Grace: Assessment for Learning (AFL)

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Assessment for Learning (AFL)

Hargreaves (2005) posited in the Cambridge Journal of Education that Assessment for Learning (AFL) has 6 definitions.

1. Monitoring pupils’ performances against targets or objectives

2. Using assessment to inform next steps in teaching and learning

3. Teachers giving feedback for improvement

4. Teachers learning about children’s learning

5. Children taking some control of their own learning and assessment

6. Turning assessment into a learning event

I have matched these 6 definitions to actual classroom practices in Singapore for a clearer view of how the spectrum of AFL can be applied in our context.

1. Continual Assessments (CA)

2. Subject banding into HAMALA (High Ability, Middle Ability, Low Ability) among all Sec 4 students for differentiated learning, using a student’s Preliminary Examination results as the criteria for segregation

3. Teacher-written feedback according to task rubric

4. Myer-Briggs (MBTI) personality tests for students

5. Autonomy given to students to present a chorale reading of any chosen poem

6. Dramatisation

At the National Institute of Education (NIE), Assessment for Learning is a popular concept lauded by many education professionals as a viable alternative to the highly stressful high-stakes test that Singapore students are all too familiar with. In the capacity of a trainee teacher, I recognize the abundant merits of formative assessment. However, I am simultaneously cognizant that summative assessment is a credible and time-tested means of testing a student’s performance and indicator of a student’s progress in education to the various stakeholders.

Beyond the popular diatribe that AFL is a panacea to replace stressful examination conditions, Hargreaves (2005) examines the implicit conceptions of assessment. A call is made for teachers to take the exploration into the existential level of “why do schools even have assessments”. Two outcomes are yielded from this question. Firstly, positing assessment as measurement and secondly, assessment as inquiry. 

Assessment as measurement refers to the act or process of determining or estimating the amount, extent or level of a student’s “learning”, often using tests as a means of doing so. Assessment as inquiry is recognised by the use of verbs such as "reflecting", "reviewing", "finding out", "discovering" and "engaging with". In November 2012, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that it would no longer name the top-scorers in national examinations. In response to queries about this decision, the MOE disclosed that it wanted to "balance the over-emphasis on academic results", "help parents and students understand that academic performance is just one aspect of a student's overall development and progress". The implicit message of this decision has sent a wave of discussion across our tiny island that perhaps, Singaporean students will benefit from a de-emphasis on academics, resulting in more time for the holistic pursuit of an all-rounded education. Hargreaves (2005) encourages the use of data collection beyond tests to, for example, observation, informal chat, self-assessment or portfolio collection. The plethora of AFL options is endless and malleable to suit the needs of the 21^st century learner. For example, Web 2.0 tools for pedagogy such as Edmodo, Glogster, Facebook, Blogger and Twitter offer a completely new host of technological affordances for teaching Literature. However, a perennial question remains about the credibility and efficacy of these tools for AFL. Writing this reflection on the Web 2.0 platform of blogger.com, I am compelled to agree that meaningful assessment is possible even on non-traditional platforms such as blogs as long as both teachers and students are cognizant of the purpose for assessment. 

In the engagement of Hargreaves' article, this activity develops a reflective approach in negotiating the need for both formative and summative assessment in the Singapore Literature classroom, effectively enabling us trainee teachers to engage with assessment as inquiry even as part of the ACR422 course. I hope to integrate the use of AFL to a greater degree in my upcoming teaching practicum, adapting Hargreaves' model as a supplement to the existing summative assessment tools in my Literature classes. 

References

Chew, M. (2012, November 20). MOE no longer publishing topscorers' names. The Straits Times, pp. 1 

Hargreaves, E. (2005). Assessment for learning? Thinking Outside the (Black) Box. In Cambridge Journal of Education 35:2, 213-244. 

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