| Students conceive of assessment in at least four major ways (i.e., assessment makes students accountable; assessment is irrelevant because it is bad or unfair; assessment improves the quality of learning; and assessment is enjoyable). A study in New Zealand of 3469 secondary school students’ conceptions of assessment used a self?report inventory and scores from a standardised curriculum?based assessment of reading comprehension. The conception that assessment makes students accountable loaded positively on achievement while the three other conceptions (i.e., assessment makes schools accountable, assessment is enjoyable, and assessment is ignored) had negative loadings on achievement. These findings are consistent with self?regulation and formative assessment theories, such that students who conceive of assessment as a means of taking responsibility for their learning (i.e., assessment makes me accountable) will demonstrate increased educational outcomes. |
Author(s): Gavin T.L. Brown and Gerrit H.F. Hirschfeld
Year Published: 2008
Language: English
Country: New Zealand
