Influence of Experience, Grade Level, and Subject Area on Teachers' Assessment Practices

Abstract

Teachers' self-reported assessment practices and the influence of teaching experience, grade level, and subject area on those practices were explored in this study. Questionnaires were administered to 893 teachers in 34 schools. Teachers reported using performance and observation-based assessment methods most frequently and had the most confidence in the validity of these assessment techniques. Correlational analyses revealed that the more teachers reported using alternative methods of assessment, the more likely they were to report feeling prepared to develop those types of assessments and to report being confident in their validity. The same pattern of results was found for more traditional types of assessment. The most experienced teachers (20 years or more) indicated that they used alternative methods of assessment more often than the least experienced teachers (6 years or less) did. Elementary school teachers reported using alternative assessment strategies significantly more often than did high school teachers. Finally, mathematics teachers reported using traditional methods of assessment much less frequently than did teachers in all other subject areas.