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Charles Darr
Charles Darr
An Examination of the Curriculum-Levelling Construct
Determining How Learning is Progressing – Options for Calibrating Teacher Judgements
New Zealand Curriculum Refresh: Progressions Approach
Developing insights about student learning: Lessons from the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement
Approaching classroom assessment after the NCEA review
The New Zealand Government has announced a change package in response to a recent review of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA). In this article Charles Darr, a chief researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, outlines several elements of standards-based assessment that can usefully inform NCEA’s future development, especially in regard to the new standards being shaped. The article also explores how NCEA’s revision might provide an opportunity for teachers to consider their role in ensuring the validity of assessment in their classrooms. “Perhaps the biggest assessment opportunity presented by the change package is the chance to reconsider what is at the heart of our learning programmes and to design approaches to assessment that recognise this.”
The New Zealand Government has announced a change package in response to a recent review of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA). In this article Charles Darr, a chief researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, outlines several elements of standards-based assessment that can usefully inform NCEA’s future development, especially in regard to the new standards being shaped. The article also explores how NCEA’s revision might provide an opportunity for teachers to consider their role in ensuring the validity of assessment in their classrooms.
Computer-administered vs paper-and-pencil tests: Is there a difference?
It has become increasingly common for students in New Zealand schools to sit tests using a computer. Sometimes a computer-administered test and a paper-and-pencil version of the same test are used interchangeably, depending on which administrative mode is most convenient. Does this matter? Can we just replace a paper-and-pencil test with a computerised equivalent and assume we can compare results?
It has become increasingly common for students in New Zealand schools to sit tests using a computer. Sometimes a computer-administered test and a paper-and-pencil version of the same test are used interchangeably, depending on which administrative mode is most convenient. Does this matter? Can we just replace a paper-and-pencil test with a computerised equivalent and assume we can compare results?
English-language learners and validity
Checking the STAR norms
In this edition of Assessment News we take a close look at the new Supplementary Tests of Achievement in Reading (STAR). In particular, we consider how confident teachers can be in comparing their students’ test scores against the national norms that have been published by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER).