Assessment and Learning: Theory, Policy and Practice

`Assessment for learning has come to play a significant role in learning and teaching and the Assessment Reform Group has played a pivotal role in this change. In Assessment and Learning past and present members of the group explore the implications of this change for practice, policy and research, in a way that is insightful, accessible and challenging' - David Bartlett, President - The Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment (AAIA)

The only book of its kind to provide a comprehensive overview of assessment used to support learning, Assessment and Learning makes this area accessible and understandable for a wide range of users. Rather than looking at assessment from a technical perspective, this book links it to the context in which it is most important: learning.

This new and unique text is a major source of practice-based theory on assessment for learning, a formative assessment approach to support individual development and motivate learners. Key areas covered in the book include:

- the practice of assessment for learning in the classroom and its power to enhance outcomes

- developing and maintaining motivation for learning, drawing on the key messages from research

- the role of assessment for learning in teachers’ professional learning and classroom practice

- assessment and theories of learning, using up-to-date research to consider the reliability and validity of assessment and to debunk some of the myths about the reliability of assessments external to the classroom

- assessment policies across the four countries of the UK and selected European countries, with a commentary on the assessment context in the US

The book is a hugely important output from the internationally known Assessment Reform Group (ARG), which is influential in the field of assessment and education policy and practice in the UK, with related developments as far afield as Australia, Hong Kong, the US and Canada. The group carries out research in order to reach policy-makers in government, and also works closely with teachers and local authority staff. Assessment and Learning will prove a very valuable resource for a wide variety of people involved in teaching, learning and assessment whether as practitioners, researchers or policy-makers.