Brief description
This module provides an introduction to concepts, issues and practice in educational assessment. It links questions of technique to the contexts in which those techniques are used and the principles governing the design of assessment systems. Underlying each of the topics and examples covered in the course is the recurring issue of fitness for purpose.

Aims
This module aims to:

provide an introduction to concepts, issues and practice in educational assessment;
link questions of the measurement of attainment to the educational, social and political contexts of assessment systems;
identify the concepts and principles governing the design of assessment systems;
through a series of case studies, explore how an understanding of concepts and principles can contribute to an understanding of schemes and systems of assessment.

Content
Course Outline

The assessment process: experience and questions
What makes a igoodi assessment? Some key concepts
Designing a scheme of assessment: specification, scope and purposes
Assessment systems: the GCSE examination
Assessment systems: National Curriculum Assessment
Assessment systems: A level and GNVQ
Issues 1: formative assessment
Issues 2: standardising teachersi assessments
Issues 3: national standards
Overview: concepts, issues and trends