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=Institutional policies require that assessment tasks be designed to support incremental development of student skills and capabilities for learning. =

Evidence
‘Effective teaching not only involves imparting information and understandings to students… but also involves assessing and evaluating students’ understandings of this information, so that the next teaching act can be matched to the present understanding of the students’ (Hattie & Timperley 2007). Part of the feedback process is enabling teachers to understand the effectiveness of their teaching. Teachers can devise activities and questions that provide feedback to them about the effectiveness of their teaching, particularly so they know what to do next. Assessments can perform all these functions (p. 102).

Hattie & Timperley (2007) argue from many meta-analyses that feedback is most effective when it provides information on correct rather than incorrect responses and when it builds on changes from previous trials. They note that assessment can be structured to be a feedback tool, which can enhance learning. There is little evidence that traditional assessment, used to assess students’ proficiency, has assisted in the learning process.

Scaffolding enables learning by facilitating incremental development. Learners start with existing knowledge and build new knowledge with support and feedback from teachers and peers. At the beginning of a new task, the scaffolding should be concrete, external and visible (Wilhelm, Baker & Dube, 2002). One way of directly scaffolding student learning using developmental assessment is outlined in a case study by Star & McDonald (2007). These authors note that ‘students develop their ability to write an academic assignment as the lecturer leads them through structured assessment activities. The aim is to model the steps of the academic assessment process to allow the students incrementally to build their skills and confidence, and then provide feedback at key stages of the process. Vygotsky (1978) stressed that students need to engage in challenging tasks (such as assessment) that they can successfully complete with appropriate structure and support.’ (p. 20).

Assessment, which is about understanding student learning (Ramsden, 2003), affects the nature, effectiveness, and importance of learning (Hannafin et al., 2003): ‘Given that students orient their study towards their perception of the assessment, the solution offered is to find more challenging forms of assessment’ (Laurillard, 2002, p. 204). Assessment that communicates high expectations challenges learning approaches and builds competency for outcomes.

Learning outcomes and assessment are inextricably linked and should reveal capabilities rather than just technicalities. There is, however, debate over forms of assessment as to whether they should assess students’ ‘surface learning’ knowledge, or ‘deep learning’ capabilities (Laurillard, 2002; Ramsden, 2003). Rather than summative and formative assessment being about ‘simple dualities such as grading and diagnosis’, assessment needs to consider the complex relationships among teachers and teaching, and learners and learning: ‘It concerns the quality of teaching as well as the quality of learning…It is not only about what a student can do; it is also about what it means he or she can do’ (Ramsden, 2003, p. 177).

Resources
Evidence of capability in this practice is seen through the use of assessment programmes designed to support students in achieving the learning objectives and in which learners build capability progressively with opportunities for feedback and reflection. Policy and guidelines should encourage the use of a mix of assessment techniques throughout the course and encourage the use of challenging tasks to motivate performance and learning.

One suggestion by Mantz Yorke (ILT symposium on Widening Participation and Promoting Student Retention, London, Sept 27th 2001). Is that assessment at the end of the first semester (in first year) should be formative and that longer assessments such as theses set sub-goals along the way. Another way of directly scaffolding student learning using developmental assessment is outlined in a case study by Star & McDonald (2007).