Myths
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"All students in a class must be assessed at the same time"
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"Offering different standards, tasks or contexts to students in the same class:
- is not permitted
- provides an advantage to some
- is not fair."
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"Student assessment evidence:
- can only be used for one standard; no ‘double dipping’ is allowed
- must all be presented in the same way using the same context
- must be in writing."
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"Portfolio evidence means that students have multiple assessment opportunities."
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"The more evidence produced, the better the grade."
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"Students can resubmit evidence for the same standard multiple times."
Facts
- Students should be assessed when they are ready, where this is practical and manageable for the school.
- Assessment should enable students to have a fair opportunity to achieve.
- Assessment methods should not disadvantage particular learners, such as those entitled to special assessment conditions.
- Students in a class:
- can complete different standards
- do not need to be assessed for all the standards offered in the assessment programme.
- Different tasks and/or contexts can be used to assess individual students, as the teacher’s judgement is against the standard.
- Evidence of achievement can be gathered in different ways, provided it meets the requirements of the standard, is authentic and can be verified. For example, evidence can be:
- oral, digital, by a performance or practical
- gathered over time as a portfolio
- ongoing and integrated with learning
- naturally occurring
- gathered through observations and checklists
- written.
- As each standard assesses a different learning outcome, authentic evidence generated during teaching and learning may be used for more than one standard. This can be within a subject or across subjects.
- Teachers can also:
- use a single context to assess students against more than one standard
- provide guidance on sufficiency of evidence
- provide exemplars to show “what levels of achievement may look like”
- review the number of credits in a programme of learning.
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Some other things to think about
- Not all learning needs to be assessed. Assessment should not drive a learning programme.
- By assessing fewer standards students can “do less, better”.
- The sufficiency of evidence needs to be appropriate to the standard.
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