Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment Research and Practices to Advance Human Learning

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
International Handbook on Education Development in Asia-Pacific

  • 29 Accesses

Abstract

The 1996 UNESCO report on the four pillars of education notes that one of the dangers of formal or in-school education systems is the tendency to emphasize the attainment of knowledge at the expense of other types of learning. However, assessment systems are not independent from the larger educational systems within which they operate. Teachers, school leaders, and other education personnel are often responding to both nature of assessments and the use of assessment results. Assessment systems tend to employ combinations of both formative and summative assessment, or assessment for learning and assessment of learning. There is significant scholarship taking place in recent years focused on the interplay of formative assessment, student self-regulation, and co-regulation of learning, all of which can contribute to students’ opportunities to learn to know, to do, to live together and to be. However, it is also important to acknowledge the ways in which high-stakes assessments can influence what happens in classrooms, and cause certain classroom practices to be amplified. Whether this amplification has a positive or negative influence on learning depends often on the nature of those summative assessments and the degree to which “teaching to the test” is likely to engage teachers and students in practices that are supportive of deeper learning. This chapter explores research on assessment systems and what is needed for assessment systems to support the types of learning emphasized in the UNESCO report.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allal, L. (1978). Stratégiesd’évaluation formative: conceptions psycho-pédagogiques et modalitésd’application. In L. Allal, J. Cardinet, & P. Perrenoud (Eds.), L’évaluation formative dans un enseignementdifférencié (pp. 130–156). Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allal, L. (2016). The co-regulation of student learning in an assessment for learning culture. In D. Laveault & L. Allal (Eds.), Assessment for learning: Meeting the challenge of implementation (pp. 293–310). Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrade, H. L., & Brookhart, S. (2016). The role of classroom assessment in supporting self-regulated learning. In D. Laveault & L. Allal (Eds.), Assessment for learning: Meeting the challenge of implementation (pp. 293–310). Springer International Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, R. E. (2011). Formative assessment: A critical review. Assessment in education: principles, policy & practice, 18(1), 5–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, P. (1993). Formative and summative assessment by teachers. Studies in Science Education, 21(1), 49–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057269308560014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: principles, policy & practice, 5(1), 7–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2009). Developing the theory of formative assessment. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability (formerly: Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education), 21(1), 5–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, P. P. J., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2007). Assessment for learning. Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois, L. (2016). Supporting students’ learning: From teacher regulation to co-regulation. In D. L. L. Allal (Ed.), Assessment for learning: Meeting the challenge of implementation (pp. 345–363). Springer International.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brookhart, S. M. (2005, April). Research on formative classroom assessment. In Formative classroom assessment: Research, theory, and practice. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brookhart, S. (2013). Comprehensive assessment systems in service of learning: Getting the balance right. In R. W. Lissitz (Ed.), Informing the practice of teaching using formative and interim assessment: A systems approach (p. 162). Information Age Publishing, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. T., & Gao, L. (2015). Chinese teachers’ conceptions of assessment for and of learning: Six competing and complementary purposes. Cogent Education, 2(1), 993836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carless, D. (2007). Learning-oriented assessment: Conceptual bases and practical implications. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 44(1), 57–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CCSSO. (2018). Revisiting the definition of formative assessment. Council of Chief State School Officers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chattergoon, R., & Marion, S. F. (2016). Not as easy as it sounds: Designing a balanced assessment system. The State Education Standard, 16(1), 6–9. https://www.nciea.org/sites/default/files/pubs-tmp/Chattergoon%20Marion%202016%20Not%20as%20easy%20as%20it%20sounds%20Designing%20a%20balanced%20assessment%20system.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Close, K., Amrein-Beardsley, A., & Collins, C. (2019). Mapping America’s teacher evaluation plans under ESSA. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(2), 22–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coladarci, T. (2002). Is it a house… or a pile of bricks? Important features of a local assessment system. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(10), 772–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delors, J. (Chair). (1996). Learning the Treasure Within. Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first CenturyParis: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goe, L., & Mardy, D. (2008). A teacher-driven implementation of assessment for learning (AfL) in New Jersey. In E. C. Wylie (Ed.), Tight but loose: Scaling up teacher professional development in diverse contexts (Research report series RR-29-08). ETS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greeno, J. G., Pearson, P. D., & Schoenfeld, A. H. (1996). Implications for NAEP of research on learning and cognition. Report of a study commissioned by the National Academy of education. Panel on the NAEP trial state assessment, conducted by the Institute for Research on learning. National Academy of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hadwin, A., & Oshige, M. (2011). Self-regulation, coregulation, and socially shared regulation: Exploring perspectives of social in self-regulated learning theory. Teachers College Record, 113(2), 240–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, L. S., & Berends, M. (2006). Instructional practices related to standards and assessments. RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, L. S., & Stecher, B. M. (2006). Measuring instructional responses to standards-based accountability. RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazi, H. M., & Rucinski, D. A. (2009). Teacher evaluation as a policy target for improved student learning: A fifty-state review of statute and regulatory action since NCLB. education policy analysis archives, 17, 5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heritage, M. (2016). Assessment for learning: Co-regulation in and as student-teacher interaction. In D. Laveault & L. Allal (Eds.), Assessment for learning: Meeting the challenge of implementation (pp. 293–310). Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heritage, M. (2022). Formative assessment: Making it happen in the classroom (2nd ed.). Corwin, A SAGE Company, Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heritage, M., & Harrison, C. (2019). The power of assessment for learning: Twenty years of research and practice in UK and US classrooms. Corwin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heritage, M., & Wylie, E. C. (2020). Formative assessment in the disciplines framing a continuum of professional learning. Harvard Education Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman, J.L., Wilson, M. R., Shavelson, R., Timms, M. & Schneider, S. (2005). The CAESL Assessment Model. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klenowski, V. (2009). Assessment for learning revisited: An Asia-Pacific perspective. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 16(3), 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940903319646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leahy, S., Lyon, C., Thompson, M., & Wiliam, D. (2005). Classroom assessment: Minute-by-minute and day-by-day. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 18–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H., Chung, H. Q., Zhang, Y., Abedi, J., & Warschauer, M. (2020). The effectiveness and features of formative assessment in US K-12 education: A systematic review. Applied Measurement in Education, 33(2), 124–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, J., & Law, N. (2012). Online peer assessment: Effects of cognitive and affective feedback. Instructional Science, 40(2), 257–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, C. J., Nabors Oláh, L., & Wylie, E. C. (2019). Working towards integrated practice: Understanding the interaction among formative assessment strategies. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(3), 301–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2018.1514359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marion, S. (2018). The opportunities and challenges of a systems approach to assessment. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 37(1), 45–44. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324214256_The_Opportunities_and_Challenges_of_a_Systems_Approach_to_Assessment

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMurrer, J. (2008). Instructional time in elementary schools: A closer look at changes for specific subjects. Center on Education Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, K., & Joan, T. F. H. (2002). Testing to destruction: A problem in a small state. Assessment in Education: principles, policy & practice, 9(3), 289–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mutch, C. (2012). Assessment for, of and as learning: Developing a sustainable assessment culture in New Zealand schools. Policy Futures in Education, 10(4), 374–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2001). Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment. In Committee on the Foundations of Assessment, J. Pelligrino, N. Chudowsky, & R. Glaser (Eds.), Board on testing and assessment, Center for Education. Division of behavioral and social sciences and education. National Academy Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10019

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states by Staes (Vol. 1). National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, S. L., & Berliner, D. C. (2008). Testing the joy out of learning. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 14–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2018). The future of education and skills: Education 2030. OECD Education Working Papers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrino, J. W. (2002). Knowing what students know. Issues in Science and Technology, 19(2), 48–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pong, W. Y., & Chow, J. C. (2002). On the pedagogy of examinations in Hong Kong. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(2), 139–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, J. (2021). “Color-neutral” is not a thing: Redefining construct definition and representation through a justice-oriented critical antiracist lens. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, J., Poe, M., & Slomp, D. (2021). Ain’tOughta be in the dictionary: Getting to justice by dismantling anti-Black literacy assessment practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 64(5), 594–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randel, B., Beesley, A. D., Anthorp, H., Clark, T. F., Wang, X., Cicchinelli, L. F., & Williams, J. M. (2011). Classroom assessment for student learning: Impact on elementary school mathematics in the central region (NCEE 23011–4005). National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education, US Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resmovits, J. (2011, July 6). Atlanta Cheating Scandal Unveiled By Reporters. Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, L. A. (2019). Classroom assessment to support teaching and learning. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 683(1), 183–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, L. A. (2021). Ambitious teaching and equitable assessment a vision for prioritizing learning, not testing. American Educator, 6(2021), 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, L. A., Penuel, W. R., & Davidson, K. L. (2017). Design principles for new systems of assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(6), 47–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, M. P., & Donaldson, M. L. (2016). The new educational accountability: Understanding the landscape of teacher evaluation in the post-NCLB era. Education Finance and Policy, 11(3), 340–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stosich, E. L., & Jaquith, A. (2019a). Rethinking Students’ Role in Assessment to Promote Greater Equity: Learning from Del Lago Academy. Field Facing Memo #1. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stosich, E. L., & Jaquith, A. (2019b). Virginia’s Student-Led Assessment Networked Improvement Community: Coming Together for Systems Change.Field Facing Memo #4. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogell, H. (2011, July 26). Investigation in APS cheating finds unethical behavior across every level. Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiliam, D., Lee, C., Harrison, C., & Black, P. (2004). Teachers developing assessment for learning: Impact on student achievement. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 11, 49–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (Eds.). (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ETS, Princeton, NJ, USA

    E. Caroline Wylie

Authors
  1. E. Caroline Wylie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. Caroline Wylie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore Institute of Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore, Singapore

    Wing On Lee

  2. School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Phillip Brown

  3. Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    A. Lin Goodwin

  4. University College London Institute of Education, London, UK

    Andy Green

Section Editor information

  1. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Nancy Law

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Wylie, E.C. (2023). Assessment Research and Practices to Advance Human Learning. In: Lee, W.O., Brown, P., Goodwin, A.L., Green, A. (eds) International Handbook on Education Development in Asia-Pacific. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2327-1_117-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2327-1_117-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-2327-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-2327-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation