Is our KS3 assessment any good?
The tests that every secondary school's KS3 assessment approach should pass.
Key Stage 3, those early years of secondary education before students begin studying for their GCSEs, are somewhat of a Wild West when it comes to assessment. Ever since National Curriculum Levels were abandoned, schools have done their own thing. With so many models and approaches, how do we work out what is good and what is not?
In other words, how can we put our tests to the test?
Of course, an assessment system is far more than just tests. An assessment is made whenever a teacher intentionally sets out to make inferences about what students have learnt. This can range from a show of hands, to a diagnostic test, to a performance, to a formal controlled exam. There are so many people making decisions about when, how and what to assess - without a clear purpose and oversight, the whole thing can lack coherence and even undermine learning.
Here are some questions we might ask of our KS3 assessment.
Motivating productive learning behaviours
Does assessment prompt students to behave in ways that, over time, will ensure they learn what we would like them to learn? For example, does assessment motivate students to initiate and sustain studying, pay attention to the right things, and respond constructively to feedback?
Preserving subject integrity
Does our assessment system allow and promote methods of assessment which are appropriate for the subject? For example, do assessments measure the knowledge that is valued in the discipline and support valid inferences about the extent to which the student has mastered the curriculum?
Improving the learner
Do learners improve as a result of being assessed? All assessment is formative in some way. Does the process of assessment and the information it provides to the student lead to them being more effective learners?
Improving instruction
Does instruction improve in the light of students’ performance in assessments? For example, is the curriculum continually reviewed, do teachers reflect on the impact of their teaching, and are future teaching episodes informed by the apparent gaps in students’ learning?
Measurement
Do assessments measure what they are meant to measure? Some assessments claim to measure one thing, but also measure another. The assessment is noisy. For example, poorly written questions can measure reading comprehension over subject matter, and contextual cues can introduce cultural bias.
Pure intentions
Is the timing or nature of assessments skewed for managerial convenience? Parent reporting timelines, accountability pressures, and bureaucratic decisions can make demands of the assessment system that affect assessment integrity and the quality of inferences possible.
Belief
Does assessment in subjects build a sense of self-efficacy - a student’s belief in their own ability to achieve learning goals? Assessment can provide a sense of success and progression as students realise they can do what they could not do before.
Accessibility
Can all students demonstrate their knowledge? Assessments should reveal success alongside gaps in learning; in a proportionate way so that dignity remains intact. This may be achieved through assessment design or by removing barriers to students demonstrating their ability.
Opportunity cost
Is assessment worth it in terms of the time and effort lost towards other activities that promote learning? Assessment can be a learning experience in itself, but over-assessing students risks crowding out instruction and practice.
Discrimination
Do assessments accurately distinguish between what is known and what is not? Who knows from who does not? This kind of discrimination is positive as it allows informed action by teachers to fill gaps in learning.
The main thing
Does assessment keep everyone focused on the foundational, essential knowledge that your curriculum demands? What is assessed is a powerful signal to students as to what is deemed important.
Diagnosis
Does assessment help teachers to diagnose the reasons for poor performance? A wrong answer or poor performance can be due to a multitude of reasons. Not all assessment needs to be precise in its diagnosis, but some assessments must serve this purpose.
Universal and targeted
Does your assessment approach balance universal and targeted assessment methods? Whilst some assessments will be aimed at a whole cohort, there is also a need for assessments which are targeted at one or a small number of students. For example, assessments which help to understand additional needs, assessments which measure the impact of support, and assessments which identify critical gaps in foundational knowledge.
Gaming
Are your assessments immune to gaming? Students learn quickly how to play the assessment game. Where they do, their performance will give a misleading view of their learning. Over-reliance on a narrow range of assessment approaches, prescriptive study advice (hints), and covert signals about how to be successful undermine validity.
Mastery mindset
Does your assessment promote performance over mastery? Emphasising grades, ranking, and metrics can lead students to believe that what they get in an assessment is more important than what it tells them about their learning gains. Do you consistently remind students that assessment results are a sign of success, not the goal in and of itself?
Coherent and complementary
How well does your assessment fit together? Are you building a picture over time of students’ learning? Are the different elements of your system serving distinct and complementary purposes?
Balance
Are multiple goals held in balance? Assessment is employed for many purposes. If one purpose dominates, behaviour can be distorted.
There are no perfect KS3 assessment systems, but we can get closer to one if we ask the right questions.
