This study investigates how different stakeholders in Norway experienced a government-initiated, large-scale policy implementation programme on "Assessment for Learning" ("AfL"). Data were collected through 58 interviews with stakeholders in charge of the policy; Ministers of Education and members of the Directorate of…

Scotland, in common with many countries internationally, has been learning how to align ideas from research with policy and practice. This article considers what Scotland learned from large-scale evaluations of its Assessment is for Learning (AifL) programme and the extent to which this evidence was used to inform future learning within the…

The purpose of this research was to examine the implementation of a professional learning project aimed at building educators' knowledge and skills in assessment for learning (AfL) within two school districts in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, the research examined the value of a two-tier "Instructional Rounds" (IR) professional…

Egypt is currently attempting to introduce a greater formative use of assessment while maintaining a public examination system. This study investigates teacher beliefs about the purposes of assessment in Egypt, using the Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment (TCoA) inventory. The TCoA inventory elicits responses about four main factors:…

This paper focuses on promoting fairness and equity in student assessment practices. The researchers used questionnaires and interviews and the study encompassed a total of 3312 individuals representing a range of stakeholders. The paper is presented in two parts: fairness and discrimination, and challenging policy and practice. Five key…

Norway has seen major changes in the field of educational assessment over the past decade, following the 2001 '"PISA shock" that stimulated reform of the entire primary and secondary education systems: new outcome-based curricula with cross-disciplinary basic skills were accompanied by major revision of assessment regulations,…

Teachers committed to inclusive education have the potential to revolutionise pedagogical and assessment practices within regular classrooms simply because students with high needs challenge traditional assumptions about what it means "to learn" and "to assess". This creates opportunities for teachers to find creative ways to…

The South African education system has witnessed significant changes since 1994 when the democratically elected government began the process of dismantling the inherited apartheid order. The primary focus of the transformation process was to address the twin imperative of equity and quality in education, particularly for the historically…

Student assessment in the Czech Republic is still rather traditional, with classroom practice continuing to focus on summative assessment. The country has regularly participated in international surveys, but the findings from these only started to influence educational policy during the past decade, when Czech students' performance fell…

Aligning curriculum change and assessment reforms has been a topic of great concern in Namibia for over the past 23 years. This is because during the pre-colonial period and continuing in post-independence Namibia, national examinations have been used mainly for the certification and selection of learners at Junior and Senior secondary school…

Building assessment capacity of educators has historically been unregulated practice in post-independence Malawi. However, recent attempts by government to integrate curriculum and assessment reforms and the introduction of continuous assessment in the system have represented a significant policy shift. These and several other initiatives have…

Studies of the use of teacher judgement for summative assessment in the USA are considered in two general categories. (1) Studies of teacher classroom summative assessment, that is, teacher grading practices, have historically and currently emphasised the lack of validity and reliability of these judgements. (2) Studies of how teacher judgement…

This paper engages with debates about whether comprehensive prior specification of criteria and standards is sufficient for informed professional judgement. A preoccupation has emerged with the specificity and explication of criteria intended to regulate judgement. This has resulted in criteria compliance in the use of defined standards to…

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability promotes equal and full participation by children in education. Equity of educational access for all students, including students with disability, free from discrimination, is the first-stated national goal of Australian education. Australian federal disability discrimination law, the…

Scotland, in common with many other countries internationally, has paid considerable attention to the development of assessment for learning. Currently, schools in Scotland are engaged in a major programme of curriculum and assessment reform, entitled Curriculum for Excellence. As part of the reform process, there is concern amongst practitioners,…