A case study of assessment philosophy and practice in a catholic junior secondary school

Assessment of student performance at secondary school continues to occupy a prominent place in the mind of the community. Successive inquiries and reports ( Campbell et al, 1975; Fairbairn et al, 1976; Scott et al, 1978; Kennedy et al, 1989) highlight the efforts of the educational community to arrive at a system of assessment, reporting and certification which more adequately meets the needs of all stakeholders. In Queensland, these have resulted in such far-reaching consequences as the abolition of public exams, and the progression through norm -referenced to criterion -referenced assessments as methods of describing individual student achievement. On a national scale , the debate about assessment has taken on overt political overtones. This is undoubtedly because of the present economic climate. Australia is popularly seen as not giving a good account of itself in international commerce, and requiring the nation's schools to produce a better 'product' is proposed as one way of redressing the trend. At the same time, the necessity to rank students to provide a basis for comparison of achievement so that selection for further study can be easily and fairly made is being seen as less important for many students completing school as they do not seek admission to tertiary institutions. In addition, the Employment and Skills Formation Council (1992) is proposing a national system to describe students by competencies rather than school results for use by employers when selecting potential employees. Within the Catholic education system, questions about justice in assessment for all students, who has the right to know information about students' performance, what is actually essential for these people to know, and how to provide this information while preserving the dignity and sense of self-worth of the students are the subjects of debate. Given this questioning, the contemporary emphasis on measurement of outcomes at the end of formal schooling (i.e. Year 12) , and the fact that the majority of students now stay on past Year 10, questions about the methods and focus of assessment practices in the junior secondary school come into sharper focus. Has the role of assessment in these years of schooling changed, and, if it has, do the methods and practices presentlyemployed fit this changed emphasis?