ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS
After adopting a set of standards that define the essential knowledge and skills that are desired for all students, the next question often asked is, "What assessment strategies will most appropriately measure whether the standards and benchmarks have been attained?" As vocational programs, states, and industry-based partnerships begin to move beyond setting standards, policymakers must first establish the purpose of the system. In general, assessment systems fall under one or more of the following three broad purposes:
- To measure individual student learning.
- To certify the mastery of skills by students.
- To collect information on program performance.
Defining the purpose of an assessment system is a critical first step in deciding the types of assessment strategies that will provide appropriate measures of student progress or levels of accomplishment. In addition, policymakers must decide the degree of technical quality that will fulfill the system's purpose or purposes. Questions of feasibility based on cost, time, and administrative complexity must also be addressed.
As assessment systems are more closely tied to systemic education accountability initiatives, policymakers must ensure that the assessments are perceived by stakeholders as reasonable measures of student skills. In turn, educators, parents, students, and employers become vital participants in the validation process of developing a reliable and trusted assessment system. As assessment results are more widely used as communication tools and to gain public support, the credibility of assessment results becomes an increasingly critical aspect of a standards-based accountability system.
