This paper examines emerging trends in educational assessment, arguing that teacher-oriented and performance-based assessments are gradually displacing traditional standardized testing. Drawing on Stiggins (1991) and Taylor et al. (1993), the paper traces how societal demands for complex thinking and information management have pushed schools toward professional judgment-based evaluation methods. It considers the implications of this shift for special education, suggesting that as teachers assume greater responsibility for assessment, instructional planning for students with special needs will become more individualized, integrated, and responsive to each student's unique capabilities and learning profile.
Educational assessment appears to be moving toward teacher-oriented and performance-based assessment models. Societal forces are driving this shift, spurred by increasing amounts of available knowledge and a growing demand for individuals capable of managing large amounts of information. As standardized tests slowly lose prominence, the special needs environment will likely benefit from teacher-oriented assessments that allow instructors to focus curriculum on a child's individual needs and capabilities.
Stiggins (1991) argues that educational assessment in American schools is currently undergoing rapid change that represents "the end of a six-decade assessment era and the beginning of a whole new era" (p. 263). The past 60 years have been dominated by assessments based on standardized versions of objective tests. In this system, teachers "would teach… and assessors would assess" (Stiggins, p. 264), clearly separating the functions of teaching and assessment.
This method of assessment began to come under fire, Stiggins argues, as society started demanding accountability for student educational achievement. Largely, this demand arose from changes in society that required students to develop more complex thinking and problem-solving skills — in keeping with the need for efficient managers of information, rather than individuals who simply memorize facts (Stiggins, 1991).
Stiggins argues that performance assessment is becoming increasingly popular in schools. In this technique, student achievement is evaluated through the professional judgment of a qualified assessor. Performance assessment requires a method of sampling "desired behaviors or products," as well as a defined set of performance criteria that serves as the standard for evaluation (Stiggins, 1991, p. 264). Alternative tools include new performance assessment methodologies that support this shift away from purely objective measures.
Taylor et al. (1993) note that assessment within the special education field is also shifting, and that the field is moving "beyond the assessment = testing paradigm" (p. 113). Nonetheless, there appears to be a continuing place for traditional assessment in the future, albeit in a modified form. Taylor et al. note that norm-referenced testing will begin to focus on fewer, more thoroughly researched tests. Furthermore, identifying learning disabilities in the future will rely on new assessment procedures that target underlying processes such as metacognition and phonological processing. Consumers, they add, will also demand that norm-referenced measures meet adequate technical standards.
"Special education shifts beyond the testing paradigm"
"Teachers as assessors shaping individualized learning plans"
Stiggins, R. J. (1991). Facing the challenges of a new era of educational assessment. Applied Measurement in Education, 4(4), 263–273.
Taylor, R. L., Tindal, G., Fuchs, L., & Bryant, B. R. (1993). Assessment in the nineties: A possible glance into the future. Diagnostique, 18(2), 113–122.
You’re 52% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.