On the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) assessment reform

We offer a critical appraisal of the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) assessment in the context of the Nine-Year Continuous Basic Education, which is the latest education policy reform implemented in Mauritius. The PSAC is an essential element of the new assessment framework for basic education since it is meant to evaluate and certify students’ achievement at the end of the primary cycle. Performance is used to stream students going into lower-secondary education according to their learning needs. Hence, the PSAC assessment has replaced the once much contested Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) examination. Using Bronfenbrenner’s model of child development, we look at the issues related to CPE examinations, and how these motivated the need for the PSAC. We then examine the various aspects of the PSAC and elaborate on how the main features of the assessment could be improved to ensure reliable, fair and valid evaluation of students.

NEXT-GENERATION ASSESSMENT SPURS SMARTER LEARNING

Interest in learning has grown well beyond class-based interactions between teachers and students. The value of higher learning keeps growing, spurring the need for education innovation and reform. To this end, this paper introduces the ‘smarter learning’ initiative, spotlights reforms required to achieve underpinning ‘next-generation’ forms of assessment, and articulates feasible steps ahead. The argument driving this paper is that learning is becoming more valuable, that improving learning hinges on assessment reform, and that such innovation will yield major productivity advances for higher education and broader communities.

Leading an Assessment Reform: Ensuring a Whole-School Approach for Decision-Making

The ability of teachers to use assessment data to inform decisions related to learning and teaching defines teaching effectiveness. However, to maximise the benefits of teacher decision-making, there is a need to ensure that all teachers across the school are supported to engage in a whole-school approach to ensuring that all students across different stages are supported. This paper reports on a case study of a school in building an assessment culture with a strong focus on using a range of data for teacher decision-making. We used an auto-ethnography to reflect on our experiences in leading this assessment reform. Using the lens of activity theory, we have identified structural, organisational, social and behavioral factors that contribute to the success of the program.

Teachers’ Use of Descriptive Assessment in Primary School Mathematics Education in Iran

In many countries, assessment and curriculum reforms came into being in recent decades. In Iran, an important educational assessment reform took place called Descriptive Assessment (DA). In this reform, the focus of student assessment was moved from a more summative approach of providing grades and deciding about promotion to the next grade to a more formative approach of providing descriptive feedback aimed at improving student learning. In this study, we evaluated how seven fourth-grade mathematics teachers used the principles of DA. Data were collected by a questionnaire on assessment practices and beliefs, lesson observations, and interviews. Although the teachers varied in how they assess their students, in general their assessment practice is by and large in line with the DA guidelines. Nevertheless, in some respects we found differences. When assessing their students, the teachers essentially do not check the students’ strategies and when preparing the report cards, they still use final exams because they do not sufficiently trust the assessments methods suggested by DA. The guideline to use assessment results for adapting instruction is also not genuinely put into action. The article is concluded by discussing dilemmas the teachers may encounter when implementing DA.