Interview Feature: Prof Therese N. Hopfenbeck on avoiding testing traps and making assessment better

We are pleased to share that Prof Therese N. Hopfenbeck, Director of AERC at the Faculty of Education, was recently interviewed by TES magazine about how national and classroom assessments can become meaningless with the wrong approaches or context.

This insightful conversation delves into how assessment should be both context-aware and fair to enhance learning rather than just measure it, offering valuable perspectives on the field of assessment and evaluation.

Key Insights from the Interview:

Context matters in assessment

• Standardised tests aim for fairness but often favour students with greater exposure to books and academic language.
  • “When I worked on international large-scale studies, we knew there was one factor for students that correlated most highly with achievement, and that was the classic question: 'How many books do you have at home?'”
  • “The child who has been read to will automatically better understand a lot of the tasks on standardised tests, just because of that knowledge they have.”

Effective assessment supports learning, not just measurement

• A safe learning environment, where students feel comfortable making mistakes, is crucial for deep learning.
  • “If you want to make assessment more effective, you need to develop a learning environment where children feel safe, and safe to make errors. That has a huge impact on their willingness to try new things.”
• Vocabulary and literacy development play a key role in how well students engage with assessments.
  • “You need to have the vocabulary to sit in groups and talk together about how you understand a problem and you’re able to ask effective questions.”
  • “Being able to read well is the foundation, and good teachers are also providing that.”

Balancing standardisation with student-centred approaches

• While standardised testing is useful for early interventions, over-reliance on high-stakes tests can increase anxiety and hinder learning.
  • "We should be trying to avoid assessments that increase anxiety in children."
• Teachers and policymakers should collaborate with students to create assessments that are both rigorous and meaningful.
  • “As the Norwegians said, 'If we’re going to do this, students need to understand what’s going on.' So, we involved students in developing assessment criteria and made them active participants in the processes.”

Read the full interview here: How to build better tests in schools | Tes