Kindergarten assessment policies and reading growth during the first two years: Does standardized assessment policy benefit children who are left behind?

Assessment policy, whether explicitly or implicitly expressed, is defined for this chapter as any set of principles or guidelines constructed for the purpose of bringing consistency and fairness to a course of action involving measurement, evaluation, or growth related to any dimension of an individual’s learning. Assessment policies are influenced by time and place and often are shaped by powerful policy frameworks, that is, the political environments in which policy is conceived. The purpose of this chapter is to examine several issues (the status of music as a basic/core/well-rounded subject and the jurisdiction for the teacher certification process) and trends that impact these issues (the decreasing federal government involvement in education; the extension of educational agendas across boundary lines; and the growing power of arts advocacy groups) that emerge at the intersection of assessment policy and music education from a North American (delimited to Canadian, Mexican and US) perspective.

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Music Assessment Policy in Africa

The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, Volume 1 ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190248093.013.4 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 89-117

Author(s):

Meki Nzewi

Keyword(s):

Music Education ◽

Education Policies ◽

African Countries ◽

Subject Field ◽

Education Assessment ◽

Assessment Policy ◽

Indigenous Policy ◽

Assessment Policies ◽

Essential Knowledge ◽

Generic Theory

This treatise on music education assessment policy in Africa preludes typical, African instructive allegory that primes sober contemplation of portentous issues. It thereafter probes: the epistemological forte of humanism that will drive and percolate Africa-sensed assessment policy indicators; the utility conceptualizations and interactive imperatives of Africa-sensed musical arts science that should mark classroom education; integrity of indigenous policy heritage in enduring humane societal systems; factors deterring Africa’s bureaucratic elite from legislating cultural paradigms of human-focused music curriculum and assessment policies. Viability of an Africa-generic theory-in-practice premise in methodological and assessment designs will be clarified. Derived pointers will affirm that essential knowledge of a subject field should propel its proactive assessment policy. Current extrinsic dispositions toward culture-sensed music education policies in African countries will be sampled to argue assessment policies that should advance core humanning and societal-management roles of African musical arts heritage central to containing widespread techno-human mindedness and adversities.

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Assessment for, of and as Learning: Developing a Sustainable Assessment Culture in New Zealand Schools

Policy Futures in Education ◽

10.2304/pfie.2012.10.4.374 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 374-385 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Carol Mutch

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

The Past ◽

Assessment Culture ◽

School Based ◽

International Trends ◽

Assessment Policy ◽

Main Emphasis ◽

Assessment Policies ◽

The Government

In line with international trends, assessment policies and practices have increased in importance in New Zealand over the last two decades. The focus in this article is on examining the contested nature of the development of an assessment culture in New Zealand — one that meets the needs of the government by providing information on school accountability and yet maintains the autonomy of schools to continue school-based decision-making. The article begins by providing background to the New Zealand context and a brief description of current policies. The main emphasis, however, is on three companion themes in the development of assessment policy — assessment and improvement, assessment and accountability, and assessment and sustainability. These themes were drawn from an analysis of key documents and aligned with a conceptual framework drawn from the schooling effectiveness literature to provide a lens to examine the past, present and possible future of assessment policy and practice in New Zealand.

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