ABSTRACT
Until recently, books on assessment were likely to be about, or contain chapters on, techniques and assessment tools such as essays, multiple choice questions, true/false items, matching items and so on. Very often, information on test construction and scoring would be included. Some texts featured extensive references to formal and national testing. Many stressed reliability and validity of test items. It was extremely unlikely that now familiar terms such as ‘portfolios’, ‘posters’, ‘competence’ or ‘reflection’ would feature in such books. Until recent years, portfolios were limited to the realm of artists, and performance assessment was not much heard of outside the dance studio. Our experience of posters was of displays erected on billboards to advertise goods and services. Reflection was what one strove for in good window cleaning. Certainly, few books mentioned the students whose learning was the subject of assessment. The student’s primary role was that of test taker. Most such books featured examples of what Serafini (2000) called ‘assessment as measurement’.
