More frequent assessment of student performance fails to deliver on improved outcomes when the administrative burden on teachers is high
Audio file
Read “Failure of frequent assessment: An evaluation of India’s continuous and comprehensive evaluation program” by James Berry, Harini Kannan, Shobhini Mukerji and Marc Shotland here.
Continuous assessment programmes, which emphasise frequent evaluation over infrequent, high-stakes testing, are an increasingly popular way to improve student learning outcomes. In this VoxDevTalk, James Berry discusses his work with Harini Kannan, Shobhini Mukerji, and Marc Shotland in which the authors investigate the roll out of frequent assessment policies among a large sample of primary schools in northwest India. Their randomised controlled trial, which takes advantage of a new and nationally mandated programme, uncovers no impact on language and maths skills. But, while frequent evaluation programmes are designed to provide up-to-date information so teachers may adapt to meet student needs, challenges such as onerous standards for paperwork stand as the biggest barriers to success. The more time teachers spend complying with a complex programme, the less time they have to remediate learning deficits.