Teacher scoring of large‐scale assessment: professional development or debilitation?

Abstract

This qualitative, multiple case study draws into question claims that teacher involvement in large‐scale assessment is professionally debilitating. Four teacher‐scorers of reading in the 1998 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada's School Achievement Indicators Programme national literacy assessment were interviewed pre‐, during, and post‐marking in terms of their personal and professional motivations for participation, their perception of the role of such evaluations in classroom practice, their self‐concept as autonomous professionals, and the impact of such evaluations on their relationships with colleagues, students, and administrators. Teachers reported that active participation in marking served to clarify rather than corrode their pedagogical values, affirmed or improved their classroom assessment and instructional practices, validated their self‐perceptions as professionals, and had a neutral or negligible impact on school relationships. It is concluded that involvement in low‐stakes, large‐scale assessments is not inconsistent with notions of professionalism.

Notes

Trevor Gambell is Professor and Associate Dean in the Office of the Provost and Vice‐President Academic, Room E247, Administration Building, 105 Administration Place, Saskatoon, SK, 57N 5AZ, Canada; e‐mail: [email protected]. His research interests include gender issues in literacy and oracy in large‐scale assessment, teacher knowledge, and teacher professionalism. His most recent articles, co‐authored with Darryl Hunter, have appeared in the Canadian Journal of Education and JCS.

Darryl Hunter is Program Manager, Education Quality and Accountability Office, Toronto, Canada. As a doctoral student in educational studies at the University of British Columbia, his research interests focus on administrative reading processes with performance data, and the impact of large‐scale assessment on curriculum, instruction, and organization. Currently, he is working with Trevor Gambell on a book on teacher knowledge and professionalism through involvement in large‐scale assessment programmes.

Pseudonyms are used throughout in reporting findings.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

DARRYL HUNTER

Trevor Gambell is Professor and Associate Dean in the Office of the Provost and Vice‐President Academic, Room E247, Administration Building, 105 Administration Place, Saskatoon, SK, 57N 5AZ, Canada; e‐mail: [email protected]. His research interests include gender issues in literacy and oracy in large‐scale assessment, teacher knowledge, and teacher professionalism. His most recent articles, co‐authored with Darryl Hunter, have appeared in the Canadian Journal of Education and JCS. Darryl Hunter is Program Manager, Education Quality and Accountability Office, Toronto, Canada. As a doctoral student in educational studies at the University of British Columbia, his research interests focus on administrative reading processes with performance data, and the impact of large‐scale assessment on curriculum, instruction, and organization. Currently, he is working with Trevor Gambell on a book on teacher knowledge and professionalism through involvement in large‐scale assessment programmes.