Unit 2: Comparing assessment approaches

One of the major dilemmas in redesigning assessment has been finding solutions that don’t replicate levels, while providing valid and reliable outputs and useful information for teachers.

This unit is aimed to showcase some practical assessment approaches that offer a real alternative to old practice. Participants will examine the potential strengths and weaknesses of the approaches in order to decide what elements you might wish to incorporate into your school’s assessment system.

Participants will:

• review what you want assessment without levels to achieve in your school or organisation
• examine different assessment strategies and their potential strengths and weaknesses to make an informed decision about what approach will work best for your school
• decide how to start trialling and testing this assessment approach, and to begin integrating it into practice.

Plan for your approach

• Review what you want assessment without levels to achieve in your school or organisation.
• Examine different assessment strategies and their potential strengths and weaknesses in order to make an informed decision about what approach will work best for your school.
• Decide what assessment approaches will avoid replicating levels in another form, while being able to offer useful information about pupil progress.