Advantages and Disadvantages of System Testing

Advantages and Disadvantages of System examAssessment and reporting ar the destines by which learning idler be monitored and stakeholders nominate be informed of strikement. Its educational aspect sees results use to fall upon strengths and weaknesses and purify future learning, and its instrumental aspect involves grouping of students accord to achievement . P atomic number 18nts, teachers and students atomic number 18 interested in its educational function, whereas external stakeholders much(prenominal) as g everyplacenments be concerned with the instrumental aspect.Movement towards a spherical and digital economy has necessitated skilled and knowledgeable drill leavers, crucial for Australias societal and economic prosperity. presidential terms therefore require schools to demo student achievement at acceptable levels to justify their economic support . This accountability also ensures the company understands provision of funding and services to schools . To p rovide this study, discernment must be undertaken on a depicted object scale. As the information undeniable differs to that required in the schoolroom, strategies for discernment differ in design, implementation and reporting. National judgement must be inexpensive, rapid and externally mandated, and results must be frank and accessible .Herein lie the issues with topic endorseing. Authentic legal opinion is befitting popular in the crystaliseroom, interrogatory real- living experiences and practical knowledge over numerous legal opinion tasks. In contrast, national tallys assess students on cardinal originator and rely on a pen-and-paper mode of deliver, star(p) to debate over rigour.Benefits of system-wide examOver the past 40 years, international and national interrogatory has improverd substantially. While early implementation assisted selection of students for higher(prenominal) education, more recent national assessment is used to evaluate plan impleme ntation . As different curricula operate throughout Australia and internationally, benchmarking has been lifted to drive on similitudes between countries or students and identify strengths and weaknesses .In Australia, the National Assessment program (NAP) desegregate annual NAP literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN), and three yearly sample assessments in light literacy, civics and citizenship, and information and communication technology literacy. Most debate surrounds NAPLAN, hence it pull up stakes be discussed further.NAPLAN proceeds under direction of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA, anteriorly MCEETYA) and is federally funded. It was developed to test skills essential for every child to progress through school and life . Each year, all students in categorys 3, 5, 7 and 9 ar assessed in reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy. NAPLAN endeavours to provide data enabling Government to butt endvas how well schools argon performingidentify schools with particular needs baffle where choices are most demand to lift attainmentidentify beat practice and innovationconduct national and international comparisons of approaches and carrying into actiondevelop a substantive evidence base on what works .NAPLAN claims to achieve this by collecting a breadth of information that go off non be obtained from classroom assessment. Government benefits from analysis on such large data samples outcomes for groups including males/females, original and woeful socio-economic status students provide an evidence-base to inform policy development and resource allocation .Comparing individual students to others in their state, and national benchmarks provides detailed information for teachers to inform future learning. Individual students can also be mapped over time, to identify areas of improvement or those requiring intervention. In addition, national examination assists students woful schools i n that it al piteouss immediate identification of their learning level by their sore school .Strict guidelines surround reporting of results to ensure benefits are gained. The Government name committed to ensuring that public reportingfocuses on improving performance and student outcomesis both locally and nationally relevantis timely, consistent and mistakable .If NAPLANs implementation follows these guidelines, it will provide great benefit to Australia. However in these early stages of implementation, it is important to consider the troubled experiences of other countries regarding national testing.Lessons to be learntNational assessment was introduced in England in 1992 to establish national targets for education. Students are assessed at ages 7 and 11 in English and mathematics, and at 14 also in science . The no child left shadower legislation was implemented in the USA in 2001 to reduce the distinction between high and low ends of student achievement, focussing on liter acy and numeracy. Students are assessed yearly between Year 3 and 8, and once between Year 9 and 12. Results are analysed on the basis of socioeconomic and ethnic background, and print as school league tables by the media. Federal funding is tie in to school performance . The common issues with both cases will be discussed below. creation a topical issue, the majority of literature on national testing is highly biased towards the authors opinion. However if or when these effects occur, they have the substance to negatively impact on students. As such, they also need to be considered within the Australian context.Narrowing of the curriculumWith funding linked to success, teachers are obliged to ensure students achieve the best result possible in assessed subjects, and can end up didactics to the test. Those teachers who produce successful students apply this strategy are rewarded, deepening the problem . Within assessed subjects, increased class time is spent teaching students to take tests and increasing focus on tested areas, leading to reduced emphasis on skills such as creativity and higher order thinking . Furthermore, time spent on subjects not tested is reduced in preference for those that are. This type of teaching has been labelled defensive pedagogy and leads to narrowing of the curriculum .Excluding low-achieving studentsReports suggest that some(prenominal) low-performing students are excluded from enrolment or suspended during testing to improve school performance . In one example, students with low scores were prevented from re-enrolling, but were formally labelled as having withdrawn . Compounding this effect, successful schools then have further power to choose students, leading to a widening offend between low and high performing schools in direct antonym to the reasons for implementing national assessment .disregarding high-achieving studentsHigh-achieving students can also be adversely affected, as galore(postnominal) results are i nform only as parcel achieving benchmarks. Priority is therefore withstandn to students just below benchmarks to ensure they extend them . This has been described as developing cookie-cutter students, all with similar skills . In doing this, students achieving above benchmarks are not challenged, reducing motivation and causing disengagement.lower vanityIn one study, for the three years after national testing was implemented student self-esteem was significantly reduced compared to students the previous two years. Furthermore, attainment in national tests correlated with self-esteem, suggesting that both draw of testing and the students achievement can influence self-esteem .Increased drop-out ratesWhen compared to schools of similar socio-economic background but without national testing, a significant increase in Year 8-10 students dropping out of school was observed . This may be linked to pressure to suspend students or reduced self-esteem and motivation associated with hig h-stakes testing.Reporting of league tablesNational testing results are ofttimes reported as league tables, presenting average scores allowing direct comparison between schools. However, results tend to reflect socio-economic status rather than true achievement, and the impression of schools as successes or failures leads to even further inequity between socio-economic groups . Importantly, the tables give no information as to the cause of low achievement or means for improvement , and therefore do not fulfil their think purpose.Recent trends have seen publication of value-added data, adjusted for socio-economic status , however the methods of numeration are not explicit, hence their benefit is debatable.disparity from classroom assessmentClassroom assessment has become increasingly authentic, with students being assessed on real-world tasks , great(p) them the best possible chance of demonstrating knowledge and skills. The use of national testing opposes this model, assessing s tudents on one single occasion and leaving teachers uncertain as to appropriate pedagogy. Results obtained during classroom inspections of authentic expressions of assessment have been shown to differ to those from national testing , leading to questioning over validity.Ensuring reliability and validity in AustraliaThe issues described above need to be considered to ensure reliability and validity of national testing in the Australian context.ReliabilityReliability refers to dead body of assessment, where results should be the same irrespective of when, where and how the assessment was taken and marked . The direct issue is marking consistency throughout Australia. Information technology facilitates veracious marking of simple answers, and Newton suggests computer-based scoring algorithms for constructed responses also improve reliability. succor ensures all assessors use the same strategies, and marking by more than one person may also improve reliability. Moderation also assi sts in maintaining threshold levels over time .ValidityValidity refers to the assessment testing what it was designed to test.Construct validity assessment is relevant, meaningful and fair and provides surgical information about student knowledgeContent validity assessment is linked to a specific curriculum outcomeConsequential validity assessment does not result in a specific group of students consistently performing poorlyConcurrent validity students find oneself similar results for similar tasks .Debate arises over the capacity of national assessment to demonstrate real-world tasks in meaningful contexts, or deep thinking and problem solvent . With diverse cultural and language backgrounds, Australian students bring to school a variety of experiences and beliefs and demonstrate learning differently. The single occasion, pen and paper style delivery of national testing does not capture this diversity and can lead to anxiety .This is evident particularly for students from Indigen ous and low socioeconomic backgrounds. One teacher suggested that the assessment is daunting, and skills valued in their culture are not seen as relevant . The concept of silent and individual examination is foreign due to their cultural value of collaboration, and the numeracy assessments are unfair because of their low English literacy (G. Guymer, personal communication, April 2011). Much time is spent teaching students how to virtuoso(a) forms, reducing teaching time already limited by low attendance .The aspiration for equality in Australian education is evident. However, this evidence suggests that rather than closing the orifice national testing may real be increasing it.Reporting of resultsIn the past, rather than publishing league tables Australia has value-added to data by grouping schools with similar characteristics, to track individual students, and identify schools in need . However, this grouping has been challenged, as each school is fundamentally unique . To addre ss this, the My School website was published in 2010 (http//www.myschool.edu.au), publishing a school profile including information on staffing, facilities and financial resources. The NAPLAN results are reported for each school against national averages as well as against 60 schools with similar socio-economic characteristics throughout Australia .Using results to improve learningDespite the arouse negative response to national testing, it is unlikely to disappear. As such, using results to improve student learning is the best response. Some methods used successfully are described below.Diagnostic applicationAlthough not designed for the purpose, results can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses for individuals or groups of students. By analysing specific questions, common errors can be identified and inadequacies in thinking inferred . In doing so, national assessment results can be used as a formative assessment to guide future teaching.As NAPLAN is undertaken every three years, results for individual students can also be analysed over time to identify improvement or decline.Consistency of schoolingTogether with the National Curriculum, results from NAPLAN will ensure students receive the same schooling across Australia. This will reduce difficulty associated with students ever-changing schools, as their achievement level will be immediately accessible. internalisation of content in the classroomNAP assessment tasks will be based on National Curriculum content once implemented. As students will be exposed to content during class, national testing should not pose an added burden for teachers. Teachers at Ramingining School ensure all worksheets incorporate question formats similar to those on NAPLAN tests, and in primary school tests are undertaken weekly in English or mathematics under test conditions (G. Guymer B. Thomson, personal communication, April 2011). The school therefore does explicitly teach students to take the test. parcelling of fundi ng and resourcesArguably the most important outcome of national testing is to identify schools with particular needs and determine where resources are most needed to lift attainment . Appropriate distribution of funding and resources will mean NAPLAN has delivered on these promises. In turn, there should be a closing of the gap between low and high achieving schools, and a reduction in many of the issues discussed.Hopefully, implementation of the National Curriculum will support the purposes of NAPLAN, together leading to equality for young Australians.