Anthea Hollist is Head of Qualifications and Assessment for University of the Arts, London, as well as current student of the Cambridge Postgraduate Advanced Certificate in Educational Assessment. We spoke with Anthea about her ‘assessment identity’, the challenges of creating “engaging and meaningful” performance based assessments, and how assessment study has given her “the language to talk about assessment with confidence.”
Could you tell us about how you came to work in assessment?
“To be honest I sort of fell into the world of assessment. It really wasn't something I knew much about! What I was interested in was research and education. My BA dissertation explored the factors that affected Black Girls' achievement in secondary school and my MA focused on exploring first year students' transition from college to Higher Education.
When I left academia and started working, I chose to work for organisations that combined my love of research with my interest in education. One of the companies that I worked for was a standard setting body responsible for the creation of apprenticeships, national occupational standards, and qualifications in subjects such as business admin, customer service, management and leadership. This was my first real taste of assessment, where I was responsible for specifying which method and mode of assessments were appropriate for each unit we created.
I then moved to another organisation, where I was the Head of Course Development for a Health and Safety training provider and was responsible for the development and maintenance of course content as well as the production of online courses and their assessments. This taught me a lot about making sure that the course content aligned with the syllabus, as well as designing accessible qualifications.
Finally, I moved to the organisation where I am now. I started off as the Qualifications Manager, designing and developing a range of creative arts qualifications and assessment for progression to higher education, and now I am the Head of Qualifications and Assessment.”
Could you tell us about your current role at the University of the Arts London? What have you learnt about the assessment of art and creative practice in this post?
“As Head of Qualifications and Assessment, I’m responsible for leading on and overseeing the design and development of all qualifications and assessments, across the organisation.
The role is hugely rewarding and yet is not without its challenges!
There seems to be a drive from policy makers for external assessments in the form of traditional exams, regardless of the subject area or constructs needed to be assessed. This I think is especially problematic for creative arts assessment, which is essentially a form of performance-based assessment and requires the assessment of declarative and procedural knowledge in a manner that is engaging and meaningful for students.
I personally think the best way to assess this subject area is through authentic assessment, testing students' abilities in situations that resemble as close to the real-world situations in which they would actually use them. This is an approach that is valued by students, higher education and the industry, and I think is more likely to produce outcomes that are more likely to reflect students actual abilities.
What I'd like to see is more evidence and research into the value and validity of this type of assessment, and why it has a place alongside more traditional means of assessment.”
Why did you decide to embark on the Postgraduate Advanced Certificate? What are your key takeaways from the course so far?
“After years of learning on the job, trial by fire, and taking a few Cambridge short courses, I wanted to take a more robust qualification that would not only put me in contact with other likeminded individuals but would give me the language to talk about assessment with confidence.
This qualification has been great, it has given me a real theoretical grounding into the principles and most importantly the practice of assessment design. There has been a real challenge to my own thinking and ways of doing things, in a way that is both constructive and developmental.
The course and the other students have taught me that there is a real thirst in the assessment community to create valid, fair and reliable assessments, that give students the grades they deserve."
How has your view of your own ‘assessment identity’ evolved?
"I feel like there has been a real shift in my assessment identity because of the recent furore about whether assessments can be trusted, the resurgence of interest in digital assessment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ever-changing educational policy landscape in the UK, to name but a few.
I think we are now working in a time where there is heightened interest in assessment, and therefore my job is not just to ensure my organisation designs fair, valid and reliable assessments, but also to become a bit of an educator/spokesperson by explaining how assessments work to non-specialists in a way that is easy to understand and provides confidence in its outcomes.
Despite working in and around assessment for a while, I'd never considered myself as an assessment practitioner. But I think doing the course has been validating, in so much as it has given me the language of assessment and the space and time to engage with key debates in assessment practice, so that I feel confident in my craft. It also has ensured that I don't get stagnant, but continue to look for ways to improve assessments for all types of students.”
This discussion first appeared in Perspectives on Assessment, the Cambridge Assessment Network member newsletter, which features key voices from the assessment community along with other member-exclusive content.
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