Curriculum Profiling in Australia and United Kingdom: Some Implications for Performance-Based Assessment in the United States |
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| Abstract: | An important development in the context of recent moves toward alternative, performance-based assessment has been the emergence of curriculum profiles. These profiles are assessment tools that allow teachers to make judgments about student achievement with reference to key curriculum outcomes in different subject areas. In this article, six dimensions of curriculum profiles are identified: function-purpose, curriculum coverage, criterion referencing, validity-reliability. manageability, and interpretability. The extent to which each dimension is present in three recently developed curriculum profiling systems—the Australian National Profiles, the Victoria (Australia) Profiles, and the National Curriculum Assessment in England and Wales—is examined. This article highlights the fact that tensions exist among many of these dimensions and examines how the tensions have been addressed within each of the systems. The article concludes with a consideration of the implications of international research on curriculum profiles for the development and implementation of performance-based assessments in the United States. |
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