Understanding and Applying Assessment in Education

All teachers are responsible for assessing the children they teach, and the outcomes of any assessment are important for individual learners, schools and wider education systems.

Designed as a pragmatic guide for new teachers and those training to teach, this book is your one-stop-shop for understanding assessment in schools. It covers formative and summative approaches used across primary and secondary education, supporting a balanced overview with policy examples drawn from the UK, Ireland and wider international contexts.

This updated second edition reflects recent trends in assessment and includes:

• more balanced coverage across primary and secondary age phases with a broader range of examples across curriculum subject areas
• a new chapter on the potential of digital assessment for both formative and summative purposes
• the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on assessment in general, and examinations in particular

Damian Murchan is Associate Professor in the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin.
Gerry Shiel is a Research Fellow at the Educational Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland.

Damian Murchan is Associate Professor in the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin. Formerly a teacher and principal in primary schools, he has held additional leadership positions as Head of the School of Education and Head of the School of Creative Arts in Trinity College. Involved in initial and continuing teacher education programmes for many years, he has wide experience of working with primary and second-level teachers, especially in the area of assessment. His research interests include assessment, e-learning, educational reform and professional development for teachers. Some recent projects have focused on reform of policy and practice in relation to Junior and Senior Cycle in Ireland. Damian is Vice-President of the Association for Educational Assessment-Europe and has held a number of advisory roles in relation to the development of assessment policy and practice in Ireland and internationally.

Gerry Shiel is a Research Fellow at the Educational Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland, where he is working on the evaluation of a scheme to improve language outcomes in schools in Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) areas. In the past, he has worked extensively on the development of tests of English, Irish and mathematics at primary and post-primary levels, and on national and international assessments, including the OECD’s Programme for International Assessment (PISA). He teachers a number of modules at the Institute of Education, Dublin City University and works as a consultant on assessment and evaluation for the World Bank. A former teacher, he has worked with children with special education needs and with children experiencing difficulties with literacy and numeracy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked with the State Examinations Commission in Ireland on aspects of the Leaving Certificate examination.