Discussion around assessment has been on going for many years. John is correct 
when he says an assessment should test the understanding of a concept and not 
the ability to regurgitate a load of facts and figures.

Not so long ago there was a discussion on the radio where they reported that the 
only reason we have examinations is due to Cambridge University in the 1700s 
who wanted to embrace the feeling of the production line that was the main stay of 
the industrial revolution. All other universities soon followed suit and so the voca 
which did measure understanding was lost.

What we have now is a pure cost exercise, and until the cost of running an 
examination based system becomes more expensive than the alternatives we 
shall have to fight for every concession.

I have heard of many different approaches to testing; the one I like most, is the 
idea that programmes of study devise as many as 12 different assessment 
processes which may include one examination, one voca, one open book etc. and 
then only takes the results from the best 8. Therefore leaving the student the 
choice of not taking up one or more assessments; this would suit the student for 
whom examinations are a big problem as they could just ignore it.

This does make the process cheaper for students with additional needs and fair for 
all, therefore embracing universal design.

Ian


Quoting John Conway <[log in to unmask]>:

> We have some exams of that type - where we release the questions in
> advance [in my exam I set just one question] for the students to
> research the topic but it is primarily aimed at being able to DISCUSS
> the topic, not to learn a load of facts and figures.  Exams of this type
> should test understanding not memory.
>  
> I honestly feel its time for a radical re-think of assessment.  I know
> Judith Waterfield at Plymouth led a research project in this area but
> some institutions need prodding to take on board some of the outcomes.
> We are fixated on plagiarism and cheating in coursework which is driving
> a backlash return to exams only - as witnessed in some GCSE and A level
> subject assessments, but also in some universities.
> Maybe the answer lies in using a range of assessments recognising that
> some will be more suited and some less suited to each
> individual...............?
>  
> Dr John S Conway FGS FRGS MNADP FHEA
> Disability Officer / Principal Lecturer in Soil Science / Chair,
> Research Committee 
> Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, Glos GL7 6JS 
> 01285 652531 ext 2234  fax 01285 650219 
> http://www.rac.ac.uk/index.php?_id=590
> <http://www.rac.ac.uk/index.php?_id=590>   
> email [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>   
>   
>   
>  
> ________________________________
> 
> From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Naomi Burgess
> Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:12 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: re 2xA4 sheets in exams
>  
>  
>  
>  
> [log in to unmask]
>  
> I believe the important question is that of the purpose of the
> examinations. I have recently been involved in a situation where
> examination questions were given out prior to the exam for the
> candidates to prepare their responses. They were then allowed 'some
> notes'.
> Where students were severely dyslexic and had a scribe, this meant that
> they had to learn their responses by heart, and repeat them in perfect
> sequential order for the intermediary adult. The identified function of
> the assessment was in fact to look at the candidates' understanding of
> government policy in relation to a particular professional area....the
> response to the query as to why the initial essays could not be handed
> in was that they could have been copied, and that for the student with a
> disability -they could have got someone else to write it.  The actual
> outcome for the student with a disability was that they spent days rote
> learning, panicked, forgot their script etc etc and had to negotiate a
> viva.
>  
> Seems to me that this task was (a) a test of committing to memory (b) a
> test of recall/retrieval (c)a test of dictation (d) a test for the
> intermediary of the IT transcription skills. Sorry to avoid the 2 pieces
> of A4 question; and I know how easy it is to purchase
> coursework/essays....but some creative and lateral and individually
> focused thinking needs to be applied for those competent and able
> students with disabilities so that they don't experience tests of skill
> which other students do not.
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> Naomi  (Ed Psych)
>  
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-- 
Ian Webb
Disability Adviser/Assessor
MNADP