OECD Education Working Papers No. 83 Assessment for Qualification and Certification in Upper Secondary Education: A Stefanie Dufaux Review of Country Practices and Research Evidence https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k92zp1cshvb-en Unclassified EDU/WKP(2012)20 Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 04-Sep-2012 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ English - Or. English DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION Unclassified EDU/WKP(2012)20 ASSESSMENT FOR QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION IN UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF COUNTRY PRACTICES AND RESEARCH EVIDENCE OECD Education Working Paper No. 83 by Stefanie Dufaux This paper was prepared by Stefanie Dufaux, who joined the OECD Directorate for Education in September 2010 as a Carlo Schmid Fellow, and worked as a Consultant in the Education and Training Policy Division until July 2011. This paper is part of the work undertaken by the OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes. The OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes is designed to respond to the strong interest in evaluation and assessment issues evident at national and international levels. The overall purpose is to explore how systems of evaluation and assessment can be used to improve the quality, equity and efficiency of school education. The Review looks at the various components of assessment and evaluation frameworks that countries use with the objective of improving student outcomes. These include student assessment, teacher appraisal, school assessment and system evaluation. More information is available at: www.oecd.org/edu/evaluationpolicy. Contacts: Ms. Deborah Nusche [Tel: +33(0) 1 45 24 78 01; e-mail: [email protected]] and Mr. Paulo Santiago [Tel: +33(0) 1 45 24 84 19; e-mail: [email protected]]. English - Or. 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Comment on the series is welcome, and should be sent to [email protected]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.oecd.org/edu/workingpapers -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright OECD 2012 2 EDU/WKP(2012)20 ABSTRACT Within the policy field of student assessment, the assessment of students for qualification and certification in upper secondary education has special importance since key decisions for the progression of students may be taken on the basis of assessment results. Students in most OECD countries face increased specialisation in upper secondary education and high stakes are associated to their performance when assessment results are used as a criterion for selection, both for access to higher education and other educational programmes and for access to the labour market. On the basis of research findings and country practices, this paper describes key features of assessment for qualification and certification in upper secondary education and discusses issues regarding its design and implementation. RÉSUMÉ Dans le domaine de l’évaluation des élèves, les évaluations pour qualification et l’obtention d’un diplôme au deuxième cycle de l’enseignement secondaire ont une importance particulière puisque des décisions clés sur la progression des élèves peuvent être prises sur la base des résultats d’évaluation. Les élèves dans la plupart des pays de l’OCDE font face à une spécialisation accrue au deuxième cycle de l’enseignement secondaire et à des enjeux élevés associés à leurs performances, lorsque les résultats d’évaluation peuvent être utilisés comme critère de sélection à la fois pour l’accès à l’enseignement supérieur et autres programmes d’éducation, et au marché du travail. Dans ce rapport, les caractéristiques principales des évaluations pour qualification et l’obtention d’un diplôme au deuxième cycle de l’enseignement secondaire, ainsi que les thématiques associées à leurs conceptions et mises en œuvre sont présentées à la lumière des résultats de la recherche et des pratiques nationales. 3 EDU/WKP(2012)20 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 5 2. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................... 7 3. KEY FEATURES OF UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION INFLUENCING STUDENT ASSESSMENT AT THIS LEVEL ............................................................................................................. 8 3.1 Pathways for certification ...................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Individualisation of certification ......................................................................................................... 11 4. DESIGN AND GOVERNANCE OF ASSESSMENT FOR QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION .................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Purposes of assessment for qualification and certification .................................................................. 13 4.2 Sharing of responsibilities for assessment for qualification and certification ..................................... 15 5. PROCEDURES FOR ASSESSMENT FOR QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION .................... 18 5.1 The role of standards in qualification frameworks in upper secondary education .............................. 18 5.2 Continuous versus end-point assessment ............................................................................................ 20 5.3 Formats of assessment for qualification and certification ................................................................... 27 5.4 Grading issues at upper secondary level ............................................................................................. 28 6. USE OF RESULTS................................................................................................................................... 35 6.1 Entrance to higher education ............................................................................................................... 35 6.2 Entrance to the labour market ............................................................................................................. 35 7. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 36 ANNEX I – CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT FOR QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION IN UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION .................................................................... 37 ANNEX II – EXAMPLES OF COUNTRY APPROACHES....................................................................... 38 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 44 4 EDU/WKP(2012)20 1. INTRODUCTION 1. Upper secondary education is characterised by increased subject specialisation and the preparation of students for their future professional or educational career. The purpose of summative assessment at this level of education is therefore a very specific one: it records students’ achievement and certifies abilities to the labour market and further education institutions. As a result, certification has a crucial impact on students’ future career opportunities. 2. Assessment for qualification and certification refers to the testing of students for the official recognition of their competencies. A qualification relies on defined standards of achievements, set by a responsible institution (OECD, 2007). These defined standards are usually embedded into a qualification framework, meaning a rank order of several qualification levels (OECD, 2010a). Awarding a qualification is thus an official recognition of a student’s achievements by a competent body. In a further step,