1st Edition
Educational Assessment in a Time of Reform Standards and Standard Setting for Excellence in Education
Educational Assessment in a Time of Reform provides background information on large-scale examination systems more generally and the South African examination specifically. It traces the reforms in the education system of South Africa since 1994 and provides a description of the advances in modern test theory that could be considered for future standard setting endeavours.
At the heart of the book is the debate on whether the current standard of education in Africa is good enough . If not, then how can it be improved? The aim of this book is to provide a point of departure for discussions on standard-setting, quality assurance, equating of examinations and assessment approaches. From this point of departure recommendations for practices in general and the exit-level (Grade 12) examination results in particular can be made.
This book is ideal reading for principals, teachers, academics and researchers in the fields of educational assessment, measurement, and evaluation.
Chapter 1 Background and introduction
Historical context
Aim and objectives of the book
Systems theory as a conceptual framework
References
Chapter 2 Background to large-scale examination systems
Introduction
Designing large-scale examination systems
Examples of large-scale examination systems
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3 Perspectives on education assessment reform
Standards-based education reform (SBER)
Education assessment reform versus the complexity of assessment standards and academic performance
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4 Equating examinations and assessment standards in the South African context
Introduction
Equating high-stakes examinations and testing
The history of equating Grade 12 examination marks in South Africa
Norm-referenced assessment
Transition from the Senior Certificate (SC) to the new National Curriculum Statement (NCS)
Research related to the comparability of curriculum and assessment demands of the NCS
Standardising the new NCS results
References
Chapter 5 The management and quality assurance of school-based assessment in South Africa
Introduction
Social moderation
The low reliability of school-based assessment
Statistical moderation of school-based assessment (SBA) marks
Statistical moderation
Calculation of the subject promotion mark
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6 Using examination and assessment scores: Different ways of reporting performance
Introduction
Different ways of reporting performance
Reporting performance is directly related to the type and purpose of the test
Reporting standards on tests
Measuring continuous school-based assessment
Comparing results over time – how to measure improvement
Strategies for interpreting data
Working with examinations and assessment data
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7 Rethinking standard setting: Drawing from advances in modern test theory
Introduction
Understanding classical test theory
Introduction to item response theory (IRT)
The one-parameter model
The two-parameter model
The three-parameter model
Introduction to Rasch-measurement
Standard setting methods Traditional methods and methods drawing on modern test theory
Linking and equating in modern test theory: Possibilities for linking examinations across years
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8 Item banking and computer adaptive testing
Introduction
Computer adaptive testing (CAT)
System design and operations
Item pool development and testing
Item response theory and calibration
Test equating
Reliability and measurement precision
Validity
Advantages and disadvantages of computer adaptive testing
Definition and development of item banks
Procedure for preparing an item bank
Advantages and disadvantages of item banks
Validity and reliability considerations
Conclusion
References
Chapter 9 Developing a computerised system for large scale computer adaptive testing (CAT)
Introduction
Performance benchmarks
Design requirements and electronic platform
Design logic of a cat-system for the NCS (Grade 12)
System technology and functionality standards
Conclusion
References
Chapter 10 Educational assessment in a time of reform: Where to from here?
Introduction
Thinking about examination systems within a 21st century skills framework
Making use of modern psychometric theory
Thinking about moving towards incorporating mixed methods approaches
Concluding remarks
References
Biography
Coert Loock is a professor at Department of Education Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Vanessa Scherman is a professor at Department of Psychology of Education, University of South Africa, South Africa.