| Credit |
6 points |
| Availability |
Semester 2, non-standard teaching period |
| Outcomes |
Students (1) consolidate various understandings of assessment and measurement principles; (2) learn how cognitive development can be measured through teacher-devised assessments; (3) apply software to analyse assessment data; and (4) apply their understanding of measurement principles in evaluating individual and group performance. |
| Content |
This unit consolidates understandings of the concepts of assessment and measurement necessary for collecting comprehensive information about student performance as a basis for evaluating performance. It considers how cognitive development can be measured through teacher-devised assessments and how information about student performance can be used in combination with information from standardised testing programs to provide pictures of individual and group performance. A key principle is that the quality of assessments of individuals is fundamental to the quality of assessment of groups.
State-standardised testing programs, such as the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and the Monitoring Standards in Education (MSE) program, are discussed in tandem with other measures of cognitive development. Focusing on the principles of quantitative educational research and evaluation, the unit examines the evaluation of both individual and group performance.
The unit covers key descriptive methods for interrogating and presenting student results. It introduces simple statistical principles relevant to the interpretation of results, including the relevance of student numbers and the implications of changes in cohorts over time; the concept of value adding and strengths and limitations of approaches to evaluating value adding; and key features of data analyses such as those used in Data Club. The unit also identifies appropriate and inappropriate methods of aggregating the results of individuals to evaluate the performance of groups and explains the underlying principles in terms of maximising appropriate use of information. |
| Assessment |
This comprises two discussion papers, a presentation and a two-hour examination.
Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit. |
| Unit Co-ordinator(s) |
Associate Professor Stephen Humphry and Assistant Professor Sandy Heldsinger |
| Location |
UWA (Crawley) |
| Mode |
on-campus |
| Unit Rules |
Contact hours—lectures/seminars: 2 hrs per week for 13 weeks
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- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to change.
- Assistance with study skills, including English language skills, is available free of charge from Student Services for all enrolled students (see http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/ss/learning). Student Services location: Second Floor, South Wing, Guild Village; telephone: 6488 2423.
- Books and other materials wherever listed may be subject to change. Book lists relating to 'Preliminary Reading', 'Recommended Reading' and 'Textbooks' are, in most cases, available at the University Co-operative Bookshop (from early January) and appropriate administrative offices for students to consult. For first-year units the Bookshop will endeavour to make available photocopies of book lists for individual units. Books marked with an asterisk (*) are available in paperback.
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