Competency-based Assessment: Evidence-based Insights and Strategies for Educators

This book is a practical, evidence-based guide for educators at all levels on how to assess and promote student learning, broadening teachers’ understanding of assessment. Balancing assessment with the development and promotion of student learning can be a significant challenge for teachers.

This book provides the content, as well as practical guidance, to support educators in developing their understanding of assessment from task-driven, domain-bound content knowledge, towards the assessment of complex competencies. Supported by research, but not overwhelmed by it, the book provides practical strategies that can be applied in the classroom. The pedagogical structure of the book encourages self-guided learning, with each chapter providing opportunities for reflection to facilitate planning and goal setting, as well as quotes and vignettes from students and teachers highlighting their experiences of and perspectives on assessment.

This book is a great resource for practising educators and postgraduate students who want to improve their understanding of assessment, implement it more effectively and support better outcomes for their students.

Kate Lafferty is a Lecturer within the School of Education at La Trobe University. Kate is an experienced teacher, having worked across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors for over 24 years as both a generalist teacher and Gifted Education specialist and taught at the postgraduate level at Monash University. She has delivered numerous professional development sessions and presented at international conferences.

Melissa Barnes is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching in the School of Education at La Trobe University. Her teaching focus and research interests are situated within the fields of teacher education, pedagogy, assessment, policy and English language learning. Melissa is trained as both a primary school and an English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher and has taught in schools in the US, Germany, Vietnam, Brunei and Australia.