"Assessment in a learner-centered classroom"

by Alan Trussell-Cullen (1998)

Dominie Press: CA. ISBN. 0-7685-0017-6

Reviewed by Christine Coombe, Dubai Men's College

I think all testers agree that “assessment” is a less than popular activity in most contexts. On its own the subject may seem dry and even frightening to some, but when assessment and learning are thought of together, exciting things begin to happen. Teachers feel ownership for the whole teaching/learning/assessment process and they share this ownership with their students. When this occurs, teachers become passionate about a subject and they collaborate with colleagues. Together, they begin to create something truly wonderful-a learning community as Trussell-Cullen calls it. And that is just what the author tries to do with this volume—take readers step by step through a systematic learning and assessment planning process.

More specifically, Assessment in a learner–centered classroom attempts to show teachers how to use a multifaceted “assessment tool box” in selecting the best mix of strategies to help students learn more effectively. He accomplishes this quite effectively by giving teachers practical advice combined with a touch of humor to help plan and implement authentic, classroom-based assessment systems.

Education is a field that is constantly undergoing change. Yet the one area that seems to have been most resistant to change has been that of assessment. According to the author, change has been slow in this area, not because of the lack of fresh ideas about assessment practice, but because teacher and community beliefs about assessment have been slow to change. The reason for this primarily is that teachers tend to be practical people. They don’t always welcome large amounts of theory. They like things that can be described as “hands-on” because they think that teaching is what you do. It is with this belief in mind that Trussell-Cullen has put together a very user-friendly volume of authentic and highly practical ideas. His materials are grounded in theory and accountability. The methods highlighted in this volume do not require loads of teacher preparation time and they are easy to manage in the classroom.

In Chapter 1 the author examines some of the prevailing conceptions and misconceptions about assessment and their implications for running an effective learning-centered classroom. He tackles the important issue of assessment anxiety and gives a useful definition of key terms found in the volume. The most valuable part of this chapter for me as a tester was the nine commonly-held misconceptions about assessment. It was useful for me to read in plain terms about some of the preconceived notions that teachers have about my field. The author rounds out the introductory chapter and all subsequent chapters with a quite humorous mock test question or quiz about the chapter. A sample multiple-choice question from Chapter 1 is found below:

In the following chapters (2, 3, & 4), the author concentrates on who the assessment is for. In this part of the book, he sets forth what he calls an “assessment audit” and a plan for systematic learning. Specific assessment strategies and tools to use in this process are also discussed. It is here that Trussell-Cullen introduces the “assessment toolbox”. The tools are grouped together according to the main assessment strategy they use: observation, interaction, re-creation, reflection, simulation, or artifact collection. A wealth of ideas is provided in this section with very useful samples of materials that can be easily adapted to many teaching contexts.

Chapter 5 focuses on putting all this to work in the classroom. The author gives hints on how to schedule the process as well as ways to involve stakeholders in the collaborative process.

Chapter 6 discusses one of the challenges facing testers today: assessment for instruction vs. assessment for accountability. The author points out that teachers and administrators often have different assessment needs and he summarizes these needs quite effectively in chart form. He then goes on to compare his assessment approach and the traditional approach to assessment. This particular chapter is very useful for the primary/secondary school teacher because it gives plenty of report card samples and describes techniques for parent-teacher conferences etc. Although a lot of what is discussed here is set for a North American or Western context, much can be adapted for our purposes in the Gulf.

The following chapters report on what can go wrong with the process described. Topics like avoiding teacher burnout, teacher self-assessment and what the author terms as “pick me ups for tired teachers” are presented.

A commonly-held belief in the field today states that as part of the learning community, teachers must become learners too. They learn by observing and reflecting on their own teaching practice. And as learners, there is a need to discover our strengths, recognize our weaknesses, test our goals, document our achievements, record our learning process and define new and appropriate learning questions. According to the author, all this requires assessment that is integrated with learning. Trussell-Cullen does a fine job of instructing teachers in effective ways to combine the two.

So, if you are a teacher who is interested in going beyond traditional assessment practices in your classroom to using techniques that are more realistic and value student involvement, this is an essential addition to your personal professional development library.