Transforming Assessment Design: Leading Assessment and Recognition of Complex Competencies

Syllabus

• Week 1

  Scoping learning ambitions

  • Getting started

    This section includes all the information you will need to get started in this course.

  • Introduction to Week 1

    Let's take a look ahead to what we'll be covering this week.

  • Identifying learning ambitions

    What constitutes success in learning? Learning ambitions identify the broader and deeper learning required by young people if they are to thrive as creative, confident individuals and active, informed members of a complex world.

  • Identifying complex competencies to equip learners to achieve their ambitions

    Complex competencies are part of learning ambitions. They establish the skills needed to ensure that young people can thrive in learning and the community. Identified competencies need to be teachable, learnable, and assessable.

  • Implementing assessment and recognition

    A broader range of metrics is required to support learners, teachers, and school leaders to assess the complex competencies young people need to thrive at school and beyond.

  • Leading assessment and recognition of complex competencies

    New assessment approaches support teaching and recognising complex competencies. Tools will be introduced to support you as a leader to build confidence with your teams, so you can transform assessment and recognition.

  • Bringing it all together

    Let's reflect on what we've covered this week and take a look at what's coming up next.

• Week 2

  Designing recognition

  • Introduction to Week 2

    This week you will learn how a trusted recognition system can impact your school community.

  • What is a trusted recognition system?

    Recognition is the process of using assessments to determine and certify the degree to which an individual has attained a particular level of competence. Fairness, accuracy, and integrity are essential for trust.

  • Co-design learning partners

    Co-design recognises the expertise of stakeholders, who are learning partners, by actively involving them in the design process.

  • Trusting recognition

    A challenge is to develop a new and trusted currency for recognising the full range of learning required for young people to thrive in their community. The representation of learning documented needs to be fair and accurate.

  • Bringing it all together

    Let's reflect on what we've covered this week and take a look at what's coming up next.

• Week 3

  Selecting and customising assessment frameworks

  • Introduction to Week 3

    Competency frameworks need to capture the learning ambitions valued by the school/organisation and be expressed in curriculum terms that teachers can readily interpret and action. Select frameworks for your context.

  • Understanding assessment frameworks

    Frameworks are developed primarily for teachers. Behaviours associated with the development of competence are identified. Frameworks are designed to help assessors notice increasing proficiency in a competence.

  • The Melbourne Assessment suite of competency frameworks

    Melbourne Assessment, which includes New Metrics with 38 Australian schools and other research partnerships, has developed a suite of competency frameworks.

  • Bringing it all together

    Let's reflect on what we've covered this week and take a look at what's coming up next.

• Week 4

  Designing assessments

  • Introduction to Week 4

    This week, you will consider how to assess complex competencies. As with all assessment, the quality and accuracy of the judgements will largely be determined by the opportunities students have to learn and demonstrate competence.

  • Defining assessment

    Teachers, students, and parents may have varying views on what assessment is or should be. Let’s begin by defining what you think assessment is so that you can ensure you design assessment effectively.

  • Alignment and assessment design

    The Taster highlighted the need for alignment between learning ambitions, learning design, and assessment design. You will have the opportunity to explore practical steps to support you in ensuring this alignment.

  • Using tasks, activities, and performance opportunities to assess complex competencies: Designing to elicit performance

    Tasks, activities, and performance opportunities provide learners with the best opportunity for demonstrating the range of what they know and can do. They serve as evidence of learning.

  • Quality evidence

    Quality evidence improves trust in warranted credentials. The evidence needs to be structured and in a form that supports a reliable judgement about the degree to which the learner has progressed in developing competence.

  • Designing for alignment

    This week, you have been introduced to a range of resources and strategies to support aligning learning and assessment design.

  • Bringing it all together

    Let's reflect on what we've covered this week and take a look at what's coming up next.

• Week 5

  Assessment in practice – having a go

  • Introduction to Week 5

    This week you will learn ….

  • Planning assessment for complex competencies

    Finding improved ways to teach and assess the complex competencies that learners need has been at the forefront of Melbourne Assessment research partnerships. Explore the strategies and tools developed to support teachers.

  • Planning and assessing your students

    Complex competencies develop through exposure and practice. Assessment design needs to reflect the kinds of competencies that schools want to develop. A consistent planning process helps establish shared expectations.

  • Your turn to use Ruby

    Ruby contains a range of new-generation assessment tools that include complex competencies, so conducting an assessment in Ruby may look quite different to a traditional marking schema or rubric.

  • Supporting colleagues

    Our advice is that supporting colleagues with small but persistent shifts in practice is impactful. It takes time but will lead to an increase in confidence and momentum, ensuring that the transformed practices become the norm.

  • Bringing it all together

    Let's reflect on what we've covered this week and take a look at what's coming up next.

• Week 6

  Making judgements, moderating, and quality assurance

  • Introduction to Week 6

    Let's take a look ahead to what we'll be covering this week.

  • Using Ruby reports

    This week, you’ll consider the reports Ruby produced and how these can be used when working with colleagues to build trust in the assessment of students’ proficiency in these competencies.

  • Building trust in judgement-based assessment

    Melbourne Assessment has developed tools and processes to support schools/organisations to make valid and reliable judgements about their learners' levels of attainment in complex competencies.

  • Building capacity and confidence in new generation

    Leading the implementation of new-generation assessment and reporting of complex competencies in a school or organisation requires a range of approaches to build the capabilities, confidence, and trust of assessors and learners.

  • Bringing it all together

    We’ve covered a range of concepts over the last six weeks. Each week has been like a piece of a puzzle. The puzzle is nearly complete, and you can start to think about a plan for your school/organisation.

• Week 7

  Warranting

  • Introduction to Week 7

    Let's take a look ahead to what we'll be covering this week.

  • Understanding warranting

    The form of recognition for learners’ performance in complex competencies needs to be understood, trusted, and valued by the employers, trainers and educators who, along with the learners, will be the end users of the credential.

  • Levels of trust

    Not every school seeks to establish the highest level of warrant for a credential of complex competencies. Different levels of trust have specific requirements to suit the context.

  • Warranting considerations

    The next step is to evaluate your own learning context/community to ascertain the next steps for warranting.

  • Leading the transformation

    Processes, strategies, and tools have been introduced to support you to embed complex competencies into the assessment and recognition systems. Do you feel confident to influence transformation in your school/organisation?

  • Assessment

    Do you know [objectives of this week]? Take this test to find out how much you know.

  • Bringing it all together

    Our time together is drawing to a close, but first, let’s recap.

  • What’s next?

    Let's reflect on the learning explored in the course and consider where to apply and further build on your new skills and knowledge.

Who will you learn with?