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The Forum > Article Comments > External beats internal > Comments

External beats internal : Comments

By Kevin Donnelly, published 19/4/2013

Queensland should learn from its mistakes and embrace an external exam system for its secondary students.

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I sincerely hope every member of the Queensland Education and Innovation Parliamentary Committee who are conducting this inquiry read this article. The reason why an inquiry has been called is enough brave teachers resisted the bureaucratic hogwash to voice opposition to this ridiculous system. I hope many others make a submission to the inquiry as I have done.
Pat Whalen
Posted by Pat Whalen, Friday, 19 April 2013 8:08:25 PM
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In principle, I agree with Dr Donnelly's article. That is, I agree that our assessment practices here in Queensland are severely flawed. Despite the efforts of the QSA (or, perhaps, because of the QSA's three-monkey approach), the comparability of assessment and results within districts - let alone statewide - is non-existent.

That said, I do support the use of a folio of work gathered across the course of a student's final year as a valid assessment practice, as it presents a more valid picture of a student's abilities than a 'point-in-time' snapshot given by a single end-of-year exam. There are plenty of airy fairy terms such as 'assessment for learning', and issues such as performance anxiety and situated learning, to support this. Ultimately, though, continuous assessment builds a habit of learning and performing rather than just cramming and forgetting.

The issue is not the folio - it is what goes into the folio and how that evidence of ability is gathered. This, I believe, is where the QLD system is sorely lacking.

As an English teacher, I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on the following (keeping in mind that they aren't arguments against the article - simply issues that would have to be resolved in order to implement a better system):

1) English in Queensland requires students to demonstrate competent control of both written and spoken English. How would we examine and moderate the latter externally? How do they do this in other states? The same would apply to music, HPE and other subjects with a performance component.

2) We engage with a range of texts - literature, media texts, reference texts, etc. - and respond to them imaginatively, analytically, argumentatively and informatively. We currently compose folios of six pieces, including written and spoken modes with different subject matter and purposes. Would it be practical to manage this externally, or would we have to water down our expectations?
Posted by Otokonoko, Saturday, 20 April 2013 12:29:55 AM
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Re your second paragraph, Otokonoko, I see no reason not to incorporate a numerical portfolio mark as a part of a school-based assessment, assuming that an English department in a school is capable internally of making consistent judgements about portfolios. The external exam can then be used as a part of the total assessment as well as a moderating instrument for school-based assessment.

External assessment, by examination or otherwise, is a necessity for keeping the system fair. Entry into highly competitive tertiary courses should not be a function of differing school standards.
Posted by Luciferase, Saturday, 20 April 2013 11:09:21 AM
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Great article, & just so true.

Otokonoko I can't say the same for your suggestion. Although there may be some place in language subjects, it is very wrong elsewhere.

The main problem with in school assessment is;

1/ It is angled to those who do their homework diligently, & get lots of help.

2/ It compartmentalizes studies. When a segment is done, it can be safely forgotten. Marked mostly on home done assignments no one has any idea of what if anything the kid has learnt.

Ask most kids in July about work done in February, & most will have little idea. Many won't even remember doing it, but they may have had a high assessment.

All in all this suits girls, & is part of the reason they are doing better than boys.

An external exam tests what the student has learnt, but more importantly, retained & understood at the end of school.

It puts some pressure on the student, just as life is about to do. Few will write assignment in their lives, & none will early in a career. However most will come under pressure in the work day world quite quickly.

Yes the current method is unfair in all aspects. The core skills test means a brilliant kid in a poor school has their results downgraded, no matter how well they do.

It also means that the male characteristic of rising to the challenge of the occasion is not valued, but good Goggling skills are. No wonder we are failing.
Posted by Hasbeen, Saturday, 20 April 2013 12:43:44 PM
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