Supporting Assessment Design at Key Stage 3
Fairness, reliability and validity
This section enables you to:
- identify the features of a ‘good’ assessment;
- understand the principles of assessment design, including giving all pupils fair access to assessments; and
- understand the concepts of fairness, reliability and validity in assessment.
You can also explore the sub-sections on Writing fair assessments and Diversity and context.
What makes a ‘good’ assessment?
Reflection
Think about your own experience of assessment as a learner and then as a teacher. Give your opinion on what the features of a ‘good’ assessment are, then compare your ideas with the list below.
A good assessment:
- accurately measures a pupil’s knowledge, skills and abilities in a specific domain or subject area (see The Statutory Curriculum at Key Stage 3 and The Big Picture of the Curriculum at Key Stage 3);
- is designed to be fair, valid, reliable and relevant to the intended learning outcomes; and
- provides useful feedback to the individual being assessed and the teacher.
Principles of a good assessment
Now reflect on six principles of a good assessment:
Questions to consider
Who are the pupils being assessed?
- Is the assessment age-appropriate, accessible and culturally sensitive, and does it avoid bias?
What content is being assessed?
- Does it cover the breadth of the content/scheme of work intended to be assessed?
When will the assessment take place?
- How does this align with schemes of work, reporting deadlines, school and religious calendars?
Where will the assessment occur?
- Will any specific provisions need to be made?
Why is this assessment being used?
- What purpose is it fulfilling?
How does this assessment identify what learners can and can’t do?
- Is there a variety of relevant question types?
- Does the mark scheme reflect the complexity of answers required?
Validity checklist
This checklist is from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Validity (2005) by Charles Darr:
- Do the tasks match the learning intentions we are interested in?
- Does the test cover a wide enough range of content?
- Are there enough items or tasks to cover the scope of what is being assessed?
- Do the tasks require use of the desired skills and reasoning processes?
- Is there an emphasis on deep, rather than surface knowledge?
- Are the directions for the assessment task clear?
- Are the questions unambiguous?
- Are the time limits sufficient?
- Do the tasks avoid favouring groups of students more likely to have useful background knowledge – for instance, boys or girls?
- Is the language used suitable?
- Are the reading demands fair?
Reflection
Fairness
- Do your assessments allow all pupils to fully demonstrate their learning in an accessible way?
- Have you checked your assessments for potential biases that could negatively impact some pupils? What steps can you take to make them more equitable?
- Are your assessment expectations and criteria clear to pupils? Do you offer accommodations to ensure assessments evaluate skills and knowledge fairly for all?
Reliability
- Are your assessments consistent and dependable in measuring pupils’ learning and performance over time?
- Have you established clear and specific scoring criteria and rubrics to ensure consistent and objective evaluation of pupils’ work?
- Do you use multiple assessment tasks or items to gather sufficient evidence of pupils’ learning and minimise the impact of random errors?
- Are adequate training and support available to other teachers or evaluators involved in the assessment process to ensure consistent scoring and interpretation?
- Do you review and revise your assessment procedures regularly to address any sources of potential inconsistency or unreliability?
Validity
- What factors do you consider when thinking about validity?
- What are the biggest threats to validity in your school?
- How well do your assessments align with the intended learning outcomes and objectives of the instructional unit or curriculum?
- Are you using a variety of assessment methods and tasks that capture different dimensions of pupils’ learning, ensuring a comprehensive and valid representation?
- Have you considered the content validity of your assessments, ensuring that they cover the essential knowledge, skills or competencies relevant to the subject or topic?
- Are you providing clear and meaningful feedback to pupils based on the assessment results, helping them understand their strengths and areas for improvement?
- Do you continuously evaluate and refine your assessments to ensure they are valid, accurately measuring what they are intended to measure?