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The Journal of Educational Research
ISSN: 0022-0671 (Print) 1940-0675 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjer20
The promise and practice of next generation assessment
by D. T. Conley, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2018, 298 pp.,
$32.93 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-68253-197-6.
Siti Zulaiha
To cite this article: Siti Zulaiha (2020): The promise and practice of next generation assessment, The Journal of Educational Research, DOI: 10.1080/00220671.2020.1769889
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2020.1769889
Published online: 27 May 2020.
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BOOK REVIEW
The promise and practice of next generation assessment, by D. T. Conley, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2018, 298 pp., $32.93 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-68253-197-6.
Reforming assessment standards and practices remains a constant issue worldwide. Educational institutions receive demands to implement new approaches to assessment sys- tems to meet the needs of today’s economic and societal development (Darling-Hammond, 2014). Thus, this develop- ment will considerably amend what is expected of students and how they are assessed. Conley’s timely book offers a thorough framework for the design of a next generation of assessments. He specifically highlights the need of shifting a focus from current traditional approaches to assessment focusing on students’needs.
Conley divides this book into 11 chapters. In Chapter 1, he outlines the rationale for the next generation of assess- ments. It includes focal elements that motivate Conley’s approach (i.e., the new development of brain function and how people learn, the effects of current generation assess- ment on schools, and the significance of formative assess- ment). This brief rationale sets the concept of the next generation of assessment in the literature and foreshadows the approaches used and presented later in the chapter. In Chapter 2, he outlines the role of modern learning theory, reviews current generation assumptions, and contrasts the next generation practices with those currently used. Conley also discusses ways to improve validity by interpreting and using assessment results appropriately. In Chapters 3 and 4, Conley proposes 10 essential principles outlining the compo- nents of next generation assessment. The first five principles consider students at the center of assessment so that stu- dents can take more control of their learning. The other five principles center on the roles of schools and assessment, with Conley wisely acknowledging that institutional contexts matter. In Chapter 5, he looks at the means to know about learners and how they involve themselves in the learning process. The chapter features a wide range of assessments that could be tapped to create more comprehensive pictures of students’ (and schools’) achievements consistent with his 10 principles. In Chapter 6, Conley presents samples of assessments and practices from a variety of contexts. These include national and district-level programs and collabora- tive assessment practices as well as assessment initiatives undertaken by a group of schools that are consistent with Conley’s 10 principles. In Chapter 7, he presents the chal- lenges and opportunities in implementing the next gener- ation assessments. Key issues involved incorporating new assessment strategies and instruments into the existing assessment practices and implementing multiple measures.
Furthermore, Conley considers the challenge of developing assessment as a unified system and using next generation assessments for system enhancement. In Chapter 8, he
explores further the implementation issues and develops nine steps for any educational institution that intends to implement a new system of assessments. Other issues dis- cussed include developing teachers’ and administrators’ (and students’ and parents’) assessment literacy, implementing professional development to support assessment literacy, synchronizing with external requirements, using data from large-scale assessments, and building support for assessment implementation. In Chapter 9, Conley introduces Four Keys to College and Career Readiness. He also illustrates a profile approach that can be used as a means to provide informa- tion about students’ readiness for college and career. In the last chapter, Conley discusses what can be done by educa- tors to begin moving toward a system of assessments as well as policy guidance needed for the next generation systems of assessments to succeed. Conley concludes with a note on the importance of personalization, emphasizing a need to under- stand students as individuals as opposed to regarding them in relation to all students’ performances.
In conclusion, The Promise and Practice of Next Generation Assessmentis an excellent resource for stakehold- ers who are committed to improving assessment of all kinds.
By providing examples of assessment methods, tools, strat- egies, and case studies from the field, Conley assists readers to see what innovative assessment can look like in context- ual practices. He also emphasizes the essential roles of the different stakeholders (i.e., teachers, students, parents, prin- cipals, districts) in the successful implementation of the next generation of assessment. Although most examples are from the U.S. educational context, I found the book relevant to my educational setting. While the curriculum in my context promotes student centered learning, the assessment practice has not yet considered students to be the center of assess- ment to any great extent. Conley argues that they should be.
Reference
Darling-Hammond, L. (Ed.). (2014). Next generation assessment:
Moving beyond the bubble test to support 21st century learning.
Jossey-Bass.
Siti Zulaiha University of Muhammadiyah Prof. DR. HAMKA siti.zulaiha@uhamka.ac.id
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