Assessing Student Learning in Africa

Assessing Student Learning in Africa
Author: Thomas Kellaghan
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780821358498

This title reviews four aspects of educational assessment: public examinations, national assessment, international assessment, and classroom assessment, and offers suggestions for using different forms of assessment to enhance student learning.

Assessing Students in the Margin

Assessing Students in the Margin
Author: Michael Russell
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 493
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1617353167

The importance of student assessment, particularly for summative purposes, has increased greatly over the past thirty years. At the same time, emphasis on including all students in assessment programs has also increased. Assessment programs, whether they are large-scale, district-based, or teacher developed, have traditionally attempted to assess students using a single instrument administered to students under the same conditions. Educators and test developers, however, are increasingly acknowledging that this practice does not result in valid information, inferences, and decisions for all students. This problem is particularly true for students in the margins, whose characteristics and needs differ from what the public thinks of as the general population of students. Increasingly, educators, educational leaders, and test developers are seeking strategies, techniques, policies, and guidelines for assessing students for whom standard assessment instruments do not function well. Whether used for high-stakes decisions or classroom-based formative decisions, the most critical element of any educational assessment is validity. Developing and administering assessment instruments that provide valid measures and allow for valid inferences and decisions for all groups of students presents a major challenge for today’s assessment programs. Over the past few decades, several national policies have sparked research and development efforts that aim to increase test validity for students in the margins. This book explores recent developments and efforts in three important areas. The first section focuses on strategies for improving test validity through the provision of test accommodations. The second section focuses on alternate and modified assessments. Federal policies now allow testing programs to develop and administer alternate assessments for students who have not been exposed to grade-level content, and thus are not expected to demonstrate proficiency on grade-level assessments. A separate policy allows testing programs to develop modified assessments that will provided more useful information about achievement for a small percentage of students who are exposed to grade-level content but for whom the standard form of the grade-level test does not provide a valid measure of achievement. These policies are complex and can be confusing for educators who are not familiar with their details. The chapters in the second section unpack these policies and explore the implications these policies have for test design. The third and final section of the book examines how principles of Universal Design can be applied to improve test validity for all students. Collectively, this volume presents a comprehensive examination of the several issues that present challenges for assessing the achievement of all students. While our understanding of how to overcome these challenges continues to evolve, the lessons, strategies, and avenues for future research explored in this book empower educators, test developers, and testing programs with a deeper understanding of how we can improve assessments for students in the margins.

Powering a Learning Society During an Age of Disruption

Powering a Learning Society During an Age of Disruption
Author: Sungsup Ra
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2021-05-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9811609837

This open access book presents contemporary perspectives on the role of a learning society from the lens of leading practitioners, experts from universities, governments, and industry leaders. The think pieces argue for a learning society as a major driver of change with far-reaching influence on learning to serve the needs of economies and societies. The book is a testimonial to the importance of ‘learning communities.’ It highlights the pivotal role that can be played by non-traditional actors such as city and urban planners, citizens, transport professionals, and technology companies. This collection seeks to contribute to the discourse on strengthening the fabric of a learning society crucial for future economic and social development, particularly in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease.

Indigenist African Development and Related Issues

Indigenist African Development and Related Issues
Author: Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw
Publisher: Brill / Sense
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014
Genre: Economic development
ISBN: 9789462096585

There is no term so heavily contested in social science literature/nomenclature than 'Development'. This book brings Indigenous perspectives to African development. It is argued that contrary to development as we know it not working, a greater part of the problem is that conventional development approaches that work have in fact not truly been followed to the letter and hence the quagmire. All this is ironic since everything we do about our world is development. So, how come there is "difficult knowledge" when it comes to learning from what we know, i.e., what local peoples do and have done for centuries as a starting point to reconstructing and reframing 'development'? In getting our heads around this paradox, we are tempted to ask more questions. How do we as African scholars and researchers begin to develop "home-grown solutions" to our problems? How do we pioneer new analytical systems for understanding our communities and offer a pathway to genuine African development, i.e., Indigenist African development? (see also Yankah, 2004). How do we speak of Indigenist development mindful of global developments and entanglements around us? Can we afford to pursue development still mired in a "catch up" scenario? Are we in a race with the development world and where do we see this race ending or where do we define as the 'finishing line'?A Publication of the Centre for School and Community Science and Technology Studies [SACOST], University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.

Quality Assessment and Enhancement in Higher Education in Africa

Quality Assessment and Enhancement in Higher Education in Africa
Author: Peter Neema-Abooki
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2022-12-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 100063700X

This book explores quality assessment and enhancement in higher education in Africa to illustrate the need to develop quality practices in measuring effective education and continually search for permanent improvement. The book demonstrates that technological and socio-economic trends, innovations, and inventions of the twenty-first century demand that additional attention be placed upon education for national, regional, and international development. Since conventions for quality assessment and enhancement need to be defined and systematic structures constructed to develop quality practices, the book shows how quality in higher education within Africa has been established and advanced to provide a framework for monitoring, auditing, and reviewing assessment and enhancement. Though the book considers African complexities and diversity, it incorporates global trends and utilises an international focus that enables readers to devise appropriate strategies for developing and enhancing quality and standards in higher education in both continental Africa and beyond. Illustrating why quality assessment and enhancement should be embraced in all aspects including inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes in educational settings globally, this book will be of interest to policymakers and scholars in the fields of Higher Education, Quality and Global Studies, African Education, African Studies and Management and Administration, Leadership and Professional Development Studies.

Testing, Teaching, and Learning

Testing, Teaching, and Learning
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 136
Release: 1999-10-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309172861

State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students. Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials. The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged studentsâ€"state and local administrators and classroom teachers.

Quality Management Implementation in Higher Education: Practices, Models, and Case Studies

Quality Management Implementation in Higher Education: Practices, Models, and Case Studies
Author: Sony, Michael
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2019-08-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1522598316

Although initially utilized in business and industrial environments, quality management systems can be adapted into higher education to assess and improve an institution’s standards. These strategies are now playing a vital role in educational areas such as teaching, learning, and institutional-level practices. However, quality management tools and models must be adapted to fit with the culture of higher education. Quality Management Implementation in Higher Education: Practices, Models, and Case Studies is a pivotal reference source that explores the challenges and solutions of designing quality management models in the current educational culture. Featuring research on topics such as Lean Six Sigma, distance education, and student supervision, this book is ideally designed for school board members, administrators, deans, policymakers, stakeholders, professors, graduate students, education professionals, and researchers seeking current research on the applications and success factors of quality management systems in various facets of higher education.

Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Author: Management Association, Information Resources
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 1792
Release: 2019-10-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1799804216

As teaching strategies continue to change and evolve, and technology use in classrooms continues to increase, it is imperative that their impact on student learning is monitored and assessed. New practices are being developed to enhance students’ participation, especially in their own assessment, be it through peer-review, reflective assessment, the introduction of new technologies, or other novel solutions. Educators must remain up-to-date on the latest methods of evaluation and performance measurement techniques to ensure that their students excel. Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that examines emerging perspectives on the theoretical and practical aspects of learning and performance-based assessment techniques and applications within educational settings. Highlighting a range of topics such as learning outcomes, assessment design, and peer assessment, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for educators, administrative officials, principals, deans, instructional designers, school boards, academicians, researchers, and education students seeking coverage on an educator’s role in evaluation design and analyses of evaluation methods and outcomes.

Sri Lanka Education Sector Assessment

Sri Lanka Education Sector Assessment
Author: Halil Dundar
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2017-06-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1464810532

A country’s education system plays a pivotal role in promoting economic growth and shared prosperity. Sri Lanka has enjoyed high school-attainment and enrollment rates for several decades. However, it still faces major challenges in the education sector, and these challenges undermine the country’s inclusivegrowth goal and its ambition to become a competitive upper-middle-income country. The authors of Sri Lanka Education Sector Assessment: Achievements, Challenges, and Policy Options offer a thorough review of Sri Lanka’s education sector—from early childhood education through higher education. With this book, they attempt to answer three questions: • How is Sri Lanka’s education system performing, especially with respect to participation rates, learning outcomes, and labor market outcomes? • How can the country address the challenges at each stage of the education process, taking into account both country and international experience and also best practices? • Which policy actions should Sri Lanka make a priority for the short and medium term? The authors identify the most critical constraints on performance and present strategic priorities and policy options to address them. To attain inclusive growth and become globally competitive, Sri Lanka needs to embark on integrated reforms across all levels of education. These reforms must address both short-term skill shortages and long-term productivity. As Sri Lanka moves up the development ladder, the priorities of primary, secondary, and postsecondary education must be aligned to meet the increasingly complex education and skill requirements.