Scaling up assessment for learning

1. Scaling up Assessment for
learning: progress and
prospects
David Carless
University of Hong Kong
AHE, Manchester, 30 June 2016
The University of Hong Kong

2. The University of Hong Kong

3. Key issues
What exactly is AfL?
How widely has it spread?
What are key facilitating / inhibiting factors
for scaling up AfL?
The University of Hong Kong

4. AfL definition
Assessment for learning is any assessment
for which the first priority in its design and
practice is to serve the purpose of promoting
students’ learning (Black et al., 2004, p. 10)
The University of Hong Kong

5. 4 key strategies
Productive assessment task design
Feedback designs
Students understanding quality (criteria,
exemplars)
Students making judgments (peer review,
self-monitoring)
The University of Hong Kong

6. Scaling up (Coburn, 2003)
Spread
Depth
Sustainability
Shifts in ownership
The University of Hong Kong

7. Why scale-up AfL?
Research evidence
(Black & Wiliam, Hattie)
Dissatisfaction with current assessment &
feedback practices
The University of Hong Kong

8. Scale of AfL implementation
Breadth and depth of
impact on pedagogy
Geographical spread
University Assessment
policies
The University of Hong Kong

9. Increase in feedback research
AEHE
11 articles (3%) 1996-2005
65 articles (11%) 2006-2015
38 articles (2013-2015)
The University of Hong Kong

10. FACILITATING AND
INHIBITING FACTORS
The University of Hong Kong

11. Quality assurance
May identify weak or unpopular practices
May deter risk and innovation
The University of Hong Kong

12. Leadership
Commitment and
support
Resourcing and
rewards
The University of Hong Kong

13. Trust or distrust?
Distrust as barrier for assessment change
(Carless, 2009)
The University of Hong Kong

14. Assessment literacy
Need to enhance teachers’ assessment (for
learning) literacy (cf. Price et al., 2012)
The University of Hong Kong

15. Program-based approaches
Assessment mapping
Program-wide approaches to feedback
The University of Hong Kong

16. Communities of practice
The University of Hong Kong

17. Technology as enabler
Wide array of tools
Need for critical research-base & scaling up
of technology-enabled AfL (Dawson &
Henderson, 2017)
The University of Hong Kong

18. THANK YOU
See also: Carless, D. (2017). Scaling up assessment for
learning: Progress and prospects. In D. Carless, S.
Bridges, C.K.W. Chan & R. Glofcheski (Eds.),
Scaling up Assessment for learning in Higher Education.
Dordrecht: Springer.
The University of Hong Kong