School Effectiveness in Developing Countries - A Summary of the Research Evidence

3.3 Examination reform

Turning to assessment, it is clear that examinations and other forms of assessment can
have a significant impact on the quality of education. According to Heyneman (1987),
"selection examinations play an important role in a nation's economic development". He
argues that countries should use examinations to improve classroom pedagogy, and that

Despite differences in size and financial resources, school systems in
developing countries, without exception, require a professional capacity in
the field of standardized testing and examinations. (p 257)

Kellaghan & Greaney (1992) studied examination systems in 14 Anglophone and
Francophone African countries, and conclude that

Considerable reliance has been placed on public examinations in African
education as a means of ensuring that teachers and students cover a
common curriculum, and accordingly as a particularly effective instrument
for raising academic standards.

However, they also point out that examinations may give rise to problems if validity
and/or reliability are low, if there is inadequate feedback, and if there are negative
backwash effects. Again,

the high repetition rate attributable to 'failure' may represent a serious
waste of scarce educational resources. (ibid)

The symptoms of the Diploma Disease (Dore, 1976; Oxenham, 1984), which include
qualification escalation and educated unemployment as well as negative backwash, are
well-known. Nevertheless, Heyneman & Ransom (1990, p 1 77) state that

Examinations can be a powerful, low-cost means of influencing the
quality of what teachers teach and what students learn in school.....

Examination agencies have an important role to play in increasing the
effectiveness of schools.

They state three requirements for making examination backwash effects positive (a)
improve the content of examinations (b) set up a good feedback mechanism to analyse
and interpret student errors (c) make sure the examination body is financed and managed
in such a way that it can do the first two well. Somerset (1988) discusses ways in which
examinations can be used as an instrument to improve pedagogy. There are other
assessment-related strategies in addition to examination reform which can be used to

<<   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   >>

More intriguing information