Beyond common sense: reconceptualizing National Curriculum assessment

This article examines the implications of the shift, in England and Wales, from the pre‐Dearing National Curriculum assessment model based on the assessment of performance in relation to statements of attainment, to the post‐Dearing model based on level descriptions. Both the original and r..vised models reflect a common sense view that learning is marked by stepwise acquisition of curricular objectives, with assessment providing robust and interpretable indices of such progress. However, two key shifts in conceptualization have taken place: from a focus on actual performance on individual objectives to idealized performance on complexes of objectives; and from a concept of hierarchical progression to one of cumulative progression. The article highlights some of the central weaknesses of the common sense view, in both its original and revised versions, by reference to the findings of research on assessment in mathematics. Neither model takes sufficient account of the extent to which development and learning in mathematics involve progressive, but uneven, consolidation, co‐ordination and reorganization of knowledge, with stability of performance achieved only at the end of this process. A more fruitful, but controversial, way forward would be to conceptualize a pupil's learning as taking place in a development band, in which concepts are still being refined. This would recognize that performance is less consistent in this band, and that task content and presentation have an important influence. The creation of such a system would demand the improved definition of attainment targets, and scaling within them, through further research; and the development of teacher assessment and standard assessment so that they can be genuinely complementary. Reliance on politically expedient short tests is unlikely to prove either trustworthy or informative.