Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School - National Council ...

ASSESSMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 7A number of assessment tools are used inpost-primary education, including:• teacher observation• teacher-designed tasks and tests• work samples, portfolios and projects• curriculum profiles• externally prepared tasks andexaminations• diagnostic tests• standardised tests.The qualitative and quantitativeinformation provided by these tools isalways subject to certain assumptions andqualifications. Any assessment tool does nomore than provide information, which thenmust be interpreted by the teacher.As all assessment tools contain a potentialfor bias, an awareness of the variety ofassessment methods available and theirstrengths and weaknesses, is crucial toenabling teachers to arrive at balanced andinformed judgements.POTENTIAL BIAS IN ASSESSMENTThere is a longstanding debate regardingthe appropriate strategies for use withminority populations and students withspecial needs. In Ireland, there is ampleevidence to show that the system ofassessment and certification in postprimaryschools benefits certain groupsmore than others (Breen 1986, Hannan etal, 1996). In many studies, significantsocial-class differences have been foundshowing that those from poorerbackgrounds do significantly less well thanthose from middle-class backgrounds atLeaving Certificate. The reasons for thisare complex and while the system ofassessment and certification plays acontributory role it is not the only reasonfor inequalities in the performance ofstudents in state exams.Many argue that the present stateexaminations assessment system reinforcesand accentuates the strong academic biasin second level schooling (CORI, 1998).Others point out that not only are themodes of assessment strongly academic,they are also heavily orientated tolinguistic and to logico-mathematical skills.Thus many human intelligences are notgiven recognition or respect, most notablypersonal intelligences (Lynch, 1999).During recent decades new developmentsin education-such as the introduction ofTransition Year, the Leaving CertificateApplied, the Leaving Certificate VocationalProgramme, and new courses such as CSPEand SPHE, have provided opportunities fordeveloping different abilities and forpioneering different models of assessment.Even within the established LeavingCertificate we see a growing move towardsmore than one point of assessment. Thereare 31 Leaving Certificate subjects atpresent, of which fifteen involve onewritten terminal examination paper, eleveninvolve both a written exam and aproject/practical, and five involve a writtenand oral exam. The recent review of seniorcycle education in Ireland resulted inproposals for two assessment componentsfor all Leaving Certificate subjects, with anemphasis on broadening the range of skillsassessed (Proposals for the FutureDevelopment of Senior Cycle Education inIreland NCCA 2005).Identifying potential for bias in assessmentThere are a number of ways that teacherscan be vigilant to the potential for bias inassessment. The following section outlinessome of the ways that assessments can giverise to erroneous judgements aboutstudents, their learning or progress. Thiscan happen when assessment tools arethemselves biased, or when judgements areIntercultural Education in the Post-Primary School 93