The Assessment Purpose Triangle: Balancing the Purposes of Educational Assessment

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of the assessment purposes triangle to illustrate the balancing of purposes that needs to be considered in assessment for educational quality. The triangle is a visual aid for stakeholders making value judgments about equitable resource allocation in an environment of scarcity. This article argues that each of the three basic purposes of assessment, assessment to support learning; assessment for accountability; assessment for certification, progress, and transfer need to enjoy appropriate attention to support quality education. Accountability and certification, progress, and transfer are inherently high stakes due to systemic pressures such as institutional funding, accreditation with various bodies, legislative requirements, national and international competition, and public and media pressure. It is thus likely that resources will be diverted to these purposes from the lower stakes assessment to support learning. This article illustrates the inherent dangers of over-emphasizing certain purposes to the detriment of others in any educational system. It also discusses the power inherent in assessment and argues for a harnessing of this power for quality education through catering for the three basic assessment purposes in an equitable manner. All actors in an educational system should be cognizant of the goals of the education system as a whole when developing and engaging with assessment. This article provides a conceptual tool for stakeholders in educational assessment to engage with these goals when considering the allocation of appropriate resources to each of the assessment purposes.

Challenges of remote assessment in higher education in the context of COVID-19: a case study of Middle East College

“…As a means of accountability, international and national comparative and benchmark would also be established to get credibility. Assessment can also serve the purpose of offering certificate for learning of the intended outcomes, guaranteeing progress and transfer (Archer, 2017 ).…”

Assessment in education: Current trends, problems and contradictions (review of scientific publications)

“…Подчеркивая, что достижение различных целей оценки требует зачастую процедур, существенно отличающихся друг от друга, P. E. Newton [16] выделил и охарактеризовал 18 целей образовательного оценивания. E. Archer [17], проанализировав ряд статей, разбивает множество целей на три группы: оценивание для обеспечения подотчетности; оценивание с целью выявления прогресса в обучении или сертификации выпускника; оценивание для поддержки обучения. При этом общую цель оценки автор усматривает в помощи «всем заинтересованным сторонам увидеть более широкую образовательную картину и определить срочность и важность распределения ресурсов в соответствии с текущими потребностями образовательных систем» [17, с.…”

Assessment Practices in Multi-modal Learning: A Case Analysis of Higher Education Contexts During Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa

“…Even though the lens and context through which assesments are currently being viewed is brand new and uncharted, it is important to recognise that, where possible, explorations of the viability of pre-existing theory on assessment are necessary for guidance and operationalisation within the current challenging environment. Archer (2017) offers one such possibility via his suggested assessment purpose triangle which illustrates the critical factors that are required for successful educational assessments. The triangle posits that assessment has three fundamental purposes which are: (i) assessment to support learning; (ii) assessment for accountability; and (iii) assessment for certification, progress, and transfer.…”

“…These need to enjoy appropriate attention to support quality education. Archer's (2017) triangle can be operationalised within the Covid-19 context to highlight the range of resulting impacts on assessment functions. The Critical Incident-Moderated Assessment framework, in Figure 6.1 below, offers a diagrammatic representation of how traditional assessment purposes in higher education have been affected by Covid-19.…”