CONTEXTUALIZING ASSESSMENT

Contextualizing Assessment

Contextualizing Assessment

Introduction

Learning theories identify that learning is reliant on convoluted interrelationships of cognitive, affective and socio-cultural components (Resnick, 1989). Context furthermore has important consequences on learning and performance (Anderson, Reder & Simon, 1996; Wiggins, 1993). Assessment theory and perform have been developing to contemplate these complexities, going away from more narrowly-focussed psychological theories of estimation that have overridden learning until lately (Gipps, 1994; Goldstein, 1989; Linn, 1990, 1995). 'New advances to assessment' have been recognised as 'one of the foremost matters of the decade' (CTGV, 1993, p. 65). The altering aim of assessment has directed to two foremost theoretical considerations.

The first concerns to conceptions of validity, with improved focus on the suitability of assessment jobs as signs of proposed learning conclusions, and on the suitability of understanding of assessment conclusions as signs of learning (Messick, 1989, 1994). These conceptions of validity are more matching with the 'new paradigm of assessment' (Gipps, 1994), focusing interpretations of value and judgements of measures (Maxwell, 1997), than with measurement-oriented or psychometric advances founded on factual tally theory. The second theoretical concern concerns to the need for learning and assessment of learning to be contextualised and significant for students.

The quest for contextuality and meaningfulness arises from general perception that learning and performance count on context and motivation (Wiggins, 1993). Motivational advantages are anticipated to accrue when scholars can see the relevance of learning and assessment undertakings, thereby enhancing learning outcomes. This theoretical concern integrates anxieties for move of learning from one informative context to another, from prescribed learning to individual life and the workplace, and from life and workplace to prescribed learning (Perkins & Salomon, 1989; Salomon & Perkins, 1989).

The connection between theories of learning and authenticity

In their theory of informative goals, Newmann and Archbald (1992) contend that assessment should aim on accomplishment of authentic learning outcomes. The aim taken up for assessment has a considerable influence on the instructional method and the realisation of proposed learning conclusions through the channelling it boosts of educator and scholar effort. That is, assessment pointers to educators and scholars what is significant in learning. Vice versa, assessment jobs require concerning to and taking account of genuine educating and learning processes. Relationships between learning goals, educating undertakings, learning methods and assessment methods can be depicted in the pattern of a tetrahedron as in Figure 1. In such a scheme of interrelationships, all four constituents are in dynamic stress or balance.

That is, change of one constituent needs agreeable change of the other three. Sympathetic change suggests alignment of the inherent rationale or theoretical assumptions of each component. That is, systemic validity inheres in the consistency of the inherent rationales of the four components. In specific, in periods of authenticity, the inherent rationale or theoretical assumptions pertaining to the authenticity of the learning goals and the assessment methods not only require to agree each other but furthermore those pertaining to the educating methods and the environment of learning and ...