Abstract

This presentation is based upon an empirical paper that sets one particular form of national assessment against the wider picture of what teachers say they set out to achieve for their pupils during school. This starts with the collection of teachers’ attitudes towards assessment that return the range of where teachers see themselves in terms of meeting their own definitions of students’ needs. Next, these attitudes inform on whether satisfactory achievement of any overall teaching mission (Korthagen, 2004) is seen as possible or not. Although the work here reflects what is happening in Kazakhstan, it has more general standing in challenging how nationally imposed assessment policies affect professionals that may or may not find certain tests or examinations in concordance with their personal schema of a fair and appropriate assessment mechanism. The dataset upon which the research paper is based uses data collected in two phases: first application of a survey to teachers undergoing a professional development programme (Jan 2014); and reapplication of the survey in mainstream secondary schools in three regions in Kazakhstan (Feb-May 2014). Conclusions upon harmony and disharmony of teacher mission with national assessment are presented along with recommendations towards achieving better alignment of the two.