This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the evaluation of the arts within performance-based research funding systems (PRFSs). Previous literature on PRFSs has overlooked the arts and focussed primarily on outputs in relation to the sciences and humanities. We develop a typology of how artistic outputs are evaluated within 10 countries'…

Creative assessments hold the potential to counter outcome-oriented and utilitarian approaches to teaching, characteristic of neoliberal academia. This paper explores the potentialities of digital stories as one form of creative assessment that may help rupture normative ways of teaching-learning and engaging with affective pedagogies. The authors…

Assessment News outlines findings from an investigation of inequalities in the current use of special assessment conditions (SAC) in NCEA assessments, along with rising demand for their use. The research also explored the potential of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to help improve assessment accessibility, and to reduce the overall demand for…

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted some traditional assessment practices and drawn attention to the range of evidence students produce in their day-to-day learning. In this edition of Assessment News, Charles Darr and Rosemary Hipkins argue that using this evidence to make sound summative judgements requires a robust understanding of what it…

In this paper we examine the history and development of internal assessment practices at a university in New Zealand. The work re-visits the 'assessment arms race' study and builds upon the key arguments presented so far. It was discovered that student demand in the early 1970s triggered the introduction of internal assessment and workloads…

The New Zealand Government has announced a change package in response to a recent review of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA). In this article, Charles Darr, a chief researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, outlines several elements of standards-based assessment that can usefully inform NCEA's…

With the upcoming review of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and the removal of National Standards, it is time to reconsider how we approach assessment. In this edition of Assessment News I argue that it is time to put assessment for learning (AfL) and the assessment-capable teacher and student "front and…

This article critiques international assessment of adult literacy using research findings from students completing a Maori tourism certificate who achieved significant gains in assessment. It is argued that the focus of literacy assessments potentially forces educators to narrow their teaching and learning approaches, manoeuvring them into…

Whereas research on children's well-being in education has largely focused on adult perspectives rather than on children's understandings, recent scholarship argues for a stronger focus on children's experience and perceptions of their own well-being. Adopting a narrative approach, this article puts children's stories centre stage as we explore a…

In 2008, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), responsible for the quality assurance of all qualifications, embarked on a review of all qualifications between Levels 1 and 6 on the 10-level National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The review process mandated the reviewed qualifications to be founded on outcome statements of graduate…

This paper offers an overview of complexities of the contexts for education in Aotearoa, which include the need to recognise and include Maori (Indigenous) perspectives, but also to extend this inclusion to the context of increasing ethnic diversity. These complexities include the situation of worsening disparities between rich and poor which…

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is an important risk factor for skin cancer. The Global Solar Ultraviolet Index (UVI) was developed as a tool to visualize the amount of harmful radiation and to encourage people to use sun protection. We conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness of the UVI. We employed a comprehensive search strategy to…

In line with international trends, assessment policies and practices have increased in importance in New Zealand over the last two decades. The focus in this article is on examining the contested nature of the development of an assessment culture in New Zealand--one that meets the needs of the government by providing information on school…

Romania's education system has made impressive strides over the past two decades, with an increasing share of students mastering the basic competencies that they need for life and work. But these average improvements mask significant disparities in learning outcomes and attainment, with an increasing share of students leaving education early…

The Zephyr[TM] BioHarness[TM] (Zephyr Technology, Auckland, New Zealand) is a wireless physiological monitoring system that has the ability to measure respiratory rate unobtrusively. However, the ability of the BioHarness[TM] to accurately and reproducibly determine respiratory rate across a range of intensities is currently unknown. The aim of…