Assessing
Monitoring
Reporting
Assessing of, for and as learning
Assessment practices for English learning within the Essential Learnings Framework
Assessing and reporting using the Essential Learnings outcomes and standards
The language of assessing
Protocols
For more information

Assessing

Assessing is the process of acquiring information and making judgements about students’ learning.  The purposes of assessment include the following:

• to assist student learning related to outcomes
• to make judgements about students’ achievements
• to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching programs
• to inform decisions about students’ future learning

Monitoring

Monitoring refers to a series of assessments done over a period of time.  At the classroom and school level, the purpose of monitoring is to keep track of and analyse developments in students’ learning, assess their progress towards goals, and facilitate program evaluation to inform future planning and accountability.

Reporting

Reporting is communication to stakeholders about the information obtained from assessing and monitoring.  The purpose of reporting is to improve learning.  Reporting is characterised by clear, open communication and involves a mutually respectful partnership between parents/carers, teachers and students.

For further information about the Department of Education’s Assessment, Monitoring and Reporting Policy, Strategic Plan 2005 - 2008 and Directions in Assessment and Reporting papers, visit the Office for Educational Review web site.

For further information about the Department of Education’s Learning, Teaching and Assessment Principles visit the School Education Division web site.

Assessing of, for and as learning

Assessment of learning is not the same as assessment for learning or assessment as learning. Assessment of learning in English provides evidence of student achievement for reporting and accountability purposes.  Its main purpose is to make judgements about performance.

Assessment for learning in English helps to inform the teaching and learning process by identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses.  Its main purpose is to gather information. 

Assessment as learning in English helps students to learn more.  Its main purpose is self-monitoring.  When assessment as learning principles are employed, students come to understand what it means to be responsible for their own learning - the foundation of lifelong learning.

Some teachers view assessment for and as learning in similar ways.  For further information about assessment for learning, visit the Curriculum Corporation’s Assessment for Learning web site.

For further information about assessing, visit the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Guide.

Assessment practices for English learning within the Essential Learnings Framework

Enacting the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Principles means that assessing, monitoring, moderation and reporting practices need to change for English teachers.  As the primary purpose for assessment is to improve learning, assessment practices must be inclusive, explicit, valid and reliable. 

English teachers need to ensure that an appropriate balance of assessing as learning, for learning and of learning takes place in classrooms.  Learning is enhanced when teachers make the criteria for success explicit and provide frequent and varied feedback to students on their progress towards achieving Essential Learnings outcomes and standards.

Formative, ongoing and authentic assessment practices which are designed to improve learning need to be central to English learning.  Students should participate actively in the assessment of their learning through self and peer assessment.

English teachers also need to work more collaboratively with other teachers, both within and across schools, to ensure consistency of teacher judgement about student achievement against the Essential Learnings outcomes and standards.

Assessing and reporting using the Essential Learnings outcomes and standards

From 2005 all government schools in Tasmania will be assessing and reporting against the calibrated Essential Learnings outcomes and standards.  An assessing and reporting transition model for the years 2005-2008 outlines the minimum reporting requirements each year, leading to full implementation in 2008. 

In 2005 comments will be required against the Thinking and Communicating Essentials.  On balance, collaborative assessments will also be required against four calibrated outcomes - Inquiry, Maintaining wellbeing, Being literate and Being numerate.

A new Quality Moderation of Assessments Process (Qmap) will be established for 2005.  Internal moderation processes will remain the responsibility of schools.  For further information about assessing, monitoring and reporting from 2005 using the Essential Learnings outcomes and standards, visit the Office for Educational Review web site.

The language of assessing

Consistency of teacher judgement relies on a common understanding of the Essential Learnings outcomes and standards and what student demonstration of the outcomes and standards looks like.

On balance judgement requires a teacher or group of teachers to make a qualitative judgement about the standard of student achievement at a particular time given a range of evidence.  On balance judgements are not average performance over time or determined by algorithms.

A rubric is a key that describes varying levels of quality from excellent to poor for a specific assignment, skill, project, essay, research paper or performance.  Its purposes are to give informative feedback about works in progress and to give detailed evaluation of final products.  All rubrics have two features in common: a list of criteria and gradations of achievement.  The criteria are chosen to define and guide the teaching and learning.  Rubrics can be constructed by teachers or collaboratively by students and teachers.

Please view sample rubrics on conducting an interview and text composition. Further information about rubrics is available in the Assessing section of the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Guide.

Protocols

Protocols enable teachers to engage in a structured discussion and look closely at student work.  They are designed to build the skills and culture necessary for collaborative work amongst groups of teachers.  Protocols make it safe to ask challenging questions, promote teacher inquiry and focus attention on teaching and learning.

For further explanation of the language of assessing, visit the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Guide.

For more information

Two of the best general references books on assessing are:
Earl, L.M. (2003) Assessment as Learning. Thousand Oaks, California, Corwin Press, Inc.
Wiggins, G. (1998) Educative Assessment. San Francisco, California, Jossey-Bass Inc.
For information on ongoing assessment, visit the Harvard web site.
The award-winning Australian literacy site MyRead has a section on monitoring and assessment.
The Discovery Channel School and the Rubistar web sites have a wealth of information about rubrics.
AATE has a position paper on assessment and reporting in English.