I had a really interesting informal chat with a couple of S5 pupils the other day. It was just before they were about to go into one of their Higher exams and they were considering the relative worth of what they were about to do. Now, I know that lots of students complain about exams, and never more so than just before they are about to sit one. But there was something very different about this conversation. It was very considered and thoughtful - and not a million miles away from my own thoughts!
They felt that their ability to regurgitate information wasn’t really relevant to their employability and didn’t allow them to show off their real skills. They felt that exams should be completed collaboratively and with reference materials available and a greater emphasis should be placed on a portfolio of learning evidenced throughout their course. They made it clear that these were ideas which they frequently discussed in their peer group. When I asked if they had ever been given a forum to express and develop these ideas within school, they said they had not.
I was really blown away by these imaginative and open-minded solutions which were far removed from the normal “I hate exams” and felt that not only were they right, but shocked that they had developed all of this completely separately from their school experience.
I do hope that they pursue these ideas and can one day contribute to the changes we need.
P.S. The pupils consented to me sharing this conversation.
This post is tagged assessment, curriculum for excellence
I can see their point of view, but as someone who deals with entirely coursework or portfolio based qualifications on a daily basis (teaching ICT) this inevitably turns into a paper chase and becomes more about willingness to comply/submit/engage than it is about ability.
A portfolio is evidence of ability (or it should be), an exam is a TEST of ability. No one solution is perfect in isolation, of course. In fact no solution is perfect even in combination. A tricky one…
Thanks Mark,
I do appreciate the nightmare of coursework and portfolios. Perhaps the way these are currently administered does not provide the solution these pupils are searching for either? Is there maybe another way of doing these which would provide a record of learning and the skills of the pupils without descending into paper chasing and jumping through hoops?
I’m also interested in the way you describe portfolios and exams as evidence and tests of “ability”. This description doesn’t sit comfortably with me as it implies that success is restricted to those who have this “ability” (i.e. from birth). Perhaps this gets to the very root of the problem in that exams are based on a theory of “fixed ability”, as opposed to one of “growth”?
Either way as the old Colonel thundered ’something must be done’. I have kids that do well on exams and yet their folios vary from excellent to ‘Sweet Jesus laddie’. As Mark says the paper chase and actually getting the damm things off them takes up so much time that we then lose chances to do additional topics or revision. I’m thinking an e-portfolio kept up to date but locked at stages once pieces have been finished and submitted electronically might be less stressful. Means marking can also be done throughout the year.
And we are seeing increasing problems with plagiarism when presenting folios. Perhaps a regular sampling of their work throughout the course with grades etc? This way they can improve if they’re slipping and they must maintain a minimum level throughout. Mind you that sounds like doing a GPA American style.
By ‘ability’ I mean their … ability (can’t think of another suitable word!) … to perform the task at that time, however that ability has been gained (a naturally bright student who has not listened will not be _able_ to draw the topology of a star network, for example). All this rather than intending to be a comment on the naturally able (argh, bloody words!) Perhaps ‘understanding’ would be a more appropriate word - although this has connotations in skills based subjects.
I like the principal of Edexcel Applied ICT A-level exams (timed online assessments) - if not the implementation. Will we ever be happy?
Thanks to both of you.
e-portfolios sound like an interesting way forward dave.
I thought that’s what you probably meant Mark, but thought I’d raise it anyway as I do think that for some exams are not far removed from IQ tests.
We’ll probably never be happy, but maybe that’s a good thing as that means we’ll always be looking for ways to improve
I understand what your kids are saying, but in reality, what they are describing is actually just another test… but it is a test of their ability to find out information, and a test of their ability to work collaboratively, rather than a test of the knowledge they already know. Yes, there is a genuine need for the ability to find things out, but there is also a need (as Mark says) to ‘test’ what knowledge has been internalised.
I am very interested in the e-portfolio as a means of generating evidence, and think they would go a long way to eliminating plaigiarism. Having been a user of wikis for a considerable length of time now, I can say that the ‘history’ function is a great means of keeping tabs on a pupil’s work-rate and achievement. (Incidentally, having the evidence in electronic format also makes it easy(-ier) to check for plaigiarism).
You are right that it is encouraging to hear them thinking carefully about their education… and the skills they decribe should receive formal recognition, but rightly or wrongly, it is their individual skills and knowledge (and ability to learn) that will sustain them in the long term…
Thanks Neil,
I see your point. Maybe there is still a place for testing knowledge, but I still feel there needs to be a shift in emphasis. If we really value skills, we shouldn’t be scared to try and assess their development - even if it’s not easy to do this. I also think that secondary schools are so driven by the content of the external assessments that we wont get a shift in emphasis throughout the schools until the exams change to match.
Thanks for the interesting post, Fearghal. I’d like to add a few thoughts.
I think there’s a confusion between ‘assessment’ and ‘exams/tests’. Tests are one very restriced and restrictive form of assessment, which may sometimes be a valid form of assessment.
For instance, the driving test (practical part) is widely regarded as valid, because it attempts to measure a clearly important skill (driving safely, legally and competently) in a real environment. Its reliability (ie the extent to which all tests are assessed equally) is accepted to be dubious, because we need to put a high weighting on its validity. In other words, we’ll tolerate potential unfairness in exchange for public safety.
Many Science exams use a lot of multiple choice questions. These seem to ensure high reliability (rigid answer options and fixed mark schemes), and therefore fairness, but since they are attempting to measure knowledge and understanding, we should question their validity; are they really measuring memorisation? We tolerate low validity in exchange for high reliability. Is that a good trade-off?
English Critical essays …do they have high reliability? Very subjective marking, an infinite number of potential responses, an impossibility of assessors knowing every possible text, etc. Do they have high validity? Do they really measure understanding of a literary text?
So: as a society we have to decide what exactly we value, because that’s what we should help children learn. Then we should decide what (if anything) we want to certificate (ie provide authentication of attainment). Then we have to decide how we measure that attainment (ie assess) in ways that are both highly valid and highly reliable.
One thing is certain, in my opinion: we’re certainly not achieving that at the moment.
Wow, what a reply Gordon!
I think your thoughts are incredibly interesting and really help us to clarify what we’re discussing here.
Thank you
The Government has announced the new qualifications today, stating:
“The new ‘Nationals’ will be specially designed to support learning under Curriculum for Excellence and will focus on developing the skills pupils need to support them in the future - be that education, training or the workplace.”
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/06/11154737
In a Baccalaureat (spelling?) type system you could have more of a mixture of assessment types, including some sort of collaborative/open book assessment. In fact, if SVS was revised and perhaps taken more seriously, this could form the nucleus of a collaborative assessment that was more directly related to employability.
This comment, of course, is from the ignorant viewpoint of one who still doesn’t fully understand the Scottish education system and the various bits that appear on exam result certificates, despite the children being in the latter stages of their school careers.