Educational assessment and the 'S. E. C.' examination

Abstract

As an educator, my main interest in systems of assessment is to consider the way these succeed - or fail - to facilitate the process of teaching and learning. That is not to say that there are not other (often dubious) uses of assessment - many, for instance, value it since it helps to sort out students into different 'ability' groupings, while others think - often wrongly - that credentials and certificates signal competence to employers, and who are thus better placed to choose appropriate personnel for specific occupational tasks. In my view, the main question to ask when considering assessment is: What range of evaluation techniques can we use to find out whether our students have made progress in learning, and to discover what it is that they have failed to grasp? Of course, the result of such an inquiry is to be in a better position to design teaching strategies that help students move forwards. It also goes without saying that techniques and strategies used must be positive for all students, and do not contradict the essential goals of education by, for instance, engaging pupils in excessive competition, or by extinguishing their motivation to learn.