The educational system in Ghana has undergone various reforms as a result of colonisation, changes in government and constitutional amendments. These reforms have been accompanied by changes in educational assessment programmes. This paper explored the history of educational assessment in Ghana, understanding how educational reforms, colonisation…

The widespread adoption of technology-based assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about the digital divide, given global disparities in digital access, connectivity, and coping strategies. This systematic review was intended to assess how the use of technology-based assessments has affected the education system's…

Students' test-taking motivation confounds test performance. This study examines students' conceptions of tests and test-taking motivation when different test consequences are at play. In a between-subjects experimental design, a sample of 479 New Zealand senior secondary school students were randomly assigned to one of the three vignette…

Comparative judgment is gaining popularity as an assessment tool, including for high-stakes testing purposes, despite relatively little research on the use of the technique. Advocates claim two main rationales for its use: that comparative judgment is valid because humans are better at comparative than absolute judgment, and because it distils the…

To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning, the School Recovery Plan (SRP) was implemented by the Department of Basic Education in South Africa. In this study, we explore the impact of the SRP on teachers' conceptualisation of new and different assessment practices. Data were obtained from 1098 teachers using an…

This paper analyses the psychometric paradigm for understanding educational measurement and standard setting by considering the extent to which that understanding is based on metaphors. I argue that through the metaphors 'more is up' and 'good is up' we spatialise concepts that are not intrinsically spatial. Human abilities form a distinct…

Synoptic assessment refers to the assessment of students' understanding of the links between the different elements of a subject. Despite its ability to promote a holistic delivery of the curriculum and deep learning, it is currently an under-researched topic in the field of educational assessment. In fact, an electronic search for the term…

State education systems in the U.S. experienced major disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from assessments administered during, and at the conclusion of, the 2020-21 school year indicate substantial 'unfinished learning', with the losses generally greater among disadvantaged and marginalized students. States' assessment systems are…

Teachers' competence in educational assessment is a key feature in teacher professionalism. Understanding of assessment competence has evolved from the learning of technical skills in assessment to a context-dependent, socially defined understanding encompassing a multitude of approaches to assessment. Thus, a holistic approach to assessment…

Fairness in assessment is seen as increasingly important but there is a need for greater clarity in use of the term 'fair'. Also, fairness is perceived through a range of 'lenses' reflecting different traditions of thought. The lens used determines how fairness is seen and described. This article distinguishes different uses of 'fair' which have…

This study examines teachers' conceptions of assessment and related contextual factors at the classroom, school and national levels. A representative survey of Singaporean secondary school teachers resulted in a final sample consisting of 229 teachers from 9 secondary schools. Findings on that, teachers endorse views of assessment for school…

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…

This article presents a historical and contemporary account of Lithuania's national public education assessment system and its transformation since the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. We explore how the external examination system has developed in relation to ongoing curriculum reforms over the last 30 years,…

The focal paper by Baird et al. in this special issue argues that there are few issues more important in education than the relationship between assessment and learning. On the one hand, learning is the ultimate goal of all educational interventions; on the other, assessment has become a leviathan that constrains and shapes virtually all of that…

Education systems are increasingly being called upon to implement new technology-based assessment systems that generate efficiencies, better meet changing stakeholder expectations, or fulfil new assessment purposes. These assessment systems require coordinated organisational effort to implement and can be expensive in time, skill and other…