The impact of standards-based assessment on knowledge for history education in New Zealand

This paper examines how a standards-based form of assessment in operation in New Zealand has impacted upon the knowledge taught to secondary history students. The segmentation of history into assessable components along with assessment mechanisms which encourage the reduction in the number of standa...

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Published inAssessment in education : principles, policy & practice Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 143 - 165
Main Author Ormond, Barbara Mary
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 04.03.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic Standards
Accountability
achievement standards
Educational Assessment
Foreign Countries
history
History Instruction
Knowledge
Realism
Secondary School Curriculum
Secondary School Students
social realism
Standards-based
Students
New Zealand
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Summary:This paper examines how a standards-based form of assessment in operation in New Zealand has impacted upon the knowledge taught to secondary history students. The segmentation of history into assessable components along with assessment mechanisms which encourage the reduction in the number of standards being attempted has impacted upon both the breadth and range of historical content in history programmes. The reduction in knowledge is problematic as it diminishes learners' opportunities to draw connections between inter-related historical concepts from a wider knowledge base. Social realists have raised concerns about the reduced focus on knowledge in education and its effects in restricting students' development of conceptual knowledge which enables higher order, more abstract thinking. Experiences of standards-based assessment for history in New Zealand are indicative of this reductive phenomenon. In a culture of accountability, standards-based assessment, as enacted in New Zealand, may impede delivery of critical knowledge.
ISSN:0969-594X
1465-329X
DOI:10.1080/0969594X.2018.1432564