Special Topic: Assessment Literacy in Education

Description

This short course introduces postgraduate students to the foundational knowledge, skills, and dispositions that underpin effective assessment practice in education. Framed by the concept of assessment literacy, EPSY696 explores how assessment functions as a pedagogical tool that shapes teaching, learning, and decision-making across multiple levels of the education system. Students will investigate key features of high-quality assessment, including validity, reliability, and fairness, and differentiate between formative, summative, diagnostic, and benchmark approaches. Case examples from Aotearoa New Zealand and international settings situate assessment within wider historical, cultural, and political contexts. As a foundation for further study in assessment design, data interpretation, and evaluation, this module supports students to: (1) develop clear conceptual understanding of assessment terms and purposes; (2) examine how data inform teaching and system accountability; (3) identify ethical, cultural, and contextual considerations; and (4) reflect on their own developing assessment literacy. EPSY696 equips educators and educational leaders to become thoughtful, informed users of assessment - not just as technical processes, but as contextually grounded and ethically responsible practices.