Here's an earlier discussion on assessment. It doesn't exactly answer your question about what we provide for assessment, but does illuminate some thinking on the topic. Making of Meaning: Considering Assessment If you scan through that, you can see if some of the comments are relevant to what you're thinking about. You could add more questions or ideas on either that forum or this one... Thanks for a great question!
We've just had the privilege of a PL day with Lorna Earl, one of the seminal figures in the assessment field. She, along with others, identifies three contexts for the term
Assessment for learning
Assessment as learning
Assessment of learning
Traditionally we have administered context 3, but context 1 is rich and fruitful, and I won't be bold to summarise it. Here is one source of her material, gathered for her Tasmania tour.
Thanks for the article James,
I especially like the quote -
Mick Brookes, National Association of Head Teachers
"We surely must be able to come up with a better system than one which encourages the hot-house pressures of teaching to the test at the expense of the rest of the curriculum," he said.
Maybe our assessment is hot-house too, rather than helpful. This is the point made both forcefully and effectively by Lorna Earl.