When I was studying education, I recall a particular lecturer sharing the statement that in education “we assess what we value and we value what we assess”. Assessment is a crucial aspect of the education cycle. When performed in a considered manner it can be used to guide teaching direction, to test for understanding and to highlight areas of success and where development is required.

Unfortunately, assessments, be they tests, quizzes, projects, essays, examinations or the myriad of other creative ways we can evaluate progress, tend to be commodified as a means through which students can seek reward for their work. 

Arguably, this establishes a false paradigm which can be likened to the industrialised employment model where students are seen to “work” and are “paid” with grades as a result of their efforts and achievements. In this model, we focus heavily on comparison and competition and tend to generate student motivation connected to grade attainment.

We might hear statements from a teacher like: “You owe me that assignment”. We are also likely to hear that most hated student question: “Is this on the exam?” These both tend to see assessment as commodities and learning as secondary to achievement.

Every teacher knows the silent defeat associated with a student putting down their pens and slouching in their chair when told that this fascinating and valuable learning experience is not on the exam and therefore in the eyes of the student does not matter.

A traditional model of assessment sees students learning about a particular topic, doing homework along the way and then performing a summative assessment at the conclusion of a learning unit which determines their achievement. In this scenario, the class will then move on to the next topic. If a student passes it is considered that there is no issue with their continuation, if they have “failed” they might study for a re-sit but the class will have moved on in the interim.

The obvious detriment in this model is that discovering a student has “failed” or narrowly passed at the conclusion of a unit leaves little space for correction. Rather, as the class moves forward in the curriculum, many students are left with significant gaps that may not be rectified. While a teacher will invariably follow up an examination with a thorough explanation of the answers to the students, without being “paid” in grades, the students may not be motivated to do the work to fill any gaps. 

The contemporary learning environment has thankfully developed a range of strategies to more usefully promote assessment models that can be more consistently used as a tool for positive learning. These might involve starting a learning unit with a diagnostic assessment which helps establish what prior knowledge a student has and whether they have some learning gaps. Throughout the unit, the teacher adopts a range of formative assessments. These are quick check-ins that assess a student’s progress through the learning objectives and check if alterations need to be made to the teaching style or content or if any key concepts need consolidation or reteaching. 

The summative assessment is then used as a means of referencing student learning so they can have a sense of how they have progressed, how they fit in within a wider cohort and can form useful data to be used to guide future learning, and as a means of ensuring successful communication within the educational support triangle of home, teacher and student.

As we move into the Senior School examination period, it is worth considering that these high stakes summative assessments are not the end point of learning but rather should be mined for the useful information and guidance that they can offer our teachers and more importantly, our students, about their progress and future aspirations as learners.