Abstract
This chapter examines implementation of Assessment for Learning (AfL) for diverse students, including students from diverse language and cultural backgrounds, and, in particular, for students with disabilities that affect their learning. Australian national education policy endorses AfL as effective teacher assessment practice. Australian education policy also promotes educational equity for all students, regardless of linguistic or cultural background, or disability, not only in terms of access to schooling but also in terms of access to a high quality and challenging education. This chapter provides an overview of Australian equity policy, the Australian federated system of education policy development and responsibilities, and the recent policy initiative of a national curriculum as context for AfL practice. We identify core principles of AfL with respect to teacher–student interactions for consideration of issues for curriculum and AfL implementation for diverse students. We then provide an overview of international research on AfL for these students. Four Australian examples of pedagogical interactions between teachers and students with disabilities are examined in terms of equity, curriculum, and AfL policy expectations. We conclude that to enact effective AfL for these students, while policy can and should provide an enabling framework, much at present depends on the individual teacher’s in-depth knowledge of students. To achieve effective and equitable implementation of AfL, further resources and professional development support are needed. Suggested guidelines are provided to enhance policy, practice, and research in AfL for diverse students.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Australian Curriculum along with supporting resources and guidance are accessible online (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au).
References
Abedi, J. (2010). Research and recommendations for formative assessment with English language learners. In H. Andrade & C. Cizek (Eds.), Handbook of formative assessment (pp. 181–197). New York, NY: Routledge.
Albright, J., Knezevic, L., & Farrell, L. (2013). Everyday practices of teachers of English: A survey at the outset of national curriculum implementation. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 36(2), 111–120.
Assessment Reform Group. (1999). Assessment for learning: Beyond the black box. Retrieved from http://assessmentreformgroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/beyond_blackbox.pdf. Accessed April 11, 2016.
Assessment Reform Group. (2002). Assessment is for learning: 10 principles. Research-based principles to guide classroom practice. http://assessmentreformgroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/10principles_english.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Attorney-General. (2005). Disability standards for education 2005. Canberra, Australia: AG. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2005L00767. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015). 4221.0—Schools, Australia, 2014. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2012). The shape of the Australian Curriculum (Version 4.0). http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/the_shape_of_the_australian_curriculum_v4.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013a). An integrated approach [Video]. http://www.acara.edu.au/illustrations/IOPL00006/. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013b). Student diversity. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/StudentDiversity/Pdf/StudentDiversity. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013c). Uluru: A landform in a landscape [Video]. http://www.acara.edu.au/illustrations/IOPL00001/. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015). Personalised learning. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/studentdiversity/eal-d-personalised-learning. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Baird, J., Hopfenbeck, T., Newton, P., Stobart, G., & Steen-Utheim, A. (2014). State of the field review: Assessment and learning. Report for the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Education. http://taloe.up.pt/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/FINALMASTER2July14Bairdetal2014AssessmentandLearning.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Bennett, R. (2011). Formative assessment: A critical review. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 18, 5–25. doi:10.1080/0969594X.2010.513678
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 5, 7–74. doi:10.1080/0969595980050102
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2009). Developing the theory of formative assessment. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 21, 5–31. doi:10.1007/s11092-008-9068-5
Board of Studies (New South Wales). (2015). Assessment for learning in the years 7–10 syllabuses. http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/sc/afl/. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Bourke, R., Mentis, M., & Todd, L. (2011). Visibly learning: Teachers’ assessment practices for students with high and very high needs. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15, 405–419. doi:10.1080/13603110903038488
Carrington, S., & MacArthur, J. (Eds.). (2012). Teaching in inclusive school communities. Milton, Qld, Australia: Wiley.
Colbert, P., & Cumming, J. (2014). Enabling all students to learn through assessment: A case study of equitable outcomes through the use of criteria and standards. In C. Wyatt-Smith & V. Klenowski (Eds.), Designing assessment for quality learning (pp. 207–227). Dordrecht: Springer.
Crooks, T. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation practices on students. Review of Educational Research, 58, 438–481.
Cumming, J. (2012). Valuing students with impairments: International comparisons of practice in educational accountability. Dordrecht: Springer.
Cumming, J. J., & Mawdsley, R. (2012). The nationalisation of education in Australia and annexation of private schooling to public goals. International Journal of Law and Education, 17(2), 7–31.
Department of Education and Communities. (2011). Students with language backgrounds other than English in NSW public schools: 2011. https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/about-us/statistics-and-research/key-statistics-information/lbote_students.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2013). Assessment advice. Victoria: DEECD. http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/advice.aspx. Accessed July 20, 2015.
European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education. (2009). Assessment for learning and pupils with special educational needs. https://www.european-agency.org/sites/default/files/assessment-for-learning-and-pupils-with-special-educational-needs_assessment_for_learning_en.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Fuchs, L., & Fuchs, D. (1986). Effects of systematic formative evaluation: A meta-analysis. Exceptional Children, 53, 199–208. doi:10.1177/001440298605300301
Fuchs, L., Fuchs, D., Karns, K., Hamlett, C., Katzaroff, M., & Dutka, S. (1997). Effects of task-focused goals on low-achieving students with and without learning disabilities. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 513–543. doi:10.3102/00028312034003513
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77, 81–112. doi:10.3102/003465430298487
Hayward, L. (2014). Assessment for learning and the journey towards inclusion. In L. Florian (Ed.), SAGE handbook of special education (2nd ed., pp. 523–535). London, UK: SAGE.
Hayward, L., & Spencer, E. (2014). Assessment for learning. In M. Carroll & M. McCulloch (Eds.), Understanding teaching and learning in primary education (pp. 162–175). London, UK: SAGE.
Klenowski, V. (2014). Towards fairer assessment. The Australian Educational Researcher, 41, 445–470. doi:10.1007/s13384-013-0132-x
Marshall, B., & Drummond, M. (2006). How teachers engage with assessment for learning: Lessons from the classroom. Research Papers in Education, 21, 133–149. doi:10.1080/02671520600615638
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Perrenoud, P. (1998). From formative evaluation to a controlled regulation of learning processes. Towards a wider conceptual field. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 5, 85–102. doi:10.1080/0969595980050105
Pitoniak, M., & Royer, J. (2001). Testing accommodations for examinees with disabilities: A review of psychometric, legal, and social issues. Review of Educational Research, 71, 53–104. doi:10.3102/00346543071001053
Popham, J. (2008). Transformative assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Powell, S., & Jordan, R. (2012). Autism and learning: A guide to good practice (2nd ed.). London, UK: Routledge.
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2013). 2012 trial of the nationally consistent collection of data on school students with disability (Final report). Sydney, NSW: PricewaterhouseCoopers. https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/attachment_13-_2012_trial_of_the_nationally_consistent_collection_of_data_on_school_students_with_disability.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2014). Guide for individual learning. Brisbane, QLD: QCAA. https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/qcia_guidel_ind_learn.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Ramaprasad, A. (1983). On the definition of feedback. Behavioral Science, 28, 4–13. doi:10.1002/bs.3830280103
Ravet, J. (2013). Delving deeper into the black box: Formative assessment, inclusion and learners on the autism spectrum. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17, 948–964. doi:10.1080/13603116.2012.719552
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119–144. doi:10.1007/BF00117714
Shaddock, A., Smyth King, B., & Giorcelli, L. (2007). A project to improve the learning outcomes of students with disabilities in the early, middle and post compulsory years of schooling. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government.
Shute, V. (2008). Focus on formative feedback. Review of Educational Research, 78, 153–189. doi:10.3102/0034654307313795
Trumbull, E., & Lash, A. (2013). Understanding formative assessment: Insights from learning theory and measurement theory. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/resource1307.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Van der Kleij, F. M., Feskens, R. C. W., & Eggen, T. J. H. M. (2015). Effects of feedback in a computer-based learning environment on students’ learning outcomes: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 85, 475–511. doi:10.3102/0034654314564881
William, D., & Thompson, M. (2007). Integrating assessment with instruction: What will it take to make it work? In C. A. Dwyer (Ed.), The future of assessment: Shaping teaching learning (pp. 53–82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wyatt-Smith, C., Elkins, J., Colbert, P., Gunn, S., & Muspratt, A. (2007). Changing the nature of support provision-students with learning difficulties: Interventions in literacy and numeracy project (InLaN) (Vols. 1–4). Canberra, ACT: Department of Education, Science and Training, Australian Government.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cumming, J.J., Van der Kleij, F.M. (2016). Effective Enactment of Assessment for Learning and Student Diversity in Australia. In: Laveault, D., Allal, L. (eds) Assessment for Learning: Meeting the Challenge of Implementation. The Enabling Power of Assessment, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39211-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39211-0_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39209-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39211-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)