Assessment in harmony with
our understanding of
learning
Mary James
University of Cambridge, UK
BERA President
Key questions
Assessments need to be congruent with our
views of learning if they are to be valid
Questions for teachers:
 To what extent do the assessments
required of me, available to me, or that I
create, reflect the kind of learning that I
aim to promote in students?
 If assessments lack congruence with
learning, how can I try to bring them into
closer harmony?
Three generations of assessment
practice
Three generations of ideas about links
between assessment and learning and
their implications.
Headings adapted from Chris Watkins’
(2003) descriptions of different views of
learning:
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Learning is being taught
Learning is individual sense-making
Learning is building knowledge as part of doing
things with others.
First generation: assessing learning of
what is taught
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individual
performance under test conditions.
ability to recall facts and demonstrate skills.
Tests or tasks are specially constructed - separate from
learning.
Preparation involves practice
Time-limited
No access to materials/resources
Questions organised in a hierarchy of difficulty
Responses assessed as correct or incorrect
Comparison with other learners or against a standard
Areas for improvement inferred from incorrect
responses
Underpinnings:
Two different sets of assumptions underpin these assessment practices
‘Folk’ views of learning
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The brain or mind is a kind of vessel into which information is poured.
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Learning is assumed to have occurred when knowledge is ‘retained’.
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Learner is passive
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Learning depends largely on innate ability (IQ).
Behaviourist views of learning
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Learning as conditioned response to external stimuli
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Rewards and punishments ‘condition’ desired responses.
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Repetition of the stimulus makes the response habitual – value of
repeated practice.
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Eventually the response is so automatic that it can be produced at
speed.
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Complex skill broken down into components, taught separately, then
re-assembled.
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Economical to teach generic skills separately then applied in many
situations.
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Learn basic facts and skills first
Second generation: assessing learning
as individual sense-making
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Individual
Problem-solving and understanding.
Application of conceptual frameworks to find solutions to
problems, and demonstrate cognitive skills.
Specially constructed
Tasks may be extended e.g. essays, open-ended
assignments, projects, coursework.
Often time-limited - problem solving with ‘less search’.
Some access to materials - less a test of memory than
understanding.
Assessed according to specified criteria - rarely one correct
answer.
Normal trajectory of progress can be described.
Improvement comes from closing the gap between novice
and expert.
Areas for improvement inferred from misunderstandings
Underpinnings: Cognitive constructivist
views of learning
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Learning is determined by what goes on in people’s heads
Building mental models of how the world works helps people
interpret new information
Active process of meaning-making.
Emphasis on concepts
Higher (or deeper) level processes such as comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation
Application of concepts valued for its capacity to reveal
(mis)understanding
Novices need help to acquire the ways of thinking possessed
by experts - the ways they organize knowledge and the way
they control their mental processes through metacognition thinking about thinking.
Third generation: assessing learning as
building knowledge as part of doing
things with others.
Not much evidence that this exists in schools
Underpinnings: The socio-cultural or ‘situated’ view of learning
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Learning involves both thought and action in context
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Thinking is conducted through actions that alter the situation and the
situation changes the thinking - the two interact
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Learning is a mediated activity - tools and artefacts have a crucial role
e.g. books, equipment, language and sign systems
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Learning is a social and collaborative activity - people develop their
thinking together
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Learning is distributed within the social group e.g. language skill is
not solely an indication of individual intelligence but the intelligence of
the community that developed it
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The collective knowledge of the group is internalised by the individual.
As an individual creates new knowledge, then he or she will
externalise it in communicating it to others who will put it to use and
then internalise it (an expansive learning cycle).
Implications for teaching
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Teachers need to create environments in which people
can be stimulated to think and act in authentic tasks
Access to tools is important
Activities that a learner can complete with assistance
so that the ‘more expert other’ can ‘scaffold’ learning.
Tasks need to be collaborative
Students need to be involved in the generation of
problems as well as solutions.
Teachers and students become a learning community
and jointly solve problems
Most valued outcome is engaged participation in ways
that others find beneficial
Problematic to judge an individual as having acquired
knowledge abstracted from action settings
Implications for assessment
Pointers for third generation assessment:
 Assessment alongside learning, not as an ‘after learning’
event
 Done by the community - role for self-assessment, peerassessment and teacher assessment.
 Assessment of group learning as well as the learning of the
individual
 ‘In vivo’ studies of complex, situated problem-solving i.e.
participation in authentic (real-world) activities or projects
 Focus on how well people exercise ‘agency’ in their use of the
resources – proper justification for course-work assignments
 Achievement captured and reported through narrative
accounts and audio- and visual media
 Portfolio has the potential to capture ‘assessment as inquiry’.
 Holistic and qualitative judgement - not atomised and
quantified as in measurement approaches.
Example 1: The ‘exhibition’ in US Coalition of
Essential Schools (Ted Sizer, Grant Wiggins)
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The exhibition brings together a number of dimensions of
learning and meaningful assessment.
It asks ‘students-as-workers’ to work across disciplines in
a respectful way by creating ‘real’ learning activities.
Tasks are not necessarily devised by teachers; students
can devise them for themselves, providing they
understand the principles that underlie their construction.
It asks students to apply accumulated knowledge to new
situations.
It insists on effective communication in a number of
forms: oral, written and graphic.
It requires students to be reflective, persistent and well
organised.
It creates a focus for learning by describing the
destination for their journey, although precise learning
objectives are not tightly pre-specified.
An example of a final performance
across the disciplines
“Discuss behavior patterns as reflected in the insect
world, in animals, in human beings, and in
literature. Be sure to include references to your
course work over the term in Inquiry and
Expression, Literature and the Arts, Social Studies,
and Science. This may include Macbeth, the drug
prevention and communication workshop, Stephen
Crane's poetry, ‘A Modest Proposal’ and other essays
you have studied, Mark Twain's fiction, and
behaviors you have observed in our School-within-aSchool. You may also add references to what you
have read about in the news recently.” (Melinda
Nickle, Arkansas)
Procedure
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Day one of the exam: You will be given four periods in
which to brainstorm, make an outline, write a rough draft,
and write a final copy in standard composition form. You
will be graded not only on how well you assimilate the
material but also how well you reflect the ‘student as
worker’ metaphor and how responsibly you act during the
testing period.
Day two of the exam: You will assemble in villages of
three, evaluate anonymous papers according to a set of
criteria, and come to a consensus about a grade. Each
paper will be evaluated by at least two groups and two
instructors. Again, a part of your overall semester grade
will have to do with how responsibly you act and how well
you demonstrate the ‘student as worker’ metaphor.
Example 2: UK Yr2 project using Mantle of
the Expert (Dorothy
Heathcote)
“Children and teachers work together to create an
imaginary community within which they function as if they
were experts e.g. mountain rescuers or archeologists. As
the work progresses many possibilities begin to emerge
which the learning community uses to define and deepen
the imaginary world and explore the lives of the people
that inhabit it. The community engages in a series of
collaborative tasks, often motivated by a client’s
demands, with teamwork, communication and problem
solving central to the process. There is a group
responsibility for the project as it progresses and the
children act and make decisions with responsibility and
authority, tackling authentic issues that seem purposeful
and urgent to them.” (Jenny Lewis, Norfolk)
Range of assessment practices
used
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Ongoing dialogue
Blog diary (http://theseacompany.blogspot.com/ )
Ongoing collective portfolio
Individual learning diaries
Daily sessions on meta-learning (Sniffles the Hopeless Hamster)
Self/peer assessment tools
Home/school contact books
Learning surgeries
Connnections sessions
Questionnaires (parents and children)
Evidence of children’s work
PSHE assessments e.g. Blob Tree; Feelings Wall
Mind Maps
Peer Teaching
Responses: Children
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‘All our little ideas have made one big, fantastic idea.’
‘It’s like real life – there’s big trouble! We can learn about solving
problems.’
‘It’s exciting because anything can happen.’
‘It’s fascinating. You get to learn about things much more. You’re
learning things while you’re having big adventures.’
‘You can pretend to do things you can’t do in real life.’
‘I think it’s brilliant because there are so many dilemmas and
adventures that never end. I learnt about myself that I keep
trying until I get it perfect.’
‘I like it because it seems so real. I’m learning about other
people and how to work as a team.’
Responses: parents
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‘He will talk about what he has learned without prompting
which isn’t normal.’
‘She’s definitely motivated by this type of learning –
there’s obviously a great deal of enthusiasm for this
project, not to mention the excitement factor. She is
always pleased to tell us she will be doing company work
today. It’s almost role reversal and she’s become the
adult!’
‘There are lots of exciting things to do – we’ve heard all
about who is doing what in the company, about diving –
looking at the real gear - and about the history of the
Titanic. We’ve taped TV documentaries and looked up
things in books to feed the interest developed.’
‘It seems to give school work a purpose.’
Pros, cons and solutions
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Pro: attractive to employers who claim they are interested in
recruits who can demonstrate their capability to work in
teams to find creative solutions to complex problems.
Con: raises questions about how to ensure the
trustworthiness of such assessments when large numbers of
students are involved and when those who are interested in
the outcomes of such learning cannot participate in the
activities that generate them.
Solution? The apprenticeship model with its concept of the
guild as the guardian and arbiter of developing standards.
Another Con: within vocational education, systems of
internal and external assessors and verifiers have attempted
this although large-scale systems become bureaucratic,
unwieldy and reductive.
Clearly, more work needs to be done
Is synthesis possible?
The big question is whether these theories
of learning and their assessment
counterparts are mutually exclusive, or
whether, for practical purposes, they can
be combined.
The teacher in Example 2 thought some
combination is possible and probably
necessary.
How does this square with current
developments at national level in England?
Recommendations of the NCR Expert Panel,
of which I was a member: a political
compromise – or fudge?
N.B. The EP’s remit was to advise on ATs and
issues of progression but not on the whole
of the assessment system.
The Form of Programmes of
Study and Attainment Targets
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We emphasised the importance of establishing a
very clear relationship between ‘that which is to
be learned’ and all assessment.
We did not believe that Attainment Targets in the
present level descriptor form should be retained.
Instead, we suggested that the Programme of
Study is stated as a discursive statement of
purposes, anticipated progression and
interconnection within the knowledge to be
acquired. Attainment Targets should then be
statements of learning outcomes related to
essential knowledge (broadly conceived as facts,
concepts, principles and ‘fundamental
operations’).
Assessment, Reporting and
Pupil Progression 1
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We were concerned by the ways in which
England’s current assessment system
encourages a process of differentiating
learners through the award of ‘levels’.
A distinctive feature of some of the highperforming systems is a focus on fewer things
in greater depth in primary education, with
particular attention on ensuring all pupils
have an adequate understanding of key
elements prior to moving to the next body of
content.
Assessment, Reporting and
Pupil Progression 2
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We recommended an approach to pupil
progression that emphasises ‘high expectations
for all’.
The focus should be on ensuring all pupils are
‘ready to progress’ at the end of each key stage,
having mastered the knowledge identified in
relevant schemes of work and/or Programmes of
Study.
This approach conveys necessary teacher
commitment to both aspiration and inclusion, and
implies the specific set of fundamental
achievements that all pupils should attain.
What have Ministers decided to
date?
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To abolish NC levels
To retain some form of KS2 testing in Ma and En
(Bew Report)
To ‘reform’ 16+ qualification by:
 Replacing GCSEs with EBacc Certificates (EBCs)
in academic subjects
 Getting rid of modules, coursework, controlled
assessments, resits etc
 Introducing 3 hour exams and making them
harder, with no access to resource material
 Replacing A*-G grades with Grades 1-6
Is all lost?
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Not necessarily
It is reasonable to expect public demand for some kind of
external summative assessment in basic skills at the end
of KS2 and in the subjects of a broader curriculum at the
end of KS4
But, if Government is genuine in its encouragement of
more teacher and school autonomy, there is space for
curriculum and assessment innovation that might itself
have a beneficial washback effect on achievement - and
the nature of terminal assessments in the long term.
But this will depend on teachers having the confidence to
seize the initiative. They are unlikely to be able to do this
alone. They need partnerships.
Remember that the average term of an Education SoS is
less than two years, and a Government less than 5 years.
Conclusion
Overarching principles are ‘fitness for purpose’ and
‘validity’ - assess what you value rather than value
what you assess.
Assessment washback is powerful, especially in high
stakes settings, so it is imperative to achieve a
better alignment between assessment, teaching and
learning.
There may be possibilities for synthesis whereby a
more complete theory can emerge. The possibility
for a more complete and inclusive theory of learning
to guide practice of teaching and assessment seems
to be a goal worth pursuing.
References
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James, M. (2006) Assessment, teaching
and theories of learning. In J. Gardner,
Assessment and Learning, London, Sage.
James, M. (2008) Assessment and learning.
In S. Swaffield, Unlocking Assessment,
London, David Fulton.
James. M. with J. Lewis (2012) Assessment
in Harmony with our understanding of
learning: problems and possibilities. In J.
Gardner, Assessment and Learning, Second
Edition. London, Sage.