THE COMFORT OF COMPETENCE AND THE UNCERTAINTY OF ASSESSMENT

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Abstract

This article argues that a probabilistic interpretation of competence can provide the basis for a link between assessment, teaching and learning, curriculum resources and policy development. Competence is regarded as a way of interpreting the quality of performance in a coherent series of hierarchical tasks. The work of Glaser is combined with that of Rasch and Vygotsky. When assessment performance is reported in terms of competence levels, the score is simply a code for a level of development and helps to indicate Vygotsky's zone of proximal development where the student is ready to learn.

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Patrick Griffin is the Director of the Assessment Research Centre and the Deputy Dean of Education at the University of Melbourne. He specialises in item response modelling and criterion referenced assessment frameworks and their links to instructional strategies.

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    Patrick Griffin is the Director of the Assessment Research Centre and the Deputy Dean of Education at the University of Melbourne. He specialises in item response modelling and criterion referenced assessment frameworks and their links to instructional strategies.

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