Reflecting on some work completed by Margaret Cooze with the Cambridge University Press Language Research Team, Jade Blue summarises what we know about Learning Oriented Assessment and its implications for language learning.
Traditionally, assessment plays a large role in the world of studying and directs learners towards what is important and what they should be doing in order to further progress (Boud 2006).In traditional teaching and assessment practices, learners take tests, receive feedback and attend to the judgments of others. But typically, in a busy classroom, learners are not encouraged to be active agents in their own learning and in assessment processes.
Assessment and Education consultant Margaret Cooze describes how in recent decades, discussions of assessment literacy have largely focused on the distinction between summative assessment, which is linked to assessment of learning (i.e. a judgement of what has gone before), and formative assessment, which is linked to assessment for learning (i.e. a purpose to what comes next). But these distinctions are oversimplified and often result in confusion, as summative assessment can be used formatively, and vice versa. Learning Oriented Assessment (LOA), on the other hand, shifts the focus in the classroom from being goal-driven to learning-driven, and can be thought of as assessment as learning.
LOA is described as:
“the collection and interpretation of evidence about performance so that judgements can be made about further language development”
(Purpua, 2004:236)
In LOA, the learner is actively involved in their own assessment, whether in class activities, formative assessment tasks, written progress tests or external summative exams. The teacher and student use the evidence of such assessments to refer back to the learning objectives for the stage of the course – be it a section of a lesson or a larger chunk of teaching – to decide whether effective learning has taken place and to plan further.
This enables learners to develop into more autonomous learners with good reflective awareness and strategies for lifelong learning. It encourages learners to be active agents in the learning and assessment processes by making choices and monitoring and evaluating their activity and progress. As Cooze describes, LOA draws on the valuable information all forms of assessment can provide, whether considered summative or formative, whether formal or informal and whether classroom based or external.
In terms of classroom practice, there are three core aspects to LOA:
The key concept that underpins LOA is evidence, and this can come from multiple sources, including the learner themselves. It needs to be practical to collect and interpret and should be mapped to a learning goal which is based on the overall syllabus. Evidence also should not be treated as a passing or failing criteria, but instead should focus on each individual learner and inform their personal progress.
In the classroom, LOA tasks should:
Many teachers already gather evidence from their classroom activities and give feedback to their students. The explicit use of the LOA structure and the involvement of students in how LOA works can improve their learning. As Boud (2000) points out: ‘Assessment needs to be seen as an indispensable accompaniment to lifelong learning. This means that it has to move from the exclusive domain of assessors into the hands of learners.’ In LOA, the focus is not only on active learning, but also on active assessment.
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References & further reading:
Boud, D (2000) Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society, Studies in Continuing Education, 22:2.
Boud, D (2006) Foreword in How Assessment Supports Learning: learning-oriented assessment in action by Carless, D; Joughlin, G; Liu N F, & Associates. Hong Kong University Press.
Purpura, J (2004). Learning-oriented assessments of grammatical ability. In Assessing Grammar, CUP pp212 –250.