Comments on: ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/ Educational Technology Debate Wed, 16 May 2012 15:41:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Tweets that mention ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate -- Topsy.com https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-18543 Tweets that mention ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate -- Topsy.com Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:00:50 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-18543 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayan Vota, Claudia Manera. Claudia Manera said: robvanson - ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate: "It's all very well finding all the things t... http://bit.ly/essfRA [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayan Vota, Claudia Manera. Claudia Manera said: robvanson – ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate: "It's all very well finding all the things t… http://bit.ly/essfRA [...]

]]> By: robvanson https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-18542 robvanson Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:09:31 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-18542 "It's all very well finding all the things that are wrong with current assessment but what is the research evidence that removing it will improve learning? What is a viable alternative that has the substance of research behind it?" I love assessments. The problem I point out are two-fold: 1) What assessments are really assessing the future prospects of students? 2) Who actually uses assessment results to make informed decisions? A standardized test is aimed at sampling the skills and knowledge of the students. Teaching to the test makes this sampling so biased that the results are irrelevant. The answer is to improve the "sampling". But if we introduce changes in education, we can be pretty sure that the old assessments become worthless. So how can we assess the new practices using the old yardsticks? In the end, I have not seen any changes in education that were really based on a well thought out assessment. Or any real assessment at all. "It's all very well finding all the things that are wrong with current assessment but what is the research evidence that removing it will improve learning? What is a viable alternative that has the substance of research behind it?"

I love assessments. The problem I point out are two-fold:

1) What assessments are really assessing the future prospects of students?
2) Who actually uses assessment results to make informed decisions?

A standardized test is aimed at sampling the skills and knowledge of the students. Teaching to the test makes this sampling so biased that the results are irrelevant. The answer is to improve the "sampling". But if we introduce changes in education, we can be pretty sure that the old assessments become worthless. So how can we assess the new practices using the old yardsticks?

In the end, I have not seen any changes in education that were really based on a well thought out assessment. Or any real assessment at all.

]]> By: Tweets that mention ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate -- Topsy.com https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-18538 Tweets that mention ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate -- Topsy.com Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:13:22 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-18538 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayan Vota, Claudia Manera. Claudia Manera said: marja-riitta - ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate: We are giving eLearning by using LMS and ... http://bit.ly/fbWATI [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayan Vota, Claudia Manera. Claudia Manera said: marja-riitta – ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate: We are giving eLearning by using LMS and … http://bit.ly/fbWATI [...]

]]> By: Ian Lynch https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-18381 Ian Lynch Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:44:17 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-18381 It's all very well finding all the things that are wrong with current assessment but what is the research evidence that removing it will improve learning? What is a viable alternative that has the substance of research behind it? Assessing ICT on the basis that it does or does not improve tests in other subjects that are then tested by paper methods devoid of technology seems perverse, especially when the only time any school aged learner is likely to write for 2 hours with pen and paper is in in a school based exam. I run a company specialising in assessment for learning and the biggest weakness is that teachers are not equipped with the technological skills to move to systems we can show saves significant amounts of money that can then be re-invested in learning. The in appropriate use of ICT and entrenchment in out of date practices are symptoms of a need for better ICT teaching and better forms of assessment but I don't easily buy the notion that we can dispense with ICT teaching or systems of quality assurance for learning simply because current systems have been dumbed down by politicians. It's all very well finding all the things that are wrong with current assessment but what is the research evidence that removing it will improve learning? What is a viable alternative that has the substance of research behind it? Assessing ICT on the basis that it does or does not improve tests in other subjects that are then tested by paper methods devoid of technology seems perverse, especially when the only time any school aged learner is likely to write for 2 hours with pen and paper is in in a school based exam. I run a company specialising in assessment for learning and the biggest weakness is that teachers are not equipped with the technological skills to move to systems we can show saves significant amounts of money that can then be re-invested in learning. The in appropriate use of ICT and entrenchment in out of date practices are symptoms of a need for better ICT teaching and better forms of assessment but I don't easily buy the notion that we can dispense with ICT teaching or systems of quality assurance for learning simply because current systems have been dumbed down by politicians.

]]> By: Tweets that mention ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate -- Topsy.com https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-18366 Tweets that mention ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate -- Topsy.com Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:36:32 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-18366 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayan Vota, Claudia Manera. Claudia Manera said: jully - ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate: well said,i agree with him http://bit.ly/i9gZpS [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayan Vota, Claudia Manera. Claudia Manera said: jully – ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate: well said,i agree with him http://bit.ly/i9gZpS [...]

]]> By: Wayan Vota: Technology in Schools, in Education, is Not Wasted « Educational Technology Debate https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-2550 Wayan Vota: Technology in Schools, in Education, is Not Wasted « Educational Technology Debate Thu, 20 May 2010 13:44:03 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-2550 [...] We had a really interesting debate on the Education Technology Debate about ICT4E assessments and their validity. I thought the most explosive post, which turned out to have the least comments, which tells me that it wasn’t explosive at all, that everybody already accepted it, was that ICT4E assessments themselves are a waste. [...] [...] We had a really interesting debate on the Education Technology Debate about ICT4E assessments and their validity. I thought the most explosive post, which turned out to have the least comments, which tells me that it wasn’t explosive at all, that everybody already accepted it, was that ICT4E assessments themselves are a waste. [...]

]]> By: Should We Shift ICT4E Assessments From Technology to Adoption? « Educational Technology Debate https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-916 Should We Shift ICT4E Assessments From Technology to Adoption? « Educational Technology Debate Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:17:11 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-916 [...] opinion was backed up in the comments with the general consensus similar to John LeBaron’s comment that while assessemnts themselves are not bad, but we don’t have the right assessment tools [...] [...] opinion was backed up in the comments with the general consensus similar to John LeBaron’s comment that while assessemnts themselves are not bad, but we don’t have the right assessment tools [...]

]]> By: Should We Shift ICT4E Assessments From Technology to Adoption? « Educational Technology Debate https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-917 Should We Shift ICT4E Assessments From Technology to Adoption? « Educational Technology Debate Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:17:11 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-917 [...] opinion was backed up in the comments with the general consensus similar to John LeBaron’s comment that while assessemnts themselves are not bad, but we don’t have the right assessment tools [...] [...] opinion was backed up in the comments with the general consensus similar to John LeBaron’s comment that while assessemnts themselves are not bad, but we don’t have the right assessment tools [...]

]]> By: Improving ICT Assessment in Education « Educational Technology Debate https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-861 Improving ICT Assessment in Education « Educational Technology Debate Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:06:52 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-861 [...] ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate [...] [...] ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate [...]

]]> By: jlebaron https://edutechdebate.org/assessing-ict4e-evaluations/ict-in-education-assessments-are-biased-and-inaccurate/comment-page-1/#comment-854 jlebaron Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:17:58 +0000 http://edutechdebate.org/?p=513#comment-854 Ian. You make a very good point. Because policy-makers are held accountable for the results of public investments made under their watch, they default to what they can understand and communicate crisply and easily. The notion that a true evaluation of any strategic or tactical effect requires in-depth observation and analysis of uncountable (in the strict sense) things is difficult to grasp when one's political credibility is on the line. This can lull decision-makers into the fiction the only things that "count" are the things that can be counted. Ian. You make a very good point. Because policy-makers are held accountable for the results of public investments made under their watch, they default to what they can understand and communicate crisply and easily. The notion that a true evaluation of any strategic or tactical effect requires in-depth observation and analysis of uncountable (in the strict sense) things is difficult to grasp when one's political credibility is on the line. This can lull decision-makers into the fiction the only things that "count" are the things that can be counted.

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