TY - JOUR
T1 - Students’ conceptions of assessment purposes in a low stakes secondary-school context
T2 - A mixed methodology approach
AU - Solomonidou, Georgia
AU - Michaelides, Michalis
PY - 2017/3/1
Y1 - 2017/3/1
N2 - Though assessment in its early history was conceived as a measurement device, alternative approaches to assessment of student achievement have appeared the past few decades. In this context, studies have been conducted to investigate students’ conceptions of assessment approaches and purposes, as there is evidence that these will affect their learning and ultimately their achievement. This study uses a sequential mixed methods design to investigate students’ conceptions about the purposes of assessment and their definitions of assessment. A questionnaire was administered to 599 lower secondary school students in Cyprus, followed by group interviews with 15 students to explain and build upon initial quantitative findings. Results show that students’ perceptions are in alignment with the current shift in assessment to be used primarily for enhancing teaching and learning. Students seem to agree with the legitimate purposes of assessment and realize that it is an ongoing procedure linked with teaching and learning.
AB - Though assessment in its early history was conceived as a measurement device, alternative approaches to assessment of student achievement have appeared the past few decades. In this context, studies have been conducted to investigate students’ conceptions of assessment approaches and purposes, as there is evidence that these will affect their learning and ultimately their achievement. This study uses a sequential mixed methods design to investigate students’ conceptions about the purposes of assessment and their definitions of assessment. A questionnaire was administered to 599 lower secondary school students in Cyprus, followed by group interviews with 15 students to explain and build upon initial quantitative findings. Results show that students’ perceptions are in alignment with the current shift in assessment to be used primarily for enhancing teaching and learning. Students seem to agree with the legitimate purposes of assessment and realize that it is an ongoing procedure linked with teaching and learning.
KW - Assessment conceptions
KW - Cyprus
KW - Educational assessment
KW - Lower secondary school
KW - Mixed methods
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85010589398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.12.001
DO - 10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.12.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85010589398
SN - 0191-491X
VL - 52
SP - 35
EP - 41
JO - Studies in Educational Evaluation
JF - Studies in Educational Evaluation
ER -