Powell Quiz - Chapter 9

Read the introduction below. Rearrange this introduction for the essay below, starting general, narrowing down, and ending with the organising (thesis) statements, by clicking on the drop down menu and indicating in which order each statement should appear.

Analyse the impact of continuous assessment in improving educational standards in schools

a. it is now a good time to decide if this change has had a positive impact on educational standards

b. firstly, it will briefly detail the relevant educational theories

c. over the last forty years in the UK, there has been a marked shift from testing students by means of timed exams at the end of their course, towards formative assessment of work throughout their course

d. finally, it will demonstrate how two practical considerations have fatally undermined key assumptions behind continuous assessment

e. this change has been driven by developments in teaching methods, in particular the growth of reflective practice

f. before moving on to an analysis of literacy levels in secondary level students

g. this essay will argue that this has not been the case

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Using the textbox below write a topic sentence for this paragraph from the same essay. After you have written your sentences check your answers by clicking the reveal button below.

The first and most important of these is reflective practice. Donald Schön formalised the approach in the 1980s, defining it as "the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning" (Schön, 1983). The emphasis is on a cycle of analysing and reflecting on experience to improve educational achievement. Other relevant theories are cognitivism which focuses on developing mental processes above all, and then constructivism, in which learning is built on existing knowledge and experience. All such ideas lend themselves to an ongoing analysis of learning which is at the heart of all continuous assessment.

There are a number of theories behind assessment. / To start, we can briefly examine a range of theories.

One way to decide if these have/this has improved is to examine literacy levels, which we will do at secondary level, and there are a number of revealing statistics. In the early 1980s, changes to education policy meant continuous assessment replaced end of year exams in most schools as the main means of awarding grades. Before then, between 1945 and 1980, the percentage of school leavers defined as functionally literate rose steadily from 58% to 82%, but since, this has fallen and now stands at 69% (Draper, 2011). Similarly, our literacy world ranking has dropped from 3rd place in 1985 to 11th place in 2012 (DOE, 2012)

Topic/linking<
Then there is the issue of the impact on standards. / The key question is how this has affected educational achievement.

Concluding
It would seem that the system of continuous assessment has contributed to a decline in standards, or at least not helped them improve. / Such evidence strongly suggests continuous assessment is damaging education.

Read the statements in the paragraph below, then rearrange the statements by clicking on the drop down menu next to statement and indicating which order each statement should appear, so that they are in the correct order.

a. Hence, for boys at least, continuous assessment is having a negative effect on standards.

b. Many people believe boys in particular are disadvantaged by an assessment system, and it is true that a significant gap is opening up between boys and girls in reading and writing.

c. In contrast, under the pre 1980s exam system, boys’ grades were on average 12% higher than girls.

d. At secondary school, this gap in reading proficiency is 5 percentage points to 10 percentage points, and in writing, it is 10 percentage points to 15 percentage points (Olson, 2011).

e. Furthermore, on average, boys are leaving with two fewer GCSEs, and with grades on average 8% lower (Stirling and Cooper, 2010).

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Read the statements in the conclusion below, then rearrange the statements by clicking on the drop down menu next to each statement and indicating which order each statement should appear, so that they are in the correct order. Watch out, one of the sentences is not needed as it is new information and therefore irrelevant.

1. Finally and most worryingly, the integrity of the coursework itself has been undermined by overzealous parents and access to the Internet.

2. It is undoubtedly underpinned by worthwhile theories, but since this system has been introduced, literacy at least has declined and boys in particular have been struggling.

3. Given all this, it is perhaps time to re-examine how we test and teach our children, as there is considerable room for improvement.

4. In other countries such as Malaysia and China, final testing is the norm, and they have overtaken us in literacy and numeracy.

5. To conclude, continuous assessment does not seem to have improved standards, and has perhaps even damaged them.

6. Teachers too have had problems, finding the bureaucracy overwhelming, yet even so, there are no common standards across the country.

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Structure (paraphrasing)

Read the introduction below. Rearrange this introduction for the essay below, starting general, narrowing down, and ending with the organising (thesis) statements, by clicking on the drop down menu and indicating in which order each statement should appear.

Analyse the impact of continuous assessment in improving educational standards in schools

Using the textbox below write a topic sentence for this paragraph from the same essay. After you have written your sentences check your answers by clicking the reveal button below.

Read the statements in the paragraph below, then rearrange the statements by clicking on the drop down menu next to statement and indicating which order each statement should appear, so that they are in the correct order.