Phase One: Preparation (Establishing Capabilities and Resources)

Developing Effective Classroom Assessment Practices

One of the most important aspects of effective classroom assessment is the teacher’s assessment capability. Assessment capability is the teachers’ “capacity to negotiate assessment knowledge and skills in the context of their classroom teaching” (DeLuca et al 2019: 159). ‘Negotiate’ is probably better conceived as ‘able to be intentional’, where a teacher consciously designs an assessment to inform teaching and student learning, designed to progress student development and provide data for communications.

As with all professional skills, assessment capability needs to be developed to ensure the effectiveness of assessment (DeLuca et al 2019 (3)). Designing effective and efficient assessment tasks requires the establishment of a common understanding with teachers. To ensure this occurs, schools must plan for whole-school professional learning experiences. Initially, an established understanding and a common language need to be part of the first stage of implementation. Then the focus is on developing the assessment design based on the Development Pathway. Once implementation has begun, any inhibitors and/or disruptors need to be identified through a review cycle that includes feedback from stakeholders.

What is a Development Pathway?

A Development Pathway refers to a set of sequential steps, stages or milestones that students are expected to progress through as they grow and develop their knowledge, skills and abilities. It is often used to describe the progression of students through their educational journey, from early childhood to post-secondary education and into the workforce.

In an IB programme, a Development Pathway refers to a planning document designed to support student development and progression, specific to the learning outcomes of the subject, and is identified through a Backwards Design approach.

A Development Pathway allows teachers to support those who may be at risk of falling behind, or who need additional help in order to reach their full potential.

This is sometimes called vertical articulation or planning within a subject.

1. DeLuca, C, Coombs, A and LaPointe-McEwan, D. 2019. “Assessment Mindset: Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Mindset and Approaches to Classroom Assessment”. Studies in Educational Evaluation Vol 61. Pp 159–169. See also Xu, Y and Brown, GT. 2016. “Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice: A Reconceptualization”. Teaching and Teacher Education Vol 58. Pp 149–16