The authentic performance-based assessment of problem-solving

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that developments in cognitive theories of problem solving, and in assessment, measurement and reporting, can form the basis of valid assessments of problem solving performance. A further purpose was to investigate the relationship between demonstrated problem solving performance and learning within a course. A new approach to the assessment of problem solving has been developed. This approach is embodied in an assessment tool, the problem solving assessment instrument, and in the method of its administration. The instrument was trialled in this study.

The assessment was performance based, evidence based and criterion based. The task of both the learner and the assessor was to interpret the evidence against specified performance levels for each process indicator that is described in the problem solving assessment instrument.

Chapter one of the report introduces the context in which the trial of the problem solving assessment instrument was conducted. Chapter two contains the extensive literature review. In chapter three the methods used in the study are described and evaluated. The analysis of the data was necessarily technical, and its details are presented in chapter four. A discussion of the results of the study, including the implications for policy makers and practitioners, follows in chapter five.

Finally, chapter six contains the findings of the study. The problem solving assessment instrument was shown to be a reliable instrument for the assessment of problem solving performance across a range of tasks within the Electronics and Information Technology program at Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE. The instrument was also shown to work well in a validation study undertaken in the Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training course, also at Torrens Valley Institute. The assessment processes that were employed in trialling the problem solving assessment instrument, which involved both self assessment and lecturer validation, not only led to the assessment of the key competency of problem solving, but also to its development among participants. A strong relationship was found between problem solving performance and educational achievement in the units of competency that students undertook.

Several suggestions were made for the further development of the problem solving assessment instrument and for the extension of the methods used in the project to other generic skills domains. These include: that more extensive trials of the problem solving assessment instrument and its associated assessment processes be conducted in a wider range of courses and with a greater number of participants; that the problem solving assessment instrument be revised on the basis of feedback from further trials with diverse samples of learners; that other key competencies assessment instruments be developed using the methodology that gave rise to the problem solving assessment instrument; that robust analytical techniques, such as those employed in this project, be used to ascertain the number of performance levels that can be discriminated for each of the key competencies that are to be assessed; and that forms of reporting based upon robust analytical procedures of reliable data be developed to better inform all stakeholders of the key competencies achievements of VET sector graduates.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that developments in cognitive theories of problem solving, and in assessment, measurement and reporting, can form the basis of valid assessments of problem solving performance. A further purpose was to investigate the relationship between demonstrated problem solving performance and learning within a course. A new approach to the assessment of problem solving has been developed. This approach is embodied in an assessment tool, the problem solving assessment instrument, and in the method of its administration. The instrument was trialled in ...  [+] Show more