An overview of the relationship between assessment and the curriculum

However, it has become increasingly clear over the past twenty years that the contents of standardised tests and examinations are not a random sample from the domain of interests. In particular, these timed written assessments can assess only limited forms of competence, and teachers are quite able to predict which aspects of competence will be assessed. Especially in ‘high-stakes’ assessments, therefore, there is an incentive for teachers and students to concentrate on only those aspects of competence that are likely to be assessed. Put crudely, we start out with the intention of making the important measurable, and end up making the measurable important. The effect of this has been to weaken the correlation between standardised test scores and the wider domains for which they are claimed to be an adequate proxy.