Concerns on Assessment

My major concerns on assessment centre around the following:

1. Despite stated word limits for tasks, the limits refer only to a relatively small proportion of the total assignment – this is particularly true in the EEI

2. The ability to communicate clearly and precisely underpins success instead of the concepts, principles and applications taking primacy. Ie, for two students with the same chemistry ability, the one with the greater facility with communication will be assessed at a higher level.

3. Criterion-based assessment is still a blunt-edged tool. Despite increased consistency among panellists, differing interpretations still exist on the features and characteristics of work required to meet specific standards.

4. The EEI is a flawed piece of assessment – it is not possible, within the time and resource constraints imposed, to design and conduct an investigation of the sophistication originally intended by the syllabus documents.

5. The learning is the assessment. With the extended tasks, students have no time to incorporate complex concepts into their cognitive framework before they are assessed on them. The time for reflection and practising until processes are ingrained has gone.

6. The work load on both teachers and students is overwhelming. I know, even with my experience, that it takes approximately one hour to assess to best of my ability a single student’s EEI.

All of this is not to suggest that our students do not have valuable skill sets when they exit secondary school; it purely that the skill set is different. Knowledge of details and the ability to undertake routine applications has been diminished, but the ability to analyse and evaluate have been enhanced.