What is it about?
This paper summarizes, compares and contrasts six key educational assessment terms in three pairings: ‘formative’ and ‘summative’, ‘assessment’ and ‘evaluation’, and ‘formative assessment’ and ‘assessment for learning’ according to how they have been defined in the English language literature over the past 50 years. It argues that some of these may not or no longer be necessary, and recommends the phrase ‘evaluation for learning’ as the most suitable term of using testing for improving learning and teaching.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
The paper is important, or helpful, for three reasons: first, it seeks to improve understanding of the six concepts dealt with; second, it aims to contribute to the solution of the definition-related problem identified in the discussion by encouraging writers to use certain technical terms more carefully and precisely; and, third, it wishes to provide a useful reference source for students, teachers and scholars who have a stake or are interested in educational assessment.
Perspectives
You might say that writing this paper was somewhat cathartic; as someone who has been teaching for 10 years and involved in educational assessment on the academic front since 2011, I have long wanted to voice and make a contribution to solving the obvious terminological problem that exists in at least the English language literature on educational assessment. Assessment (or evaluation) is deeply personal for those on the receiving end (whether it is intended this way or not). It can and does, or at least should, play a role in improving learning methods and teaching practices, but, despite a cornucopia of experimental as well as theoretical research on the subject, there still is no viable formula for how this can be achieved successfully in any context. I hope that, by taking a step (or two!) back and reconsidering how we understand and define key concepts, an avenue to achieving this can be created.
Dr Chris J Cookson
University for the Creative Arts
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assessment terms half a century in the making and unmaking: from conceptual ingenuity to definitional anarchy, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, December 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2017.1420138.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
