Papers by Claire Wyatt-Smith
Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability, 2018
In this chapter, we examine the influence of teacher educators on teacher candidates’ learning an... more In this chapter, we examine the influence of teacher educators on teacher candidates’ learning and beliefs in educational assessment. Specifically, we aim to consider how teacher educators shape teacher candidates’ readiness for classroom assessment and how they might be mediating teacher candidates’ classroom experiences. Despite their potential influence, there has been limited scholarship devoted to exploring teacher educators’ approaches to assessment and the direct influence these approaches have on candidates’ assessment literacy. Within the current climate of accountability across schools in North America and in many other parts of the world, studying how teachers are prepared in the area of assessment is both timely and critical. In this chapter, we present data on teacher educators’ approaches to assessment with consideration for how these approaches might shape teacher candidates’ readiness for practice.
Springer eBooks, 2009
In this chapter it is argued that there is a need to explore the theoretical underpinnings to ass... more In this chapter it is argued that there is a need to explore the theoretical underpinnings to assessment in the 21st century against the backdrop of increasing interest in large-scale, standardised teaching for accountability and reporting purposes on the one hand, and on the other hand, an interest in formative assessment for improving learning. A framework of assessment as critical inquiry is proposed based on an approach to assessment as 'meaning making' (Delandshere, Teachers' College Record, 104(7), 1461-1484, 2002). The framework is based on the proposition that when assessment is understood as critical inquiry, the practices and processes of assessing-social and cultural acts of doing assessment in actual contexts-can be considered in relation to four main lenses: (1) conceptions of knowledge, including the nature of the knowledge domains and the related capabilities to be assessed; (2) conceptions about the alignment of assessment, learning and teaching and how teachers enact their conceptions in practice; (3) teacher judgment practices, especially as these relate to standards, moderation opportunities, requirements of assessment tasks and expectations of quality performance; and (4) the curriculum literacies required to participate in and contribute to knowledge domains, including those represented in formal curriculum. Each of the four elements of the framework is thought of as a lens that enables particular characteristics of enacted assessment to come to the fore. Collectively, it is argued that these interrelated lenses work to reveal what is at play in how student achievement is evaluated and therefore valued. The framework is a construct that builds on and is supported by research insights from published work in assessment, some of which has been incorporated into practice and policy. This research, set in Australia, has clear international generalisability.
She has taught in secondary schools and universities, and held various administrative roles that ... more She has taught in secondary schools and universities, and held various administrative roles that include Executive Dean of Education and Arts, and Dean Academic (Arts, Education and Law). Claire is an adviser for curriculum and assessment agencies in Australia and several other countries, and holds visiting research and teaching professor roles. She is the series editor for Springer's new teacher education series, Teacher education, learning innovation and accountability.
Her research focuses on professional judgement, standards and moderation, with an aligned focus o... more Her research focuses on professional judgement, standards and moderation, with an aligned focus on curriculum and literacy education. Her publications address teachers' assessment identities; large-scale standardised testing and its impact on learning; assessment adaptations for students with disabilities and assessment and new technologies. Claire's research has attracted funding from the Australian Research Council and she has undertaken numerous government-funded large-scale longitudinal projects. Recent books include Assessment for Education: Standards, Judgement and Moderation (Sage, 2014) and Designing Assessment for Quality Learning (Springer, 2014), and she is the Series Editor for Springer's assessment series, The Enabling Power of Assessment, through which she works with international networks of researchers focused on assessment and professional practice. Claire holds an advisory role in the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Ireland and a Professorial Teaching Fellowship, Hong Kong University, working in the Faculties of Education and Dentistry.
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, Feb 1, 2012
High Stakes testing in Australia was introduced in 2008 by way of the National Assessment Program... more High Stakes testing in Australia was introduced in 2008 by way of the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Currently, every year all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are assessed on the same days using national tests in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) and Numeracy. In 2010 the NAPLAN results were published on the Federal Government MySchool website. The impact of these high stakes tests on jurisdictions, school principals, parents and students is considered in this article. We draw on reported observations from the Australian Primary Principals Association during 2009-10 testing periods across the country and published Australian research on the impact of high stakes literacy and numeracy testing. We also examine alternative approaches that include the use of assessment evidence for learning improvement purposes and for accountability purposes. In considering alternatives to the current large-scale testing approach we draw on key insights from research on teacher judgement, achievement standards and social moderation in the context of national curriculum and assessment reform in support of the suggested directions forward.
British Educational Research Journal, Aug 1, 2012
Major curriculum and assessment reforms in Australia have generated research interest in issues r... more Major curriculum and assessment reforms in Australia have generated research interest in issues related to standards, teacher judgement and moderation. This article is based on one related inquiry of a large-scale Australian Research Council Linkage project conducted in Queensland. This qualitative study analysed interview data to identify teachers' views on standards and moderation as a means to achieving consistency of teacher judgement. A complementary aspect of the research involved a blind review that was conducted to determine the degree of teacher consistency without the experience of moderation. Empirical evidence was gained that most teachers, of the total interviewed articulated a positive attitude towards the use of standards in moderation and perceived that this process produces consistency in teachers' judgements. Context was identified as an important influential factor in teachers' judgements and it was concluded that teachers' assessment beliefs, attitudes and practices impact on their perceptions of the value of moderation practice and the extent to which consistency can be achieved.
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, Mar 1, 2003
In this paper we explore the literacy-curriculum interface reconceptualising this relationship in... more In this paper we explore the literacy-curriculum interface reconceptualising this relationship in terms of curriculum literacies. The reconceptualisation is an outcome of a major Australian research study that examined the literacy demands of curriculum in senior schooling. The study was multidisciplinary, multi-theoretical in nature, involving a team of international researchers with expertise in literacy and in curriculum. The paper argues the need for exploring the coherence of literacy demands that students encounter in managing their learning in different contexts and disciplines and the need to incorporate these demands explicitly in instruction and assessment. Our conclusion is that the reconceptualisation of curriculum literacies challenges current constructs of assessment and calls for the domains of assessment to be expanded to include curriculum knowledge, and epistemological domains that take account of diverse ways of working with and in semiotic systems. Student success across the years of schooling hinges on their increasing control of this combination of knowledges and ability to use these productively.
The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Jun 1, 2000
Copyright Agency Limited (CAl) licensed copy. Further copying and communication prohibited except... more Copyright Agency Limited (CAl) licensed copy. Further copying and communication prohibited except on payment offee per Copy OfCommunication and otherwise inaccordance with the licence from CAL toACER. For more information contact CAl on (02) 9394 7600
Her research focuses on professional judgement, standards and moderation, with an aligned focus o... more Her research focuses on professional judgement, standards and moderation, with an aligned focus on curriculum and literacy education. Her publications address teachers' assessment identities; large-scale standardised testing and its impact on learning; assessment adaptations for students with disabilities and assessment and new technologies. Claire's research has attracted funding from the Australian Research Council and she has undertaken numerous government-funded large-scale longitudinal projects. Recent books include Assessment for Education: Standards, Judgement and Moderation (Sage, 2014) and Designing Assessment for Quality Learning (Springer, 2014), and she is the Series Editor for Springer's assessment series, The Enabling Power of Assessment, through which she works with international networks of researchers focused on assessment and professional practice. Claire holds an advisory role in the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Ireland and a Professorial Teaching Fellowship, Hong Kong University, working in the Faculties of Education and Dentistry.
Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability, 2021
The final chapter revisits the key questions explored in the book and from this vantage point ass... more The final chapter revisits the key questions explored in the book and from this vantage point asserts that: We have to get teaching performance assessments (TPAs) right. Our pursuit has been to connect standards, the evaluative expertise of teacher educators, and evidence. The term evidence is taken to include both evidence of standards and standards of evidence. Here, the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA) is presented as part of longitudinal research that involves custom designing digital architecture and utilising system thinking. This includes the vital approach to cross-institutional moderation online (CIM-Online™) and data visualisation of a type that supports collaborative action at scale and enables the agentic action of teacher educators. The chapter introduces an interconnected set of preconditions that constitute a sustainable approach to culture change in teacher education. Finally, the chapter proposes what is required in order to get TPAs right.
Big data and digital learning assessments… are part of the broader digital disruption brought abo... more Big data and digital learning assessments… are part of the broader digital disruption brought about by enhanced computational and digital capacities, in terms of the volume, variety, and velocity of data that now circulate within countries and globally… Data are not inherently disruptive. It is the datafication of experience and the digitalization of data that are the source of disruption.
This article examines the theory-practice links between the teaching of literacy and information ... more This article examines the theory-practice links between the teaching of literacy and information technology. In the first section we outline a theoretical rationale for the inclusion of information technology in teacher education and professional development. Supported by the rationale and the understanding that literacy requirements in teacher education and teaching have changed, the second section of the article demonstrates some of the outcomes of initiatives in an English teacher education program at Griffith University, Australia, which focus on the collection and evaluation of Internet resources so that they might support worthwhile activities in the literacy curriculum. Finally, suggestions are made for forging additional theory-practice connections between literacy and technology, based on a critical literacy approach to reading texts.
This paper was commissioned to inform the Review of Queensland Senior Assessment and School Repor... more This paper was commissioned to inform the Review of Queensland Senior Assessment and School Reporting and Tertiary Entrance Processes undertaken by Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Specifically, the lead Investigator was tasked to address the hypothesis that the Queensland Studies Authority’s (QSA, also referred to as system) approach to specifying assessment criteria and standards remains dominant and salient across disciplines. It was also to consider the holistic and analytic judgement models that operate in District and State review panels. The original aims were therefore to consider the nature and function of standards in informing teacher judgements as reported through moderation panel processes. In support of this focus, the paper is both empirically informed and conceptual in nature, each in turn examining the nature and function of standards in judgements in senior schooling moderation contexts.
Pre-Conference Workshop 3Outcomes-based models in higher education recognize the centrality of st... more Pre-Conference Workshop 3Outcomes-based models in higher education recognize the centrality of standards-based assessment in fulfilling the goal of curriculum alignment. This workshop aims to take this mission forward by examining one assessment type: performance-based tasks. By definition, we consider these tasks to be-in-the-moment performances by students that may be assessed in real time or video recorded for post-performance assessment. Examples include professional practicum performances, clinical performances in simulated treatments or real patient care, demonstration of skills, teaching practicums and oral presentations such as moot courts, vivas, dramas, debates etc. We will first examine the tensions between validity and reliability with performance-based tasks when considering their placement within an overarching, course or programme-level assessment strategy. Second, in considering in situ assessment of performance-based tasks, the notion of examiner judgment is central. Key to validity and reliability is making such judgments defensible, visible and accessible to students and examiners alike. Articulation of latent expertise and ‘connoisseur’ use of task performance criteria are key to this notion of accessibility. One widely adopted approach is the adoption of ‘rubric’ formats for the denotation of standards and explication of task-specific criteria. However, the standard table-format matrix used to as a template for assessment of tasks holds potential limitations for application and interpretation. ‘Boxing’ in multiple descriptors for single criterion may constrain views of student performance. They have potential to limit what an assessor ‘sees’ in the act of assessing performances, specifically, what the performance calls the assessor ‘to see’ that may not have been previously identified in the published criteria. The use of assessment grading intervals whether pass/fail or a A-E affects interpretation, reliability and the nature of feedback to students. Likewise, the ability to make ‘on-balance’ judgments may be limited by wholly pre-specified features of quality. The writing of clear yet nuanced descriptors or specifications, therefore, proves to be a continuing challenge in higher education, especially in performance-based tasks. Various models and approaches will be shared and developed in this workshop. We will also problematize the use of scalar attributes such as ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘unsatisfactory’ in denoting criteria and explore methods to best capture salient features considered by assessors to be central to task performance across levels
While externally moderated standards-based assessment has been practised in Queensland senior sch... more While externally moderated standards-based assessment has been practised in Queensland senior schooling for more than three decades, there has been no such practice in the middle years. With the introduction of standards at state and national levels in these years, teacher judgement as developed in moderation practices is now vital. This paper argues, that in this context of assessment reform, standards intended to inform teacher judgement and to build assessment capacity are necessary but not sufficient for maintaining teacher and public confidence in schooling. We will argue that teacher judgement is intrinsic to moderation, and to professional practice, and can no longer remain private. Moderation too is intrinsic to efforts by the profession to realise judgements that are defensible, dependable and open to scrutiny. Moderation can no longer be considered an optional extra and requires system-level support especially if, as intended, the standards are linked to system-wide effort...
The Enabling Power of Assessment, 2016
Outcomes-based models in higher education recognize the key role of standards-based assessment in... more Outcomes-based models in higher education recognize the key role of standards-based assessment in fulfilling the goal of curriculum alignment. However, writing clear yet nuanced descriptors or specifications is a continuing challenge. We examine an illustrative case of an assessment expertise project in dentistry at the University of Hong Kong to examine the role of standards descriptors within an overarching, programme-level assessment strategy. The project centred on examiner judgement during in situ clinical assessment tasks. Key to validity and reliability is making such judgements defensible, visible and accessible to students and examiners. Articulation of latent expertise and ‘connoisseur’ use of clinical performance criteria addressed the notion of accessibility. Connoisseurship extends beyond knowing the stated or explicitly defined criteria, to ‘know-how’ in using explicit, latent and meta-criteria. Central to the approach taken was how standards-based assessment can be enacted in clinical education by making latent, expert judgement practices explicit and adopting more flexible approaches than the traditional ‘rubric’. Building a programme-level standards-based assessment culture draws upon dialogues across disciplines – both clinical and educational. Further research needs to illuminate professional judgement as process as well as the evaluative knowledge that is the source of assessment criteria and standards.
International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education, 2012
This study disputed the general perception that disadvantaged students are unmotivated to read. I... more This study disputed the general perception that disadvantaged students are unmotivated to read. Interviews with students in Year 5 classes at low SES schools in Queensland, Australia, provided evidence of underlying variation in the ways that engaged and disengaged readers observe and respond to their opportunities and experiences in reading at school and at home. Despite their shared disadvantaged backgrounds with disengaged readers, engaged students were more motivated to read, consistently engaged in classroom reading and often shared their reading with family members. While disengaged readers experienced motivational problems and failed to display a consistent reading engagement pattern in school and at home, most of them still considered themselves good readers and understood the importance of reading. We argue that disengaged readers were not utterly unmotivated and urge teachers to provide additional support to engage them in reading and to build on their extant reading motivation.
Literacy Learning the Middle Years, Feb 1, 2013
This paper reports an investigation of the potential of school gardens as an effective middle yea... more This paper reports an investigation of the potential of school gardens as an effective middle years learning environment in which to teach curriculum literacies in a cross disciplinary manner. Drawing on the school garden literature and on interview data from key stakeholders at two Brisbane State primary schools, the paper provides perspectives on school garden curriculum literacy learning in the following curriculum areas: English, Mathematics or Numeracy, Science, Environmental Education, ICT and Art. The documented enthusiasm of the students when involved in school garden activities goes some way towards making the school garden an effective literacy learning environment. The study revealed that the students who were reported by teachers as benefitting most from curriculum literacy learning in the school garden were those with learning difficulties and behavioural issues. The literature often associates these students with lower literacy levels. The stakeholder comments point to an overall improvement in some skills, particularly writing and attitude to learning through meaningful integration of curriculum literacies to support classroom learning through garden lessons.
English in Australia, Apr 1, 2012
This article examines synergies and gaps in the construction of English, literacy, multimodality ... more This article examines synergies and gaps in the construction of English, literacy, multimodality in policy and curriculum in Australian education with a focus on current assessment practices and educational accountability in order to make recommendations for future practice for teachers and for policy-makers. The article builds on analyses of the historical development of literacy, English and multimodality in Australian policy and curriculum published previously. In this article, we examine desirable constructions and activities for assessment of multimodal English in classrooms and research on student engagement in multimodal English tasks. The multimodality focus examined in this article is the use and role of technologies in English and assessment and the way new and emerging technologies can affect student learning processes and outcomes. The article concludes with recommendations for changes both for classroom assessment practice and also for future educational accountability practice, if the goals of the Melbourne Declaration of 2008 (MCEETYA, 2008) and the Australian English curriculum are to be attained.
Uploads
Papers by Claire Wyatt-Smith