The effects of implementing an innovative assessment program in senior school physics: A case study

The study was prompted by the author's professional concerns about matching assessment to students' learning and communication styles. It was carried out in the author's senior physics class of 1997 in a denominational girls' college in Queensland. Following a review of the nature of science, in particular, of school science, curriculum trends and likely scenarios for school science education into the next century, a contemporary view of school science was developed. A constructivist approach to the learning of such science was investigated and educational developments relating to assessment were considered. Finally, trends in educational research relating to assessment over the last thirty years were noted. These reviews led to an examination of the nature and purposes of assessment and to an exploration of innovative methods of assessment which have been used by practitioners. It was decided that a portfolio style of assessment would best suit the teacher's purpose and that a case study approach would best suit the researcher's purpose. A regime of assessment for the two-year senior physics course was devised and implemented. The effects of implementing this assessment program were determined by gathering reactions from the stakeholders. Data were collected by means of personal interview by the researcher. Twenty four students, their parents and sixteen expert physics teachers were interviewed after the program had been in operation for eighteen months. Input was also included from the school administration and the teacher/researcher. Five areas emerged as being of major importance to stakeholders. These were the concept of "learning physics", the purpose of education, the function of assessment in schools, the concept of "personal responsibility'' as it relates to academic progress in schools and the costs involved, especially for teachers, in adopting an assessment scheme such as the one under review. People's views on these areas determined their degree of acceptance of the assessment program. Support for the innovative method was universal among students, almost universal among parents and widespread among panellists