Assessment in geography education: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

There are more than 700 articles exploring assessment in geography education. However, these papers vary in the degree to which recommendations and conclusions are based on research evidence. Globally, evidence-based practice is being prioritised, making it essential to understand exactly what the empirical research around this topic is saying. A systematic review provides a rigorous method for achieving such a task. This paper quantifies and systematically accounts for the proportion and scope of articles dedicated to assessment in geography education. We conclude that clarity is required regarding: (1) the essential geographical knowledge and skills students should develop; (2) the nature of the learning progressions in each of these areas; and (3) the types and formats of assessment instruments that will provide valid and reliable measures of this progress.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• geography education
• geographical knowledge
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1. This report reviews current assessment frameworks and practices in K–12 geography education in the US. It then proposes a new approach to assessment in geography that will enable assessment developers to address the critical issues in assessment design. It is therefore considered a non-empirical paper for the purposes of this review. The primary research conducted as a part of the Road Map Project (e.g. Wertheim et al., 2013) is discussed under theme 5: Content analysis of assessment items: alignment with national policy requirements.