Effective Assessment for Learning
Feedback of Rapporteurs from the Sessions 1-4
Session 1 – Complementary role of teachers, pupils, parents, rapporteur
Alan Armstrong
 What are the advantages, benefits, best features of what you’ve heard?
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teachers are learners as well
to change practice, teacher must talk with other teachers
assessment is ongoing dialog
the idea of building a National Assessment Resource with teachers
active involvement of parents in learning and assessment
connecting learning & assessment – from the planning stage
pupil involvement in planning their learning, self-assessment, peer assessment
how to make assessment information more useful for students and teachers
how to combine traditional forms with new ones (Formative Assessment)
data can be useful
 What do you see as potential difficulties in your country/environment to adopt such an
approach?
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raising teachers' awareness of the need for professional learning in AfL
teachers as models of lifelong learners
connecting learning with assessment - teachers see it as separate
parental involvement - teachers feel it as a threat
helping parents to understand new didactic approaches
 What are the solutions – 3 to 5 good ways of solving it?
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holistic approach - involve pupils, teachers and parents from the start as a system,
professional development - very carefully prepared
schools demonstrating to parents how children learn and are involved in the process
schools as a learning organisations
target the support proportionately - some schools / teachers need more
take a long perspective: change takes time
effective communication channels and messages
involve teachers in professional development of other teachers - teachers teach
teachers.
reform the examinations like matura
open up discussion on data and everybody's role in interpreting and using it
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Session 2: Assessing and reporting on learner´s progress in subjects and
soft skills- rapporteur Rudi Schollaert
 What are the advantages, benefits, best features of what you’ve heard?
Consumer Awareness
o Learner and teacher involvement : ownership – choice – excitement
o Authentic real life learning: cross-curricular
o Open task: everybody can be successful
History Curriculum
o Not only based on content, but also on competences
o Clear criteria are a good basis for feedback
 What do you see as potential difficulties in your country/environment to adopt such an
approach?
Consumer Awareness
o Covering curriculum
o promoting student learning
o Cross curricular learning
o Cross cur. assessment
History Curriculum
o Status of document & curricula in general
o Teacher awareness
o Textbook = curriculum
o Degree of detail: flexibility/ creativity support
 What are the solutions – 3 to 5 good ways of solving it?
o Flexibility
o Local autonomy
o Change structure & culture of schools
o Sustainable professional & institutional development
o Professional learning communities
o Role of support organisations
o Build upon existing practices confront
o Evidence informed rather than informed by beliefs
o Practitioner research
o Curriculum designed so as to promote deep learning
Session 3: In classroom assessment, rapporteur Vineta Eržen
 What are the advantages, benefits, best features of what you’ve heard?
o Bottom up approach: AFL cannot be forced. If you want a change, you have to go deeper
- to teachers’ perceptions, misunderstandings, etc.
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Teachers need practical support, also tailored advice - the practice that works for THAT
teacher.
Changing the focus of classroom conversation: The involved learners (e.g. selfassessment and peer assessment) can and are eager to talk about their learning, they
motivate teachers to change too.
 What do you see as potential difficulties in your country/environment to adopt such an
approach?
o AFL takes a lot of time at the start.
o AFL might be seen as a new trend that will fade over time.
o The culture of teaching (teachers‘ role as authorities, knowledge transmission model,
etc).
o Challenges for secondary education - pupils move from class to class and may experience
very different assessment.
o Assessment tools could be a barrier, too - teachers focus on tools (using the "tricks") and
may forget the ideas behind that (the original purpose of assessment).
o Assessment criteria are sometimes difficult to identify (solution: the same success
criteria can be used in many lessons; success criteria support students in self assessing
their own work at home).
o Curriculum is not supporting AFL enough, exams may work against it.
o Education and involvement of parents is crucial; parents need to be involved from the
start - help them move away from valuing grades only.
 What are the solutions – 3 to 5 good ways of solving it?
o Making AfL compulsory? Or giving more autonomy to schools - let them decide when and
how to assess and grade the student?
o Teaching and learning without grades?
o Using different channels, incl. ICT to experience, communicate and promote AFL - for
teachers, pupils, learner; new technologies e.g the mobile phone camera allow teachers
and students to easily record moments in learning that, in turn, can support peer
assessment.
o Promoting examples of good practice: help moving the change from classroom level to
school level, then to groups of schools, whole districts, country, world - (inter)national
consensus, consistency and communication.
Session 4: Sharing Standards and Benchmarking, rapporteur Meta Borstner
 What are the advantages, benefits, best features of what you’ve heard?
o moderating helps professional learning and it builds consistent standards and share
understanding
o teacher collaboration on all phases of teaching
o it is good to have research and professional discussion together
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follow the individual work and development of pupils and support them to work better
good resources are important
teachers' judgement is important
e-portfolios are used to support learning and collect evidences of learning outcomes
 What do you see as potential difficulties in your country/environment to adopt such an
approach?
o time and money for research and for teachers dialogue
o willingness of teachers to share and be honest
o accept peer criticism
o the national policy can block implementation of changes into school practice
o absence of consistent and permanent work at different levels
o didactic teaching does not provide an evidence for discussion
o issues over the law on assessment and impact on classroom practice
o culture is a significant issue that needs to be addressed before assessment practice can
be changed
 What are the solutions – 3 to 5 good ways of solving it?
o establish the frame of reference
o teachers should engage in researching practice
o involve teachers from the start
o establish collaboration among all stakeholders
o collaboration between primary and secondary education
o compare experiences from different countries and share ideas
o the value of sharing practice through networks in order to bring about change – create a
sense of buy-in from teachers as opposed to a top-down approach
o the value of peer coaching in over-coming obstacles to change
o at national level there needs to be a willingness to trust teachers' judgements
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