Monitor your use of tests – it’s important, and equally as important is helping students make the most of them

A cartoon of a teacher considering how appropriate the test she's writing is for the chemistry topic and for her students

Source: © Claudia Flandoli

Before setting your students a test, consider whether the assessment is appropriate and will achieve the intended outcome

When I started teaching, I used topic tests, taught to the specifications and just did assessments unquestioningly. Over time, I came to realise that assessment is a complex concept, that is influenced by philosophical assumptions, constrained by policy decisions, and enacted in school and classroom practice.

There are several ongoing debates about assessment in science education, which include:

  • Should assessment be done to or with the learner?
  • What should be assessed and in what proportions? Scientific process, scientific knowledge, application of scientific knowledge?
  • Should practical skills be assessed? If so, how and when?
  • Should feedback be with grades and/or comments? Should there be grades at all?
  • Should high-stakes exams be linear or modular? Should there be a coursework component?

Your views on assessments depend on your own educational experiences, your teaching experiences and your beliefs in the purpose of science education.

Monitor your assessment practice

Teachers carry out a range of assessments in their everyday practice from classroom assessments — such as asking questions, oral or written feedback, challenging misconceptions, encouraging self-assessment or peer-assessment — to summative assessments — like choosing or designing topic tests, marking summative tests or using information to make judgements about teaching and learning.

You can use these questions to assess your own assessments:

1. What is the purpose of the assessment?

2. What outcomes/results are expected?

3. How will outcomes/results be used?

4. Does the activity disadvantage any learners? Can this be mitigated?

5. Does the assessment do what it is intended to do?

If you applied these questions to a classroom assessment, for example using mini whiteboards to assess the knowledge and understanding of a whole class, you might answer them like this:

Assessment in the classroom

1. What is the purpose of the assessment?
To quickly check key knowledge and understanding, provide feedback and move on.

2. What outcomes/results are expected?
A range of answers from the learners, mostly correct.

3. How will outcomes/results be used?
For un-recorded formative assessment, just to challenge mistakes and misconceptions.

4. Does the activity disadvantage any learners? Can this be mitigated?
Learners who have low literacy, cannot write quickly, or do not perform well under pressure. Mitigation can be by using Teacher Assistant support, allowing enough time, establishing ground rules and emphasising the low-stakes nature of the task.

5. Does the assessment do what it is intended to do?
Most learners should respond with the correct answer. The teacher can pick up spelling mistakes or misconceptions. Gives the teacher confidence to move on to the next step.

This activity isn’t intended to monitor progress or for results to be recorded.

For a topic test, for which the results of an entire year group can be appraised, your answers might be something like this:

Topic test

1. What is the purpose of the assessment?
To assess knowledge and understanding of the topic just taught.

2. What outcomes/results are expected?
A range of scores

3. How will outcomes/results be used?
Summative grades for the learners provide information for the next steps in teaching and learning.

4. Does the activity disadvantage any learners? Can this be mitigated?
Learners with low literacy skills can be supported by a teaching assistant, scribe and additional time.

5. Does the assessment do what it is intended to do?
If two classes achieve 100% in the test, then there is not enough discrimination at the top end. If lower-achieving students scored lower on a particular question, then those learners likely need more support in that area.

I hope this series of articles on assessment literacy will help you to improve your own practice, so that you can be conscious of what you are doing, why you are doing it and be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Andy is the assessment editor for Oxford University Press Activate, trains teachers at the University of Brighton, and is the author of the book Oxford Teaching Guides: How to assess your studentsView full profile

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