Synopses & Reviews
What are students learning? Throughout the world, governments striving to improve educational quality are turning to national assessments to provide this much-needed information in key curriculum areas. The capacity for carrying out national assessments has grown remarkably in recent years, but it has not been matched by widespread use of their findings. This book seeks to maximize an appreciation for the value of such data and to assist countries in exploiting the knowledge that national assessments yield.'Using the Results of a National Assessment of Educational Achievement' identifies the main factors affecting the use of national assessment findings. These include the political context in which an assessment is carried out, the nature of the assessment (census based or sample based), the assignment of accountability for the results, and the quality of assessment instruments. The book describes the type of information that the main report of a national assessment should contain, as well as other means of communicating findings to technical and nontechnical audiences. It outlines general considerations in translating national assessment results into policy and action, and examines specific procedures for using the data in policy making, educational management, teaching, and promoting public awareness.The topics addressed in this volume should be of interest to policy makers, educators, researchers, and development practitioners.
Synopsis
This book describes effective approaches to reporting and using data from national educational assessment exercises in order to improve the quality of students? learning.
Synopsis
Using the Results of a National Assessment of Educational Achievement, the fifth and final volume of the National Assessments of Educational Achievement series, draws on the experiences of over forty countries that have implemented a national assessment. It considers the role of contextual factors which impinge on the use of assessment findings. The attachment of sanctions to performance on a national assessment and use of assessment results for accountability are discussed. Key components of a national assessment report are specified . Other instruments to communicate findings are described. Uses of national assessment findings for policy, management, teaching, and raising public awareness are described. A number of ways in which the use and value of national assessments could be optimized are proposed. This volume is intended primarily for teams who are responsible for conducting national assessments and policy makers responsible for the dissemination and use of national assessment results.
Synopsis
This book describes effective approaches to reporting and using datafrom national educational assessment exercises in order to improve thequality of students; learning. Chapter 1 outlines some of themain factors affecting the utilization and non-utilization of nationalassessment findings. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the types of report thatare needed to inform users of the findings of an assessment. Chapter 4outlines general issues that merit consideration in translatingassessment findings into policy and action. This is followed bychapters on the specific uses of national assessment data for policyand educational management, for teaching, and to promote publicawareness. The concluding chapter identifies conditions that are likelyto optimize use of the findings of a national assessment and suggestsways in which national assessment activities could be modified andenhanced with a view to increasing their value to users.