Perceptions of Scotland's primary teachers' preparedness for making assessment judgments

• Main Author: Wharton, Elizabeth Jane
• Published: Queen's University Belfast 2012
• Subjects: 372.1102
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.580116

This research, set in the context of primary schooling in Scotland, set out to explore different stakeholders' perceptions of the extent to which teachers are prepared for making dependable assessment judgments in primary schools; this 'preparedness' referring collectively to factors that serve to support teachers' assessment practice. The study examined the national assessment system; the quality assurance of teacher judgments; perceptions of trust; the provision of continuous professional development activities; assessment for monitoring purposes; and self-evaluation among the various actors. Using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews ,data was collected from teachers, headteachers, and senior personnel within local authorities throughout Scotland. The design of the local authority interviews was based on the data gathered from the various teacher responses and was designed to draw out a local authority perspective on the same matters. The overall results suggest that there are teachers who feel that they have not been fully supported in delivering dependable assessment judgments, with particular reference to a perceived pressure to test children in order to meet targets. There is evidence to suggest that the pressure to meet or exceed targets goes beyond schools to local authority level. The results also suggest that teachers do not feel that their assessments are afforded a high level of trust by all stakeholders. The quality assurance procedures used within local authorities had not been communicated to all of the teachers in the surveys, and there was little evidence of effective and sustained moderation activity. The Scottish Survey of Achievement (SSA), the national monitoring sampling system, appears not to have engaged teachers nor fully met the accountability needs of the local authorities. There also appears to be growing interest in the use of standardised assessment for accountability purposes.