game-changers are at for improving learning and teaching. We have
work that will shake the very foundations of also sought to illustrate why assessment,
the current paradigm of school education. The when used for these purposes, is so often
first is the push of globalisation and new digit controversial, difficult and a barrier to change.
al technologies, which are sweeping all before The key challenges we have highlighted are
them. The second is the pull inherent in the summarised in Table ES.2, which contrasts
realisation that the current paradigm is not what we ideally want from formal assessment
working as well it should any more. Even the programmes with what we typically get.
top-performing systems in the world have hit
a performance ceiling.
Key elements of the education revolution
Table ES.1 summarises what we see as six
key changes that characterise this revolution.
The seeds of each of these key changes are
everywhere to be seen. There are schools
3Table ES.1 Key features of the education revolution.
Overthrown and
Key element Replaced by
repudiated
1. C
apacity to Practices reflecting an • Practices that build on prior learning and
learn assumption that students reflect a belief in the potential for all students
commence school tabula to learn and achieve high standards, given high
rasa and with an innate and expectations, motivation and sufficient time and
fixed capacity to learn and support
profit from formal education
2. The Curricula that emphasise • A greater emphasis on deep learning of big
curriculum memorisation of unrelated ideas and organising principles
facts and breadth at the • More explicit and systematic attention to cross-
expense of depth curricular skills, capabilities, understandings and
dispositions that support lifelong learning and
living in the Knowledge Society of the twenty-
first century
3. E ducation The school as the focus of • The student as the focus of educational policy
policy educational policy and concerted attention to personalising
learning
4. O
pportunity Current age and time-bound • Students able to progress at different rates and
to learn parameters: with time and support varied to meet individual
• age–grade progression needs
• 9.00–4.00 school hours • Significantly increased access to care and
• open 200/365 days a year education to better align with the realities of
modern living and working
• Greater use of the home, the community and
other settings as contexts for 24/7 learning
5. Teaching Predominantly teacher/text • Increasing reliance on sophisticated tutor/
instruction, with schools and online instruction with greater differentiation
classrooms as the physical in educator roles and the creation of learning
and organisational places for partnerships between and among students,
all formal learning and with teachers and families, with the teacher as the
the classroom teacher as the ‘activator’
imparter of knowledge
6. Teacher Teaching as largely under- • Teaching as a true profession with a distinctive
quality qualified and trained, heavily knowledge base, a framework for teaching with
unionised, bureaucratically well-defined common terms for describing
controlled ‘semi-profession’ and analysing teaching and strict control by the
lacking a framework and profession itself on entry into the profession
a common language to
describe and analyse teachingTable ES.2 Assessment: a field in need of reform.
The ideal The norm
Assessments that can • Assessments unable to assess accurately at either end of the ability
accommodate the full range distribution, or away from critical cut-scores
of student abilities • Assessments within tiered credentials or tiered assessments, with
resulting problems of cost, logistics, cross-tier comparability and
capping of student aspirations
Assessments that provide • Over-reliance on grades or levels that reveal little about what the
meaningful information on student can do
learning outcomes • Feedback to schools on student performance typically provided
too late and too broad-brush to be of value in improving learning
and teaching
• Assessments used to generate a single score for each student
which is then further summarised at the school or system level as
a percentage meeting a nominated cut-score – a volatile statistic,
hiding more than it reveals about performance, particularly shifts
in performance on either side of the cut-score. Alternatively,
summarised as a mean score unadjusted for intake and other
characteristics beyond the control of the teacher or school
Assessments that • Tests and examinations dominated by questions assessing low-level
accommodate the full range cognitive processes and failing to capture such valued outcomes as
of valued outcomes practical, laboratory and field work, speaking and listening, higher-
order cognitive processes and a range of inter- and intra-personal
competences (so-called ‘twenty-first century skills’)
Assessments that support • Assessment policies that pay little or no attention to formative
students and teachers in assessment and to providing teachers with the tools and the
making use of ongoing capacity to use it on a daily basis
feedback to personalise • An absence of validated learning progressions, efficient processes
instruction and improve for collecting and analysing data and easy-to-use assessment tools
learning and teaching
Assessments that have • Assessments that carry undue weight in high-stakes decision-
integrity and that are used making, increasing the risks of cheating and ‘gaming’ the system
in ways that motivate
improvement efforts and
minimise opportunities for
cheating and ‘gaming’ the
systemPREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
TRANSFORMING ASSESSMENT classrooms), as part of the ongoing process of
learning and teaching.
This chapter describes ways in which new
thinking and new digital technologies are Developers of next-generation learning
transforming assessment and overcoming systems don’t start with preconceived notions
current barriers and limitations. We begin by of any of these components but completely
considering how these changes affect formal rethink the whole delivery process and how
assessment programmes, such as those used to best assist teachers to connect all of the
for certification/selection and accountability elements so that they operate seamlessly. We
purposes, and then move to consider can follow the logic of these systems with the
assessment as part of the ongoing process of aid of the diagram in Figure ES.1.
learning and teaching. Finally, we indicate how
a better balance between various purposes Curriculum
of assessment and a closer alignment of Starting at the top of Figure ES.1 is the
assessment with curriculum and teaching can curriculum, but one looking quite different to
be achieved as a result of the radical changes curriculum documents of the past, consisting
in thinking and practice made possible by of online interactive multidimensional maps at
these developments. several different scales that can be interrogated
in different ways, depending on one’s focus or
Transforming formal assessment query.
programmes
Increasingly, formal assessment programmes Assessment
serving certification, selection and account Going clockwise around the diagram, the
ability purposes are being administered online, next element is assessment. Yes, personalised
not only as part of a broad trend within learning systems move straight from the
modern society but also, more particularly, curriculum (deciding what students need to
because the online assessment environment learn) to assessment, because effective learning
offers a number of major advantages once and teaching require that one begin with the
the technical problems of access have been students and their individual starting points.
addressed. These include:
Resources
• a ssessing the full range of abilities; In generating instructional sequences, learning
• providing meaningful information on tasks and associated assessment activities,
learning outcomes; next-generation learning systems will embed
• assessing the full range of valued or search out the resources that most closely
outcomes; match students’ learning needs, accessing both
• maintaining the integrity of assessments. purpose-built, commercially available materials
and the rapidly expanding collections of public-
Transforming assessment, as part of the domain and creative-commons resources.
ongoing process of learning and teaching
We then consider assessment undertaken at Data management and analysis
the point of learning, at the teacher–student It was not so long ago that almost all
interface typically (although not necessarily in information about students and their learning
6EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Figure ES.1 Next-generation learning system.
Curriculum
Personalised
Assessment
instruction
Next -
generation
learning
Professional
Resources
learning
Data management
and analysis
was contained within teachers’ books of and detailed feedback into the learning and
marks, attendance registers, student record teaching process.
cards and student reports. Next-generation
learning systems will create an explosion in Professional learning
data because they track learning and teaching In next-generation learning systems, the
at the individual student and lesson level every teacher retains the key role in fostering the
day in order to personalise and thus optimise learning for each student, but the job itself
learning. Moreover, they will incorporate al changes. Learning systems of the future will
gorithms that interrogate assessment data free up teacher time currently spent on
on an ongoing basis and provide instant preparation, marking and record-keeping
7Table ES.3 Transforming assessment.
The ideal How new thinking and technologies can help
Assessments that can • Use of adaptive testing to generate more accurate estimates
accommodate the full range of student abilities across the full range of achievement while
of student abilities reducing testing time
Assessments that provide • Online environments to facilitate:
meaningful information on – the administration of multiple versions of the same test in order
learning outcomes to obtain information on performance across a much wider
range of the curriculum
– the collection and analysis in real time of a wide range of
information on multiple aspects of behaviour and proficiency
and
– more immediate, detailed and meaningful reporting to specific
stakeholder groups, such as via smartphone/tablet devices and
through the creation of e-portfolios
• Advances in the application of data analytics and the adoption
of new metrics to generate deeper insights into and richer
information on learning and teaching
Assessments that • Automated marking to overcome obstacles to the more
accommodate the full range widespread use of essay and other open-response format
of valued outcomes questions
• Platforms to support the delivery of a new generation of
assessments specifically designed to assess deep learning and a
range of inter- and intra-personal competences and character
traits
Assessments that have • The adoption of (1) more cumulative approaches to approaches to
integrity and are used in ways assessment for selection purposes, with opportunities to re-sit; and
that motivate improvement (2) intelligent accountability systems that utilise multiple indicators
efforts and that minimise of performance, that are designed to incentivise improvement and
opportunities for cheating that avoid the creation of win–lose consequences for stakeholders
and ‘gaming’ the system for outcomes not fully under their control
Assessments that support • Sophisticated online intelligent learning systems to integrate the
students and teachers in key components involved in effective instruction and to support
making use of ongoing a new generation of empowered teachers in reliably assessing
feedback to personalise a much wider range of outcomes, using instant and powerful
instruction and improve feedback on learning and teaching to deliver truly personalised
learning and teaching instructionEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
and allow a greater focus on the professional 1 the teacher–student interface (tradi-
roles of diagnosis, personalised instruction, tionally the classroom);
scaffolding deep learning, motivation, guidance 2 the school; and
and care. This is the combination of activities 3 the system.
that John Hattie describes as ‘teacher as
activator’ (2009: 17). The most important level is the teacher–
student interface, because this is where
Personalised instruction learning takes place and where there is the
With all the above in place, it is then possible to greatest need for assessment data to enable
talk confidently about personalised instruction, a truly personalised approach to learning and
which is the final and most crucial component teaching. We would argue that the other levels
of Figure ES.1. By personalised instruction, and purposes of assessment should be built
we mean instruction that is adjusted on a on the assessment carried out at this level.
daily basis to the readiness of each student
and that adapts to each student’s specific The challenge for awarding bodies
learning needs, interests and aspirations. The In considering the future of assessment for
fundamental premises of personalised learning certification purposes, the challenge facing
have been a part of the writings of educators awarding bodies is to work out how they can
for decades but have, in recent years, become take greater advantage of new technologies to
a realisable dream, thanks to the advent of deliver examinations online and, by so doing,
new digital technologies. enhance their capacity to:
Rethinking, aligning and rebalancing • a ssess a wider range of valued outcomes;
assessment • create more authentic assessment tasks;
In short, new thinking and digital technologies • more accurately assess the full range
are transforming assessment and overcoming of student abilities and speed up the
many current barriers and limitations. Table process of marking student responses,
ES.3 summarises what we see as the main including those to extended response
features of this transformation. questions;
• open up the window of time in which
An integrated, multi-level view of assessment examinations may be taken and work
Perhaps the most urgent need right now in towards the longer-term goal of
the field of assessment is an overall conceptual examinations on demand;
framework and longer-term vision for its place • use the potential of online assessment
and purpose within the triad of processes that and developments in psychometric
lie at the heart of schooling. methods to more rigorously maintain
standards and constantly benchmark
Rather than focusing on discrete assessment them to ensure that these standards are
programmes, we would suggest that it is more world-class.
productive to view assessment as serving
distinct data needs at three levels:
9PREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
The accountability challenges 1 hink long-term.
T
Designing an effective accountability system 2 B
uild partnerships.
involves clarifying who can and should be held 3 C
reate the infrastructure.
to account for what at each level of the system 4 D
evelop teacher capacity.
and establishing accountability arrangements 5 Allow variation in implementation.
that are reasonable and effective and that 6 Adopt a delivery approach.
promote a shared trust in the system. This 7 C
ommunicate consistently.
means being sure that, as far as possible, 8 Apply the change knowledge.
accountabilities are within the power of the
person or organisation being held to account. In conclusion, we see the changes in thinking
about assessment as leading to a veritable
In the school educational context, this typically renaissance – a revival in thinking and practice
means holding systems, schools and teachers that promises to overcome many of the key
responsible for: limitations of the current paradigm and to put
assessment more fully in the service of both
• student growth or progress rather the curriculum and learning and teaching.
than purely for absolute levels of Governments, systems, schools and those
performance; and within them all have critical roles to play in
• doing those things that the evidence bringing this about.
shows lead to improved outcomes – not
just for achievement of the outcomes
themselves, which may be only partly
attributable to the specific person or
organisation being held to account.
Equally important in the design of accountability
systems is the need to take into account
capacity-building requirements, particularly
those related to teachers’ assessment literacy.
A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
In this chapter, we propose how policy-makers,
schools and school-system leaders and other
key players can prepare for an assessment
renaissance, ensuring that they maximise the
benefits of new developments and changes
in thinking while avoiding the potential
downsides.We present a framework for action
that allows change to be implemented in ways
and in timeframes suited to the starting points,
capacity and readiness of schools and systems.
101. SETTING
THE SCENE
Three core processes lie at the heart of order thinking and interpersonal skills vital for
schooling: living and learning in the twenty-first century.
1 c urriculum (deciding what students In Preparing for a Renaissance in Assessment, we
should learn); seek to:
2 learning and teaching;
3 a ssessment (monitoring student learn • summarise the reasons for and the
ing). nature of these changes;
• indicate how governments, schools and
When well executed, the three work together school-system leaders and other key
symbiotically, and all other activities function to players can prepare for these changes
support this triad. This essay focuses primarily and ensure they maximise the benefits
on the third process: assessment. It is often the and avoid potential downsides; and
piece that sits uncomfortably with the other • provide a framework for action to enable
two, and it is the one we believe is currently change, which can be implemented
lagging behind in efforts to secure improved in ways and timeframes suited to the
learning outcomes for all. starting points, capacity and readiness
of schools and systems.
There is now a growing consensus among
leaders in the field that we are on the verge We have sought to avoid going into technical
of a radical change in thinking and practice arguments and details but instead to provide
regarding assessment in school education.1 a widely accessible and readable overview
However, the exact form of this change de of the more significant changes without
pends very much on how we anticipate, oversimplifying the underlying complexities.
envision, plan for and shape it.
The field of assessment in school education
If this change is managed skilfully, we believe is vast, so we have necessarily been selective.
that education will witness an assessment Thus, we have opted to review developments
‘renaissance’ – a ‘rebirth’ of the core purposes affecting K-12, but with an emphasis on the
of assessment – that will lead to a much assessment of fifteen- to eighteen-year-olds.
better alignment of all three processes. More We consider a number of uses of assessment
specifically, we see assessment changing in but emphasise high-stakes uses for the pur
ways that will help secure a floor of high poses of certification, selection, accountability
standards for all, removing current achievement and improving learning and teaching.
ceilings and supporting a focus on those higher-
See, for example, Gordon Commission on the Future of Assessment in Education (2013) and Global Education Leaders
1.
Program (2014).
11PREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
As we started to write this essay, we realised they have long been, consisting of classrooms,
that we could not discuss changes in the halls, libraries, staffrooms and school grounds
field of assessment without relating them to for recreation and sport. Instruction continues
a much wider set of revolutionary changes to be delivered by a teacher, who teaches
taking place in education. So, in order to a class of students of the same age, all
understand the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of the coming progressing through a standard curriculum at
renaissance in assessment, we will begin with the same pace, with new teachers each year.
a brief overview of the more fundamental Despite considerable experimentation with
changes happening more broadly in education, new arrangements and new technology, rows
of which assessment is but one vital part. of tables and chairs and students working
with paper, pen and printed texts continue to
THE EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION predominate. The school year and the school
day reflect the demands of an agrarian society
Change is a constant in the modern world, and that has long since disappeared, with teachers
we certainly witness it in education (although and students enjoying long holidays and short
when the dust settles we often remark on hours that are out of alignment with the
how the fundamentals seem to stay the working days and hours of their parents and
same). In many areas of educational policy guardians, who face challenges in organising
and practice, we simply see pendulum swings. child care. In brief, school education has been
Every now and then, however, radical change characterised by constant surface-level change
occurs that completely upsets the old ways of and periodic calls for a thorough overhaul, but
doing things. Such change is revolutionary in the fundamentals have remained surprisingly
character since it overthrows and repudiates constant.
established methods and replaces them with
an entirely new order. So, not for the first time, we need to
take stock and ask the question, ‘Are we
One hesitates to use the term ‘revolution’ currently witnessing changes that have more
when talking about fundamental changes in fundamental and far-reaching consequences
education: after all, no parent welcomes the and that will lead to a reconceptualisation
notion of their children being caught up in of school education?’ We have concluded,
anything revolutionary. Furthermore, schools as have many other commentators, that this
have been among the most stable institutions time things are different. In particular, we
of society and are not prone to radical change. believe that two game-changers are at work
that will shake the very foundations of the
Looking back, we can see that formal ed current paradigm of school education. The
ucation’s basic structures and modes of first is the push of globalisation and new digital
delivery have barely changed over the past technologies, which are sweeping all before
140 years.That is something one cannot say of them. As Hannon and colleagues observe,
health care, public transport or policing. this is an argument that has been ‘exhaustively
rehearsed, but is no less valid for that’ (2011:
Despite many recent innovations, schools 2). The second is the pull inherent in the
continue to provide the same kinds of realisation that the current paradigm is no
functions and are recognisably similar to what longer working as well as it should.
12SETTING THE SCENE
Globalisation: the key driver of Knowledge Society has enormous implications
revolutionary change for the work of schools, for how education is
The key force for change in the modern world provided and, indeed, for the very existence of
is, and will continue to be, globalisation in all schools as we currently know them.
its manifestations (economic, environmental,
political, cultural, social and technological). The Let’s consider the purposes of education. In
big driver for all these changes is technology. the past, it was possible to talk with some
Digital technologies, in particular, represent certainty about the kind of education needed
the next, rapidly accelerating phase of human to prepare young people for life and work, and
evolution. Those of us who operate daily in with some confidence about the pathways it
the world of Web 2.0 can already envisage would open up to various careers. In the new
the magnitude of changes that schools must world, there is much less certainty about the
undergo – and which are already under way in sorts of jobs that may be needed in the future
many places. But we can barely conceive of what or the kinds of challenges daily living might
life might be like in the predicted scenarios of involve.
Web 3.0 and beyond, where unlimited access
to the web will have become a right and an Whole categories of jobs, which until recently
affordable necessity, artificial intelligence will employed large numbers of people, are
have surpassed individual human intelligence disappearing. At airports, staffed check-in
in many areas, and the internet may indeed counters are being replaced by self-serve kiosks;
have become conscious.2 the same thing is happening at supermarkets,
where self-service tills are replacing checkout
Digital technologies and the internet are staff. Bank tellers and retail sales staff are
transforming almost all aspects of life and being replaced by internet banking and online
creating what has been called the ‘Knowledge shopping. Anything that can be automated is
Society’. This is characterised by being automated. While particularly true of
many low-paid, unskilled jobs, this also applies
• universal and instant access to know increasingly to ‘white-collar’ occupations and
ledge; the professions. At the same time, new jobs
• rapid obsolescence of knowledge are being created, but companies are struggling
and the disappearance of generally to recruit people with the relevant skills. For
longer-term jobs dependent upon old example, as illustrated in Figure 1.1, recent
knowledge; evidence from Eurostat indicates a widening
• exponential increase in new knowledge skills gap in digital jobs in the European
and the creation of generally shorter- Union, with demand far outpacing both the
term new jobs dependent upon new actual (current) and projected supply of
knowledge; and graduates with relevant mathematical, science
• the imperative for ongoing learning to and engineering backgrounds (European
update and connect knowledge. Commission 2013: 85).
The new world order brought about by How should we prepare young people for
globalisation and the emergence of the such a world? There are those who argue
See, for example, Heylighten (2012).
2.
13PREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
Figure 1.1 Actual and projected development in digital jobs in the EU: vacancy and graduate
numbers.
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Vacancies in the digital sector New ICT graduates
that knowledge of the fundamentals of the We agree with these points and don’t believe
disciplines that have long formed the core of they are in conflict.
traditional school subjects remains vital. At the
same time, there are those who call for: Discussing knowledge of the core disciplines,
Daniel Willingham has observed (2006: 1):
• l
ess emphasis on memorisation of
unrelated facts and a greater emphasis on research literature from cognitive science
deep learning of big ideas and organising shows that knowledge does much
principles (the least obsolescent aspects more than just help students hone their
of knowledge); thinking skills: it actually makes learning
• more explicit and systematic attention to easier. Knowledge is not only cumulative,
a set of skills, capabilities, understandings it grows exponentially. Those with a rich
and dispositions that run right across the base of factual knowledge find it easier
traditional subject-based curricula and to learn more – the rich get richer. In
that facilitate response to change and addition, factual knowledge enhances
the rapid acquisition of new knowledge; cognitive processes like problem solving
• a greater emphasis on ‘doing’ in addition and reasoning. The richer the knowledge
to the acquisition of knowledge and on base, the more smoothly and effectively
allowing living, learning and action to these cognitive processes – the very ones
come together in our conceptions of that teachers target – operate. So, the
the educated person. more knowledge students accumulate,
the smarter they become.
14SETTING THE SCENE
In other words, what we are really asking for report of the Committee on Defining Deeper
is more. Yes, we need to be careful to avoid Learning and 21st Century Skills represents
an overloaded curriculum.Yes, we must ensure a significant step towards clarifying the
there is space for deeper learning of the fundamental definition and research-related
more important content, which does imply questions (see Pellegrino et al. 2012).
acquiring a rich base of factual knowledge and,
beyond that, the ability to understand and In addition, progress has been made on scoping
apply it. But yes, we also want to ensure, in a and sequencing these skills or competencies
more systematic, conscious and explicit way, within the context of the overall curriculum.
that, as students learn in specific areas of the For example, the online Australian Curriculum
curriculum, they are also acquiring key cross- for K-10 students gives prominence to seven
curricular skills, capabilities and dispositions general ‘capabilities’:
through direct engagement with a curriculum
that blends living, learning and action. A 1 literacy;
number of systems have undertaken major 2 n umeracy;
revisions of curricula to address the need to 3 information and communication tech-
reduce content coverage in order to promote nology capability;
deeper learning, with Singapore one of the 4 c ritical and creative thinking;
first to take decisive action (Ng 2008). 5 p ersonal and social capability;
6 e thical understanding;
Embedding so-called ‘twenty-first-century 7 intercultural understanding.3
skills’ or ‘next-generation learning’ into the
curriculum has proved much more challenging. Each has been scoped in terms of the key
These learning outcomes are increasingly seen outcomes relevant to each capability and
as critical to equip young people with the sequenced into six levels spanning years
skills required to be ongoing learners who can K-10. Examples are given, with hyperlinks to
navigate an ever-changing world of work and specific content areas within mainstream
find fulfilment in their lives. Learning outcomes curriculum subjects where these capabilities
include the well-understood basics of literacy are particularly relevant and can be developed.
and numeracy but also involve an education
characterised by deep learning and the ability However, the task is not one of simply adding
to think, learn, inquire, problem-solve, create, a new set of ‘skills’ to the curriculum but of
relate and also to manage oneself and one’s continually challenging our concepts of what it
learning. means to be an educated person. Here, again,
it is a matter of more, not less. In addition
Discussion of these higher-order thinking, inter- to knowledge of the disciplines and cross-
and intra-personal skills has often taken place curricular skills and understandings, schools
without any real agreement on meanings and are being expected to provide young people
definitions, and with little research evidence of with an appreciation of, and engagement with,
their importance or even whether they can the big challenges of the modern world, such as
be taught successfully. The publication of the sustainability, peace and conflict, the widening
See http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/overview/general-capabilities-in-the-australian-curriculum
3.
(accessed 18 November 2014).
15PREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
gap between rich and poor, population long been recognised as important, they have
and resources.4 In other words, schools are often fallen outside the scope of what has
expected to prepare young people to be been mandated, made explicit, assessed or
informed and actively engaged citizens.5 certificated. As a consequence, it has been all
too easy for them to remain at the level of
One example of where this has been taken rhetoric rather than at that of deliberate policy.
‘
seriously is Hong Kong’s new credential for
students at the end of Year 12, the Diploma New models of learning and teaching
of Secondary Education, which requires
all students to study, in addition to Chinese
are evolving that make traditional
classroom, teacher and textbook modes
‘
language, English language, mathematics and of formal learning obsolete
between two and four other subjects of their
choosing, a subject called ‘Liberal Studies’. The Globalisation and the new technologies have
aim is to ensure that all students develop an fundamental implications, not only for what
understanding of the major issues confronting students need to know and be able to do but
society in the twenty-first century and are also for how it will be taught. Thanks to high-
equipped with the critical thinking skills they speed internet access, the low cost of devices
need to make informed, critical judgements such as smartphones and tablet personal
about these issues. computers, social media and the evolution
of the semantic web, users can find, share
Beyond skills or competencies and new and combine information more easily. New
understandings, there are calls for schools models of learning and teaching are evolving
to pay more attention to developing the that make traditional classroom, teacher and
character traits and dispositions in young textbook modes of formal learning obsolete.
people that will support them in confronting
the unprecedented changes taking place in Some form of ‘blended learning’, in which a
the world around them, such as resilience, part of what students learn is through online
adaptability, entrepreneurialism, sensitivity delivery of content and instruction with
to cultural and personal differences and the elements of personalisation for when, where
disposition to think and act ethically. Cultivating and at what pace, is increasingly becoming
such outcomes is quite a different matter to the norm, although the form it takes varies
imparting skills and understandings, because it enormously, as does the quality.
means engaging students in situations where
these qualities matter and can be experienced, But deeper, technology-enabled transform
reflected upon and nurtured. ations are on the horizon. Big publishing
and information technology companies, in
Whatever name we give to the disparate conjunction with universities and foundations,
set of learning outcomes that constitute are embarking on the design of new, fully
next-generation learning, it is clear that they integrated online learning systems that use
are central to education in the twenty-first detailed learning progressions and continuous
century. While many of these outcomes have monitoring of progress and responses to
4.
A comprehensive framework for considering fifteen global challenges of the early twenty-first century has been developed by
the Millennium Project. See http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/challeng.html (accessed 15 November 2014).
5.
Regarding the importance of education for citizenship, see in particular, Feith (2011).
16SETTING THE SCENE
deliver finely calibrated instruction that reflects been reached in the delivery of learning
students’ learning styles, needs and aspirations. outcomes and in closing achievement gaps.
A key motivation behind the development of Investment in school education is no longer
these more ‘personalised’ learning systems is yielding the returns it once did, when the focus
the expectation that they will make learning was on access rather than outcomes.
more engaging and more efficient. It is hoped,
too, that they will accelerate progress for In the USA, which has extensive longitudinal
students who have fallen behind. They have data on performance, NAEP (National
significant implications for the role of teachers, Assessment of Educational Progress) survey
especially their knowledge and skillset. results indicate that overall performance has
improved very little since the 1970s.6
Glimpses into the future can be had now
in pioneering schools across the world. But the USA is not alone. Figure 1.2 shows
Significantly, the new digital technologies are annualised changes in performance in reading
not just an option for advanced economies, and mathematics across PISA (Programme
they also offer affordable options for countries for International Student Assessment) assess
in the developing world, particularly through ments for the top nine countries between the
the use of mobile phones (m-learning) to first survey results (either 2000 or 2003) and
reach places where there are no schools, the most recent 2012 survey. (The error bars
teachers or libraries. are 95-per-cent confidence intervals around
each change score.) In the case of reading,
In summary, the increasing availability of only two of the top nine performing countries
powerful and transformative interactive digital in the first survey ( Japan and Korea) recorded
technologies is redefining how learning takes a statistically significant improvement, and
place in schools and all other settings.They are in the case of mathematics, none did. This
key ingredients of the education revolution. was despite significant efforts and additional
resources directed at improving outcomes in
The performance ceiling each of these countries.
Digital technologies and the new Knowledge
Society that they are creating, of themselves, In addition, some of the high-performing
would probably be sufficient to fuel the countries (notably Australia, New Zealand
education revolution, but, as we indicated and Finland) have experienced a statistically
earlier, there is another game-changer at work, significant decline in performance levels rather
namely the ‘pull’ factor inherent in the growing than an improvement. In short, patterns
realisation that the current paradigm of school of results from longitudinal surveys of
education is no longer working as it should. achievement such as NAEP and PISA would
suggest that there are limits as to how much
For many advanced nations, there are clear more productivity can be squeezed out of
indications from longitudinal surveys of school systems operating within the current
achievement that a performance ceiling has paradigm.7
For a commentary on this phenomenon, see Tucker (2013b).
6.
It should be noted, however, that there are those who argue that tests such as PISA, which seek to provide a common
7.
yardstick across nations, are not sensitive to improvements in teaching and learning. PISA does not assess how well students
have learned a specific curriculum but rather their ability to apply understandings in reading, mathematics and science to
everyday problems and situations.
17PREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
Figure 1.2 Annualised change across PISA assessments of reading and mathematics for top nine
performing countries. Source OECD (2013b).
Readings
3.00
2.00 Korea
1.00
Canada Japan
0.00
Australia
-1.00 Belgium
-2.00 NZ Ireland
-3.00 Finland
-4.00 Sweden
Mathematics
3.00
Korea
2.00 Japan Switzerland
1.00
0.00
Belgium
-1.00 NZ
Finland
-2.00
Canada
-3.00 Netherlands Australia
-4.00
Much of the attention given to improving of 2012 data indicated that around 15 per cent
learning outcomes has been directed at the of the variance in mathematics performance
school level. Analyses of the 2009 PISA data could be attributed to differences between
indicate that in the participating countries, schools (OECD 2013c: Table IV.1.12a). In
after adjustments for demographic and socio- other words, there are substantial differences
economic characteristics, around 20 per cent between schools even when their intake
of the variance in reading performance could characteristics have been taken into account.
be attributed to differences between schools Research into school effectiveness, much of
(OECD 2011:Table IV.2.2a).The same analyses which was undertaken in the 1980s and early
It should be noted, however, that there are those who argue that tests such as PISA, which seek to provide a common
7.
yardstick across nations, are not sensitive to improvements in teaching and learning. PISA does not assess how well students
have learned a specific curriculum but rather their ability to apply understandings in reading, mathematics and science to
everyday problems and situations.
18SETTING THE SCENE
‘
1990s, has provided us with a good knowledge
of the more powerful school-level levers for
‘
quality of teaching is the key to
unlocking significant improvements
improvement. Strong educational leadership, in outcomes
a small number of strategic priorities and
a climate of high expectations of student There is now a wide consensus that quality
behaviour and learning are among the factors of teaching is the key to unlocking significant
that have delivered remarkable and rapid improvements in outcomes. In 2007, Barber
turnarounds. and Mourshed, in How the World’s Best-
Performing School Systems Come Out on Top,
However, estimates of school effects can be concluded that three things matter most:
misleading. Analyses that take into account the
fact that students are not only taught within 1 getting the right people to become
a given school but are also in a particular teachers;
class within that school, result in much lower 2 developing them into effective instruct
estimates of the variance in outcomes at the ors; and
school level but high proportions of variance 3 ensuring that the system is able to
at the class level. For example, in one such deliver the best possible instruction for
study conducted by Hill and Rowe in Australia every child.
in the 1990s, it was found that fitting a two-
level model (students within schools) to local In response to the call for a greater focus
assessment data resulted in estimates of school on teaching quality, many nations have
effects of 17.6 per cent for English and 16.6 initiated work on clarifying teacher roles and
per cent for mathematics (very similar to the expectations, improving the quality of recruits
OECD two-level model outcomes). However, into teaching, ensuring that pre-service
three-level modelling (students within classes, teacher training includes a solid foundation
within schools) resulted in estimates of 8.2 of professional practice and systematically
per cent for English and 5.4 per cent for building opportunities to reflect on and
mathematics at school level, but 43.7 per cent enhance their practice into teachers’ daily
for English and 56.4 per cent for mathematics lives. In a few countries, but particularly in
at class level (Hill and Rowe 1996). the USA, a key part of the solution is seen
as the implementation of systems of teacher
In other words, it matters more which class accountability for student learning, with direct
a student is assigned to than which school links between individual teachers and their
they attend.This is not an altogether surprising students’ test scores.
conclusion when one considers that learning
takes place in classrooms with a specific However, a succession of other commentators,
teacher and a class of students with particular beginning with Dan Lortie in 1975 and most
backgrounds, but it points to the fact that, recently Jal Mehta (2013), have reached a
in order to improve learning, it is important more fundamental conclusion.8 They believe
to focus on what is happening in individual that, in many nations, improvements to the
classrooms and on the quality of teaching quality of teaching can only come through
received by each student. the transformation of teaching from a largely
Lortie is quoted in the insightful and scholarly review of the field by Grossman and McDonald (2008).
8.
19PREPARING FOR A RENAISSANCE IN ASSESSMENT
under-qualified and trained, heavily unionised, by Hauser, Professor Geoff Masters presents
bureaucratically controlled ‘semi-profession’ a dramatic depiction of the extent of the
into a true profession with a distinctive overlap in performance of more than a
knowledge base, a framework for teaching, quarter of a million mathematics students in
well defined common terms for describing different grades in the USA (2013: Fig. 2.3; see
and analysing teaching at a level of specificity Figure 1.3). Much of the overlap seems to be
and strict control, by the profession itself, a consequence of the fact that high-achieving
on entry into the profession. Broadly, we students make steady progress, but low-
agree with this analysis (noting that this achieving students make very little progress
characterisation of teaching is less applicable over time.
in many Asian countries) and believe that the
performance ceiling will remain until the full The phenomenon of wide variations in
professionalisation of teaching, in this sense, performance of students of the same age is
has become a reality. This is what Michael observed in almost all studies where vertically
Barber has called ‘informed professionalism’ equated test data (across age grades) are
(2014: slide 3). available. These variations indicate that the
greatest opportunities for improvement exist
Whatever the precise contribution of at the student level, but, so far, few systems have
teacher effects (quality of teaching) or the been able to significantly narrow achievement
optimum strategies for maximising them, it gaps within grades.
is unquestionably the case that the greatest
proportion of variance in learning outcomes We would suggest that this is in no small part
is at student level. Using data from a study due to the way in which school education
Figure 1.3 Distributions of students’ mathematics achievements (Years 2–7, USA, 2003).
Source: Masters (2013).
Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7
Band 6
Band 5
Band 4
Band 3
Band 2
Band 1
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