Understanding and Improving Teachers' Classroom Assessment Decision Making: Implications for Theory and Practice

Abstract

Teacher assessment decision making is described a s a process that may be important in developing a measurement theory for classroom assessment. Teacher beliefs and values about what and how to assess often conflict with the pressures of external demands, especially recent high-stakes large-scale testing. With this sense of tension, teachers make assessment decisions that will engage and motivate students and enhance learning. Implications f o r a measurement theory of classroom assessment, as well a s teacher preservice and inservice, are explored. The article suggests that measurement specialists need to adapt technical testing principles to be more relevant to the nature of classroom assessment decision making.

Pre-service Teachers’ Thinking about Student Assessment Issues

“…Although group and team work is strongly recommended in teaching and learning theories, it is less so in current measurement theory. Third, many of the issues identified in the initial cycle related to what is called 'academic enablers' such as effort and student participation (Duncan and Noonan, 2007;McMillan, 2003), or student predisposition, ISSN 1948-5476 2010 www.macrothink.org/xxx 7 such as submitting late assignments (Marzano, 2000). These seem to have been replaced in the final cycles by a greater number of references to measurement principles such as reliability, validity and fairness.…”

“…McMillan (2003) and Saxe et al (1999) found that experienced teachers are affected by previous knowledge, beliefs, values, expectations, emotions, and identity. They are also pressed by external influences such as curriculum related documents, policies, ISSN 1948-5476 2010 professional development programs, large-scale assessments (institutional impacts), and stakeholders such as colleagues, administration, students, and parents.…”

Evaluación de un programa de perfeccionamiento docente implementado en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Finis Terrae

“…Realizada mediante la aplicación de una pauta de cotejo especialmente diseñada (validada por criterio de jueces) y que consideró tres criterios de evaluación: Inicio, Desarrollo y Cierre de una clase, con un total de 13 indicadores de logro, demostrados útiles por la literatura [7][8][9][10][11] . La pauta de observación de clases fue aplicada por dos tipos de evaluadores: a) evaluadores pares (LS y CW) obteniendo 144 registros evaluados y b) estudiantes que respondieron 1.524 encuestas.…”

Conceptions and Practices of Assessment in Higher Education: A Study of Portuguese University Teachers

“…Other teachers see assessment as formative as synonymous with development, learning, knowledge, adjustment and improvement. The divergence of perspectives is associated with the lack of clear institutional policy on assessment practices and previous experiences of the university teachers (Fletcher et al, 2012;McMillan, 2003). As a result, research is needed about how conceptions of assessment can be influenced and enhanced the institutional policy (Rust, 2007;Brown, 2004).…”