Webinar with Professor Gavin Brown
Tests have a reputation for creating anxiety, not being accurate about what students actually know or can do, or for being unfair to those from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds. In this webinar Professor Gavin Brown (University of Auckland) takes a balanced perspective that suggests despite unwelcome side effects, schools and teachers need tests to know what students can or cannot do. This knowledge allows them to adjust teaching and curriculum appropriately.
Professor Brown has extensive experience in developing diagnostic tests for use in schools including the e-asTTle test system and has written extensively about teachers’ and students’ beliefs about assessment and feedback. He is the author of the 2018 Routledge book Assessment of student achievement (ISBN: 9781138061842).
To help you navigate the webinar easily, there is a list of the key topics covered in the session below, including the time each was discussed. The key ideas discussed in this webinar are also shared in a short insight article.
The main topics discussed in the webinar include:
| 1.52: | What do we mean when we talk about tests? |
| 7.07: | The educational uses of testing |
| 10.14: | The features of a good educational test |
| 14.28: | Thoughts on the NCEA co-requisite tests in literacy and numeracy |
| 17.25: | Why tests are time-limited |
| 20.25: | Are some demonstrations of learning or mastery better suited to tests rather than other forms of assessment? |
| 22.40: | Supporting students through test anxiety |
| 26.28: | Students’ understanding of the purposes of assessment |
| 28.27: | How to use assessment data formatively |
| 32.45: | Adapting tests for students who may need more time or other accommodations |
| 35.51: | Are tests equitable compared with other forms of assessment such as teacher judgement? |
| 40.05: | The dangers of imposing negative consequences on schools with poor standardised test results |
| 44.38: | How teachers can upskill themselves in the interpretation and use of test data |
| 47.20: | Final thoughts on the value of tests |
