Developing assessment strategies
Designing effective learning experiences requires you to select strategies that will allow evidence of learning to be gathered. Assessment should be an integral part of the unit of work and should support student learning. It relies on your professional judgement and is based on reliable data acquired in a fair and challenging environment, from multiple performances in a variety of contexts.You should employ a range of assessment strategies to ensure that you gather information regarding the knowledge and understanding that are being acquired, and the skills that are being developed by your students. Strategies should be appropriate to the outcomes being addressed, be manageable in number and be supportive of the learning process.
Working collaboratively allows you to develop a shared understanding of the syllabus standards and also supports all teachers in making consistent and comparable judgements of student achievement in relation to these standards.
You should consider whether each assessment strategy:
- is appropriate in meeting the requirements of the syllabus
- has explicitly stated purposes and addresses the outcomes
- is integral to the teaching and learning program
- shows a clear relationship between the outcomes and content being assessed
- allows students to demonstrate the extent of their skills, knowledge and understanding in an appropriately challenging way
- focuses on what was taught in class and what students were informed would be assessed
- provides opportunities to gather information about what further teaching and learning is required for students to succeed
- provides valid and reliable evidence of student learning and is fair.
Each syllabus provides advice about choosing assessment strategies and gives examples of subject-specific assessment strategies.
In planning for assessment, you will also need to consider how results will be recorded, with a view to ensuring that there is sufficient and appropriate information collected for making an 'on-balance' judgement of the standard achieved by the student at the end of the stage. The evidence collected should enable you to make consistent judgements to meet the various reporting requirements that your system, school and community may have.