Designing an Assessment Framework

Designing an assessment framework involves several steps, including defining the purpose of the assessment, identifying the content and skills to be assessed, determining the assessment methods and tools to be used, establishing criteria for evaluation and setting standards for proficiency. Here's an overview of the process:

Define the purpose of the assessment: The first step is to determine why your school wants a high standard of assessment. What are the learning outcomes you want to measure? What do you want to know about your learners? This will help the school, department and the individual teacher choose the appropriate assessment methods and tools.

Identify the content and skills to be assessed: Once the purpose of the assessment has been defined, there is a need to identify the specific knowledge, skills and abilities that are required to be assessed. This will help design the assessment items or tasks that measure these competencies.

Determine the assessment methods and tools to be used: There are different types of assessment methods and tools, such as tests, portfolios, projects, observations and interviews. There needs to be an established understanding of how to select the most appropriate methods and tools based on the purpose of the assessment and the content and skills being assessed. It is important that there is a similarity/transferability of assessment methods. This allows students to become familiar with the assessment methods, ensuring that the method itself does not become a ‘gatekeeper’, preventing the student from performing to their potential. The classic example is not understanding the question due to the use of unfamiliar terms or requiring communication to occur in an unfamiliar format.

Establish criteria for evaluation: You need to define the criteria that will be used to evaluate the learners' performance. These criteria should be clear, specific and measurable. They should also be aligned with the learning outcomes and the content and skills being assessed. This requires the establishment of a Development Pathway for each student.

Set standards for proficiency: You need to establish the level of performance that is considered proficient for each assessment task. This will help you determine whether learners have met the learning outcomes and achieved the desired level of knowledge and skills. This requires samples to be selected and used for moderation.

Pilot the assessment: Before administering the assessment to all learners, you should pilot-test it with a small group of learners. This will help you identify any flaws in the assessment design and make necessary adjustments.

Analyse the results and provide feedback: Once the assessment is administered, you need to analyse the results and provide feedback to learners. This feedback should be specific and actionable, and it should help learners identify areas of strength and weakness and make improvements.

Overall, designing an assessment framework requires careful planning, attention to detail and a focus on the intended learning outcomes. It is an iterative process that involves ongoing review and revision to ensure that the assessment is effective and reliable.

Resources from the IB

Overall, assessment provides an essential mechanism for evaluating student learning outcomes, making informed decisions= and improving the quality of education.

In relation to improving the holistic development of a student, the IB has sought to provide schools with the frameworks and language to help support this as part of its services to schools, which work alongside its role as curriculum framework and accredited assessment provider. They include:

• The Learner Profile

• Approaches to Learning Framework

These are also important to academic assessment and improving students as learners.