The Influence Of Knowledge-Based Judgments On The Performance Of Students

Assessment is the process of gathering data to determine students’ knowledge, skills and attitude within a certain area of a school program (Schnitzer, 1993). To become a successful entity, a school should assign high priority to implement definite procedures for frequent systematic assessments of (and for) student learning (Chappuis, 2004). Judgments made on the performance of senior school students in assessments have far reaching implications and can influence access to university and/or workforce. Therefore, it is essential that judgments are accurate, based on authentic and original assessment submissions. Educational research suggests that poor assessment design is still commonplace due to the simplicity of knowledge-based assessment

Researchers have objectively defined the term validity referring to whether an assessment measures what it claims to measure. On a test with high validity, the assessment results are closely linked to intended focus and one with poor validity may not measure the competencies it has to measure (Segers, Dierick, & Dochy, 2001). With a reliable assessment, different markers will be able to make consistent judgments for similar submissions. A test with poor reliability, in most cases, lead to a variance of scores for the examinee across two similar tests (Torrance, 1995). In an assessment context, fairness is synonymous to Equity, social justice and (accommodation of) diversity. It entails a level playing field for all students. Flexibility in learning focuses on offering students’ choices about when, where and how they learn. It enables students to develop skills and attributes necessary to fit in a changing and competitive environment (Carlson & Apple,

These may involve strategies such as submission of draft and details of references used, incorporating formative feedback, and compulsory discussion with teacher during lessons. Teachers have a professional responsibility to offer a range and balance of assessment tasks under varying conditions that make assessments authentic. When access to resources (e.g. Internet, teaching staff and peers) is open, teachers need to consider how they will manage student work outside their interaction, monitor students as they progress, and determine whether students have colluded with others while developing answers (Miller, et al., 2011). A disproportionate, heavier, weighting for an assessment may promote dishonesty as collusion or plagiarism renders bigger returns, if not detected. Dishonest practices can hinder intellectual progress as students develop a reliance on the thinking and writing of others which stifles creative thinking (Hayes & Introna,