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Dismantling the factory model of assessment
Abstract
The Factory Models of the 1900's had a significant and lasting impact on the educational curriculum and testing frameworks developed in America's public schools. The child was viewed as a product, the school was designed as an educational factory, and standardized testing became the quality control mechanism for measuring educational progress. The effects of these structures can still be seen in today's public school organizations. Breaking free of the limiting effects of standardized testing requires changes in teacher education, school organization, curriculum frameworks, and especially, the methods of assessment currently used in public schools. Viewing assessment as 'reflective inquiry' rather than the measurement of accumulated facts, requires time, a new perspective, and dialogue among educators.
... In line with this, Irons (2008) argues that changing the assessment system is the quickest way to bring about desired changes in education. Accordingly, theoretical shifts have been made from traditional assessments that tend to be psychometric, standardized, objective, quantitative and dogmatic in approach to alternative assessment paradigms that tend to be social, contextual, qualitative, subjective, and less systematic (Buhagiar, 2007;Gipps, 1999;McNamara, 2001;Nasab, 2015;Serafini, 2002). ...
... In the new paradigm, assessments are contingent upon the social context in which they are designed and used and emphasize on questions that look for multiple justifiable perspectives and application of knowledge rather than reproduction of facts (Janisch et al., 2007;McNamara, 2001). Students, along with teacher, decide on what and how to assess, seek and interpret evidence for use to decide where they are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there (Serafini, 2002;Wellberg & Evans, 2022). It, thus, considers students as agents of their learning and grants them to generate knowledge (Nasab, 2015). ...
... For example, while in Delandshere (2001) many assessment contents were found to be based on assumptions of universal and essential knowledge, Mitana (2018) reported participants' tendency towards essentialists' assessment assumptions rather than existentialists in the elementary school context. These findings are in line with the general understanding in the literature that shows that current language assessment practices are substantially guided by assumptions that have roots in behaviorist and psychometric theories (Fulcher, 2014;Serafini, 2002;Wellberg & Evans, 2022). ...
This study investigated EFL teachers’ underlying assumptions about assessment and how these assumptions are congruent with current perspectives in assessment. Informed by interpretivist philosophical underpinnings, the study adopted qualitative research approach. Nine teachers from three universities located in western Ethiopia participated in the semi-structured interviews, and the data were analyzed using thematic and content analysis approaches. Generally, the findings revealed complexity and diversity in teachers’ assumptions, which centered on four emergent themes: knowledge/content, valid approach to assessing knowledge, values and judgements, and power relations. Most of the teachers’ assumptions are contradictory with current perspectives and the expectations of the recent reforms on classroom assessment. A few modernist assumptions that teachers held even could not always translate into practice, suggesting the influences of contextual and institutional factors that should be further studied. The need to help EFL teachers develop contemporary assumptions in foreign language assessment is the primary implication of the study. Findings of this study can be considered as one of the necessary steps towards developing a new measure of assumptions about assessment that can be used to assess the underlying assumptions embedded in EFL teachers views and practices of assessment.
... The traditional high school paradigm, characterized by fixed schedules, rote memorization, teacher-centered instruction, and standardized curricula, seen as ill-suited for success in contemporary society and the professional arena (Casner-Lotto & Barrington, 2006). This conventional "factory model of education," described by Serafini (2002) as treating students as products and structuring education, accordingly, not originally designed to foster critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, or other 21st-century skills (Wheatley, 2015). Employers echo these concerns, perceiving a deficit in crucial workplace competencies among students, including communication, creativity, and critical thinking (Casner-Lotto & Barrington, 2006). ...
This study examines the impact of a polytechnic high school model designed in collaboration with a research-intensive university and industry/community partners. Aimed at urban settings and focused on minoritized youth, this model replaces traditional subject-specific classes with industry-driven design project cycles. As design-based integrated STEM learning gains global traction, this research offers valuable insights. Pre/post surveys administered to seniors and teachers, along with follow-up surveys and focus groups with alumni during their first semester of college. This study explores the model's effect on college and career readiness, teachers' perceptions of its effectiveness, and challenges encountered in implementing design-based instruction. Through an exploration of the model's successes and challenges, this study provides actionable recommendations for polytechnic models, contributing to the broader discourse on design-based STEM instruction.
https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/2437.
... The character of such school systems mimic the factory model of education which Serafini (2002) clarifies as one in which "[t]he child was viewed as a product, the school was designed as an educational factory, and standardised testing became the quality control mechanism for measuring educational progress" (p.67). In such contexts, teachers are challenged with the minimal importance placed on the teaching and learning processes because procedural quality is sacrificed for the sake of merely preparing students to gain high marks on tests. ...
... In particular, as Foucault (1979) suggested, although assessment is an educational tool it can dominate and even contribute to the formation of mass education, encouraging regularity and normality in learning processes as the only acceptable way of learning. It can also facilitate the top-down accountability of schools in terms of financial investment and time management, resulting in the increased use and frequency of standardized testing instead of its minimization (Scott, 2000;Serafini, 2002). Consequently, pupils' training for achieving high performance in standardized examinations is emphasised, narrowing significantly the curriculum into teaching basic skills, whereas children tend to develop their self-image as learners based on their attainment in meeting the expected performance levels, and in addition, attempting not to be viewed differently from normal learners. ...
This thesis on curriculum development within inclusive learning environments for pupils identified with specific learning difficulties details the development of the concept of inclusion worldwide and its implementation in England. The research study documents inclusive and pedagogical practices within mainstream education, involving the relevant theories that underpin them, which influence considerably the learning processes of pupils who have been diagnosed either officially or by their teachers with specific learning difficulties, and especially with dyslexia at Key Stage 2 for literacy and reading. The principal focus of this study is the above pupils’ learning experiences as they were shaped by their school curricula, inclusive measures and learning arrangements. This study is further informed by moderate social constructivism and it incorporates grounded theory within three case studies. Ten pupils aged 9-10 identified with specific learning difficulties, and especially with dyslexia, their parents and staff members from three mainstream primary schools in London participated in the research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, naturalistic classroom observations and document analysis and they were thematically analysed. A number of the schools’ learning and inclusive practices, namely seating arrangements and special provision, was found to influence significantly the learning processes of the children who participated in the research and eventually their self-image as learners. Individual teacher perspectives and practices tended to be in tension with the above pupils’ learning needs having crucial effects on their self-awareness, motivation, self-confidence and learning progress. The thesis recommends reconsideration of inclusive approaches, comprising pupils’ labelling, diagnostic assessment, pedagogical and assessment methods applied within literacy and reading classrooms. It also supports the acknowledgement of learners’ individuality in learning process through the reconstruction of learning environments. An alternative curriculum based on learning and curriculum theories as well as on those respondents’ perspectives and experiences is suggested focusing on their equality in learning opportunities and on their well-being.
Two Canadian settler teachers explore the intention and iterative, enduring process of reconciliation in high school classrooms through storytelling of their own lived experiences. They respectfully ‘call-in' other settler teachers who may feel paralyzed for fear of appropriation and the heaviness of this reconciliatory work. Weaving in how the 5Rs have guided the two teachers' journeys toward incorporating Indigenous pedagogies into their praxis and suggesting how these principles could support other settler educators who are beginning their decolonization journey, an Interwoven Living Framework that illuminates their learning ‘from' is developed. The framework is grounded in actionizing the 5Rs through the critical work of listening to, learning from, working, and walking with First Peoples. Using narratives, the teachers story their “walk” inspired by the words of an Indigenous student from their class, Poppy. They share a place to begin towards truly understanding how to become an entrusted Indigenous ally-to-be and how to actionize this collective work in high school landscapes.
The study aimed to perceive the preferred assessment tools utilized by special education teachers with the new learning modalities in correspondence to the pandemic started to burgeon. It employed Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis which the researchers used to evaluate and analyze the qualitative data in the study. Moreover, the study focused on the alternative assessment, which branches out into two types: Performance-based and authentic. The investigation of the study entails thematic analysis, which divulges three themes: "Current Assessment used in the new learning modality," "Challenges encountered by the special education teachers," and "Assessment recommendation." The inferred extracted narrative of the five special education teachers as participants counted as a conception of experiences. (1) Special education teachers' preferred assessment caters to specific needs of the students through performance-based and authentic assessments (2) Special Education teachers' preferred assessment anchors specific modification in assessment tools through alternative assessments (3) Special Education teachers' preferred assessment encompasses available learning resources both for students and teachers. Based on the three conceptions, the following preference surfaced as promulgated: Special Educators' discretion in assessing students with special needs in an online and offline learning mode. The study aimed to perceive the preferred assessment tools utilized by special education teachers with the new learning modalities in correspondence to the pandemic started to burgeon. It employed Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis which the researchers used to evaluate and analyze the qualitative data in the study. Moreover, the study focused on the alternative assessment, which branches out into two types: Performance-based and authentic. The investigation of the study entails thematic analysis, which divulges three themes: "Current Assessment used in the new learning modality," "Challenges encountered by the special education teachers," and "Assessment recommendation." The inferred extracted narrative of the five special education teachers as participants counted as a conception of experiences. (1) Special education teachers' preferred assessment caters to specific needs of the students through performance-based and authentic assessments (2) Special Education teachers' preferred assessment anchors specific modification in assessment tools through alternative assessments (3) Special Education teachers' preferred assessment encompasses available learning resources both for students and teachers. Based on the three conceptions, the following preference surfaced as promulgated: Special Educators' discretion in assessing students with special needs in an online and offline learning mode.
The chapter proposes that the honing of teacher efficacy is a necessary prerequisite for the implementation of post-method pedagogy (PMP). The application of PMP requires an autonomous practitioner who undertakes an experimental approach to teaching English as a second language. Hence, it is justifiable that teachers would need a high self-assurance in their capabilities to make comprehensive judgments regarding their selection, and effectual employment of teaching practices. The chapter examines how teacher agency is negated by three factors – practitioners' operation as passive implementers of dicta, a product-focussed school context that discourages teachers' self-directed instructional approaches, and teachers' overreliance on teaching resources such as the textbook. Finally, the chapter provides PMP criteria for teachers' effective engagement of textbooks which practitioners could competently apply providing they have achieved their efficacies.
Developing assessment literacy is important for veterinary students because the demands of a veterinary medicine course require students to rapidly adapt to new ways of learning and assessment. In this study, we investigate the understanding of assessments at university from applicants and current veterinary students and how this understanding can be improved and developed throughout the course. Data were gathered from three groups-applicants, naïve veterinary students, and experienced veterinary students-using questionnaire-based surveys. Of the applicants, 69% expected university assessments to be different from those at school, whereas only 13% agreed they had a good idea of what assessments would be like at university. More than 50% of students in their first term agreed they had a good understanding of assessments at university, although students had no significant improvement in their understanding of assessments as they progressed through the course. All three groups agreed that having a better understanding of assessments would make them feel more confident about exams. We conclude that more could be done to prepare prospective veterinary students for different styles of assessments and that current veterinary students would benefit from the opportunity to develop their assessment literacy. An assessment literacy curriculum is therefore proposed to develop students' assessment literacy from high school through graduation. Further research could investigate the development of assessment literacy interventions aimed at both applicants and veterinary students.
The American education system is not preparing all children to thrive. Amidst a national movement to dismantle systemic racism, our schools risk propagating educational inequity by design. Only the most affluent students receive the highest quality education that emphasizes student agency and engagement through collaboration and inquiry. 1 Many schools across the United States remain trapped in an outdated "horse and buggy" model of education, particularly when instructing students from under-resourced communities. These schools frequently operate according to a "factory model" that emerged in the early 20th century to mold students for the industrial economy. Under this system, students are considered the "products" of the system with standardized assessments serving as "quality control" measures to encourage effective instruction. 2 Over the past several decades, we have attempted to repair the educational "buggy" through substantial reforms. 3 These include passage of No Child Left Behind in 2002 4 and the development of the Common Core State Standards beginning in 2009. 5 However, attempting to transform the industrial era "horse and buggy" model of education by incrementally adding new wheels and an upgraded engine is insufficient. Creating a revolutionary "Tesla" model of education is necessary for better attainment of 21st-century skills. Here, we offer an evidence-based approach to education inspired by research from the science of learning addressing how children learn and what children need to learn to be successful in the 21st century. Critically, the implementation of this framework must be flexible and culturally-relevant, while maintaining core principles that foster educational equity for all students.
The chapter proposes that the honing of teacher efficacy is a necessary prerequisite for the implementation of post-method pedagogy (PMP). The application of PMP requires an autonomous practitioner who undertakes an experimental approach to teaching English as a second language. Hence, it is justifiable that teachers would need a high self-assurance in their capabilities to make comprehensive judgments regarding their selection, and effectual employment of teaching practices. The chapter examines how teacher agency is negated by three factors – practitioners' operation as passive implementers of dicta, a product-focussed school context that discourages teachers' self-directed instructional approaches, and teachers' overreliance on teaching resources such as the textbook. Finally, the chapter provides PMP criteria for teachers' effective engagement of textbooks which practitioners could competently apply providing they have achieved their efficacies.
The authors discuss the history, theory, and research around the use of portfolios, emphasizing particularly practical implications for and implementation in the classroom.
The wide use of standardized tests as a form of literacy assessment, combined with the assumptions underlying them, inevitably makes the assessment of literacy the assessment of identity. Examples are presented of how assessment in the form of standardized testing recognizes, constrains, or dismisses the multi‐faceted aspects of identities children bring to classrooms. Evidence is presented to argue that standardized tests not only participate in changing the identities of students but also influence the identities of teachers and psychologists whose actions are constrained by a culture that reproduces itself. Readers are challenged to take up new models of assessment that not only engage issues of identity but build upon them.
A framework that can be used to determine the potential authenticity of teaching practices is presented and explained.
There has been a plethora of material written in recent times on reflective approaches to teaching and teacher education, but a dearth of material that looks behind these studies or asks why these reflective approaches are enjoying such popularity. This article tackles what has really become a major policy issue in the literature in four ways. First, it argues that the rhetoric of devolution and practitioner forms of knowledge may not be entirely altruistic and that such calls are occuring in contexts that display significant moves to bolster central control. Second, it proposes that this apparent contradiction is only explainable when we look at wider structural adjustments occurring in Western capitalist systems. Third, it argues that reflective practices, far from being emancipatory for teachers, entrap them within the New Right ideology of radical interventionism. Finally, the article concludes by describing what a more socially, culturally, and politically reflective approach to teaching might look like.
Can prospective teachers learn to be both educators and activists, to regard themselves as agents for change, and to regard reform as an integral part of the social, intellectual, ethical,and political activity of teaching? In this article, Marilyn Cochran-Smith argues that a powerful way for student teachers to learn to reform teaching, or what she refers to as teaching against the grain, is to work in the company of experienced teachers who are themselves struggling to be reformers in their own classrooms, schools, and communities.
Cochran-Smith analyzes two approaches to preparing preservice teachers to teach against the grain, proposing that differences between them can be understood as the result of different underlying assumptions about knowledge, power, and language in teaching. By analyzing conversations among student teachers and experienced teachers in four urban schools, the author explores the nature of reformers' intellectual perspectives on teaching and demonstrates that regular school-site discussions are an indispensable resource in the education of reformers.