Synergy and Tension Between Large-Scale and Classroom Assessment: International Trends

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The synergy, or lack thereof, between large-scale and classroom assessment continues to be fiercely debated in both academic and policy spheres. Researchers have regularly documented the pronounced influence of external testing measures on teachers’ instructional practices. This session examines the challenges posed by test-based accountability systems and how results from large-scale assessments (LSA) are used in classrooms across five countries: United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Finland. The symposium explicates how LSA results are utilized to inform and sometimes constrain classroom instruction. Written by leading academics, each national profile reviews developments on the synergies and tensions between LSA and classroom teaching and assessment. The session concludes with an international analysis of trends and discusses the implications for assessment reform.

Sub Unit

• Division H - Research, Evaluation and Assessment in Schools / Division H - Section 3: Assessment in Schools

Chair

• Eva L. Baker, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• Assessment Synergies and Tensions in Australia - Claire M. Wyatt-Smith, Australian Catholic University; Lenore Adie, Australian Catholic University

• Assessment Synergies and Tensions in Canada - Louis Volante, Brock University; Christopher DeLuca, Queen's University - Kingston

• Assessment Synergies and Tensions in Finland - Heidi Katarina Harju-Luukkainen, University of Helsinki

• Assessment Synergies and Tensions in Germany - Christoph Schneider, Universität Trier

• Assessment Synergies and Tensions in Singapore - Kelvin Tan, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Assessment Synergies and Tensions in the United States - Margaret Heritage, WestEd

Discussant

• Eva L. Baker, University of California - Los Angeles