It is difficult to remember that educational assessment used to be largely confined to the technical domain of psychometrics. In recent years, and particularly since the plans for the delivery of the National Curriculum have been established, it has become the key area of interest and debate in education and is making an impact on all areas, from teaching skills to policy-making. This book focuses on the comparative perspective to spotlight the common basis of many of the current issues, including the development of a market economy in provision, minimum competency testing for teachers (as in the USA), institutional quality, assessment information, measurement-driven instruction (MDI), accreditation of absolute rather than relative competencies and issues of equity of opportunity and national development. It is broadly divided into three sections on the general role of assessment and public examinations, alternative approaches to certification and new policy techniques.
Part 1 Comparative perspectives on educational assessment: the role of
assessment re-examined in international context, Angel Little; trends in the
assessment of teaching and learning - educational and methodological
perspectives, Carol Anne Dwyer; reshaping the standards agenda, from an
Australian's perspective of curriculum and assessment, David Cohen; national
assessment - a comparison of English and American trends, Caroline Gipps;
possibilities and limitations in cross-national comparisons of educational
achievement, Les McLean. Part 2 Comparative perspectives on public
examinations: trade-offs in examination policies - an international
comparative perspective, Harold J.Noah and Max A.Eckstein; examinations
systems in Africa, Thomas Kellaghan; the introduction of continuous
assessment systems at secondary level in developing countries, David
Pennycuick; exam questions - a consideration of consequences of reforms to
examining and assessment in Great Britain and New Zealand, Tony McNaughton;
bring your Grandmother to the examination, Paul Rosanowski. Part 3 Selection,
certification and the accreditation of competence: university entrance
examinations in China - a quiet revolution, Keith Lewin and Wang Lu; learning
motivation and work - a Malaysian perspective, Jasbir Sarjit Singh et al;
assessment certification and the needs of young people - from badges of
failure towards signs of success, Penelope Weston; beyond commissions and
competencies - European approaches to assessment in information technology,
Alison Wolf.
