Educational Assessment: Why a Grade Can Stop Learning
What tests can and cannot tell us, how feedback really works, why graders disagree, and what international rankings actually measure.
Try 3 questions
1. 'Assessment for learning' differs from 'assessment of learning' mainly in what way?
- It counts more toward the final grade
- It is written by outside agencies
- It is used to adjust teaching midway
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Answer: It is used to adjust teaching midway
Assessment for learning gathers evidence during instruction so teachers and students can change course; assessment of learning certifies what was learned at the end.
2. A teacher gives a short ungraded quiz on the first day of a unit. What is its main purpose?
- To rank students for the final grade
- To train students in the exam format
- To find out what students already know
Show the answer
Answer: To find out what students already know
This is diagnostic assessment: it reveals prior knowledge and misconceptions so teaching can start in the right place.
3. Campbell's law warns what happens when a test score is used for high-stakes decisions?
- It stops having any effect on teaching
- It becomes more accurate over time
- It becomes distorted and less trustworthy
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Answer: It becomes distorted and less trustworthy
The more an indicator drives rewards and punishments, the more people bend their behavior to it, corrupting both the number and the process it measures.
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