WEBVTT 00:00:00.620 --> 00:00:05.840 Thank you, Bernard. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues. 00:00:06.860 --> 00:00:29.100 It is a great honor for me to be invited, and for the second time, to share some reflections with you this morning about the relationship between assessments and curricula in, as I can see, this relationship in different countries 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:31.320 and educational systems. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.960 I feel that the various educational systems, 00:00:38.040 --> 00:00:41.360 although they are largely different, 00:00:41.900 --> 00:00:43.440 and just inside Europe, 00:00:44.360 --> 00:00:47.200 educational systems are very different, 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:53.080 I feel they are nevertheless confronted by the same problems 00:00:53.080 --> 00:00:57.220 because of similar reasons, indeed. 00:00:57.220 --> 00:01:15.300 Among these similar problems, as Simmons said, the link between assessments and curricula and the place to be accorded to assessments within educational systems. 00:01:15.300 --> 00:01:23.300 International comparison is relevant and I feel somehow a key issue, 00:01:23.300 --> 00:01:29.300 although I have no time now to elaborate on that point. 00:01:29.300 --> 00:01:48.300 On one hand it is increasingly necessary for students as well as for our organizations I mean the ministries the agencies and the various bodies to compare the qualifications between the countries 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:54.360 to evaluate the equivalence between the various examinations from various countries, 00:01:54.360 --> 00:02:03.220 and on the other hand, a large part of what I would call our educational sovereignties 00:02:03.220 --> 00:02:08.780 are embedded in the ways we assess students. 00:02:09.600 --> 00:02:12.860 How could one compare the incomparable? 00:02:14.480 --> 00:02:18.560 Nevertheless, as you know, some international surveys, 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:22.660 although with the best intentions, do compare. 00:02:22.660 --> 00:02:25.680 maybe sometimes meaninglessly 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:30.760 as it was an idea suggested in Professor David Bridge's paper 00:02:30.760 --> 00:02:34.880 the different kinds of 00:02:34.880 --> 00:02:37.600 relationships between assessment and curriculum 00:02:37.600 --> 00:02:42.820 could be classified into two main 00:02:42.820 --> 00:02:46.900 categories, the second one being itself further 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:50.620 subdivided. Situation one 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:57.620 Assessing and writing the curriculum are two separate functions in the system, 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:02.620 between which there should be a total coherence. 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:05.620 However, it is often not the case. 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:13.740 I have some illustrations from my own country as well as from developing countries. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:18.900 I would say that this situation is not very relevant for us today, 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:26.140 as it is easy to comment that there is some absurdity and unfairness, for instance, 00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:32.400 in changing the curriculum without modifying the ways students are assessed. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:35.220 Situation two. 00:03:36.260 --> 00:03:39.440 There is a relationship between the two functions, 00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:50.200 but in this situation there is one, as I said, there is one subdivision depending on the type of curriculum being referred to. 00:03:51.420 --> 00:04:01.700 There is a situation in which the curriculum is defined as a strict and uniform reference point. 00:04:02.660 --> 00:04:06.100 One might imagine it would be easy to assess it. 00:04:06.100 --> 00:04:20.300 This kind of link between curriculum and assessment is appreciated, at least at first sight, by the parents and sometimes the students. 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:27.240 The game seems clear, but it's appreciated by our ministers. 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:32.240 One can easily see in a context of accountability 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.240 the possible efficiency of the school system 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:39.240 as a whole or of an individual school as well. 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:43.240 It is also appreciated by the countries themselves 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:54.380 who expect that the bodies which make international comparisons will share the same idea about curriculum and give them a good ranking 00:04:56.260 --> 00:05:00.540 In the second situation, the curriculum is defined 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:05.540 as a more complex object, referring to things 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:09.160 that cannot always all be assessed 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:11.280 through the standardized tests. 00:05:11.280 --> 00:05:35.580 things which need to take into account large competences, to take into account, up to a certain extent, the variety of the educational experiences of the students, to take into account the actual learning outcomes constructed by them. 00:05:35.580 --> 00:06:00.280 In this case, for instance, obviously a form of regulated continuous assessment or a form of school-made tests, such as we find in some German lender or in some Italian examinations, are among the best solutions amongst others. 00:06:00.280 --> 00:06:08.740 For people who have to deal with these issues and who have to find solutions, I mean for 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:19.620 us, it's not easy to define rules which would ensure that good assessments match good curricula. 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:27.580 I very recently had to give a report about the future of the baccalaureate, which is 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:29.900 to the French Minister of Education. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:35.540 The content of this report itself would be of no interest for you. 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:41.040 However, I have been able to borrow a few ideas from it. 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:47.240 It helped me to come to the conclusions which I will outline before you. 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:55.000 First, as far as assessments and examinations are concerned, 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.800 we ought to be prudent. 00:06:58.640 --> 00:07:02.280 We should adopt a well-balanced attitude 00:07:02.280 --> 00:07:05.760 mixing various forms of assessments. 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:09.620 No individual's education can be 00:07:09.620 --> 00:07:12.020 other than a rather complex operation 00:07:12.020 --> 00:07:15.780 and it is the same for any individual's assessment 00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:19.860 although obviously it is neither possible 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:22.400 nor desirable to assess everything. 00:07:22.400 --> 00:07:30.500 Second point, assessment is a vital part of every teacher's profession. 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:39.120 Not only because he or she has to assess he or her students, but because there are and 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:47.000 there will be more and more things that nobody else will ever be in the position to assess 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.800 than the teacher himself. 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:53.200 We have to take as many precautions 00:07:53.200 --> 00:07:56.460 towards continuous assessment as we take 00:07:56.460 --> 00:08:09.820 in case of written anonymous traditional tests because the continuous assessment has to develop and it will Last point we must always bear in mind 00:08:09.820 --> 00:08:17.480 that assessment is not just an internal function of education. 00:08:18.140 --> 00:08:20.740 It is the pivot between the school and the society, 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:23.260 including the economic world as a whole. 00:08:23.260 --> 00:08:34.740 Clearly, our examination systems must indicate to all the stakeholders what they measure and what they attest. 00:08:35.900 --> 00:08:43.300 It is important to continuously monitor the social impact of each evaluation. 00:08:44.060 --> 00:08:45.160 The social impact. 00:08:45.160 --> 00:09:03.240 If we want to avoid unpleasant surprises that we often observe, where there is a gap between, let's say, the initial objectives of some assessments and their unintended societal consequences, 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:11.140 An assessment is not just a mere formality to rank people, schools and nations. 00:09:11.140 --> 00:09:18.880 It must demonstrate to students, their families, the citizens and the nations themselves, 00:09:19.560 --> 00:09:28.340 not just simplistic figures of what some unthinking technocrats would call success, 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:34.240 but the richness and the diversity of school achievements. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:36.040 Thank you for your attention. 00:09:36.040 --> 00:09:41.400 Thank you.