USING NEMP ASSESSMENT TASKS IN THE CLASSROOM: THE PROCESS
Rose Hague and Liz Eley
The
assessment tasks included in each NEMP report provide a rich resource
for use for school-wide or classroom-based assessment. The tasks,
developed in consultation with curriculum experts and with New
Zealand children and the New Zealand National Curriculum in mind,
use a range of assessment formats, from performance-based ‘hands-on’
tasks, performed individually or in groups, to the more traditional
paper-and-pencil test items. The multiple task formats and the
richness of activities used in NEMP provide a substantial base
for the development of classroom assessment activities that can
meet multiple goals. This report documents the steps schools take
when using NEMP assessment tasks in this manner. |
Three
schools wanting to use NEMP tasks for school-wide assessment participated
in this study. Tasks were selected for each school and then modified to
meet the school’s individual requirements. In each case, the researchers
worked with a key person within the school—the principal, a subject
specialist teacher, or the teacher in charge of assessment. All teachers
were involved in selecting and modifying the assessment tasks and in analysing
the results.
The
following steps form the process that the schools used: |
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1. Identifying the purpose for the assessment. 2. Identifying and developing the specific learning outcome. 3. Selecting the assessment task that best fits that learning outcome from the NEMP report. 4. Checking the report to see how the task was administered for NEMP purposes. 5. Modifying the administration to meet school requirements. |
6. Checking that the NEMP criteria given for marking the task reflect
the specific learning outcome identified as the purpose for the task,
and then modifying the ctriteria as necessary. 7. Using the information gathered, perhaps to provide feedback to students, to examine the effectiveness of teaching practices or classroom programmes, or to inform the school community of student achievement. |
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| In each of the three schools, staff reported that the NEMP tasks could be readily adapted to suit their purpose using the steps described, were manageable within the restraints of a class programme, and were worth repeating. The teachers also found that the process of working through the activities and the discussion generated in utilising them was professionally rewarding. |  |