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Abstract
This paper reports on the outcomes of a three-year study investigating the use of digital technologies to increase the authenticity of high-stakes summative assessment in four Western Australian senior secondary courses. The study involved 82 teachers and 1015 students and a range of digital forms of assessment using computer-based exams, digital portfolios and audiovisual recordings. The results were analysed using a feasibility framework concerning manageability, technical facility, functional operation and pedagogic alignment. By the end of the study, each form of assessment that was implemented was found to be feasible once some obstacles were overcome. Two methods of marking were tried, analytical rubric-based marking and holistic comparative pairs marking, with the latter found to generate more reliable scores. With the increased use of digital technologies in schools and the expectation that children will achieve more complex performances, more use of digital forms of assessment will be required.
Acknowledgement
The study discussed in this paper was the work of a research team led by Paul Newhouse and John Williams and included senior researchers Dawn Penney, Cher Ping Lim, Jeremy Pagram, Andrew Jones, Martin Cooper, Alistair Campbell, and research assistants and postgraduate students. The work of everyone in this team, and the teachers involved, has contributed to the research outcomes presented in this paper.