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12 - A Learning Sciences Perspective on the Design and Use of Assessment in Education

from Part II - Methodologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

By
James W. Pellegrino
Edited by
R. Keith Sawyer
R. Keith Sawyer
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
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Summary

This chapter reviews assessment research with the goal of helping all readers understand how to design and use effective assessments. The chapter begins by introducing the purposes and contexts of educational assessment. It then presents four related frameworks to guide work on assessment: (1) assessment as a process of reasoning from evidence, (2) assessment driven by models of learning expressed as learning progressions, (3) the use of an evidence-centered design process to develop and interpret assessments, and (4) the centrality of the concept of validity in the design, use, and interpretation of any assessment. The chapter then explores the implications of these frameworks for real-world assessments and for learning sciences research. Most learning sciences research studies deeper learning that goes beyond traditional student assessment, and the field can contribute its insights to help shape the future of educational assessment.

Keywords

assessmentlearning progressionevidence-centered designvalidityclassroom assessmentprogram evaluation
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences , pp. 238 - 258
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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