Good Assessment Practice in Religious Education

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EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT IN CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION Introduction “Assessment is currently a weak aspect of Citizenship.” (Ofsted,2003). This judgement by Her Majesty’s Inspectors suggests that those who wish to deliver effective Citizenship Education need to have a better understanding of the role that assessment has in Citizenship. More specifically, providers of Citizenship education should be aware of the rationale behind assessment, the benefits and pitfalls of assessment, the various methods of conducting assessment and ultimately, they should be able to identify and address the current problems within Citizenship assessment. By conducting a literature review on assessment and then examining my own assessment techniques, through a case study from my first placement, I hope to achieve a greater understanding of assessment principles and also develop and improve my methods of assessment for future practice. This is essential if I am to avoid perpetuating the bad practice that has left Citizenship open to Ofsted’s charge. Assessment Literature Review Assessment can sometimes be criticised as being inaccurate and unreliable and responsible for distorting teaching the curriculum (Petty, 2004). This view of assessment regards it as a hindrance to effective learning that merely judges, labels and de-motivates a student by placing supreme emphasis on churning out high exam results and disregards those qualities which cannot be easily measured. However, such a view of assessment is narrow and uninformed and fails to appreciate the tremendous potential of assessment to enhance teaching and learning. In the right hands assessment can inspire, motivate and improve learning and there is a wealth of evidence to support this view. It is perhaps important at this stage to make a definite distinction between assessment ‘of’ learning and assessment ‘for’ learning. Assessment of

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