Research Paper on Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Key Stage 3 (KS3)

1.1 Introduction to ICT and KS3

Information communications technology (ICT) has increased in complexity, accessibility and availability, and applicability to key areas of education across the past two decades with developed nations; literature ranging from scholarly studies to government operations have understood this, while they have examined optimization in both programs and ICT usage. This literature review emphasises the relationship between ICT and formative assessment, and considers the other aspects of the research question (key stage 3 (KS3), ICT and developments in KS3, and the relationship between ICT and assessment in KS3).

1.2 ICT and Formative Assessment

ICT has played a major role in education in general, as it provides both teachers and students (as well as administrative staff) with tools to improve efficiency and effectiveness, accessibility to resources and learning materials, and instruments for unique classroom activities.

While all areas of a classroom's curriculum can be influenced by ICT, the impact on formative assessment has been particularly unique and an area of concern; improvements in ICT have allowed students to be assessed in a way which improves efficiency but separates the instructor from some areas of the data. Online testing has furthered the prevalence of this area, and even areas with less concrete (and less easily graded by automated programs) topics have slowly increased in ICT assessment; Hunt, Neil, and Barnes (2007) report on the specific topic of language and formative assessment through ICT, stating "the ever increasing explosion of highly attractive multimedia resources on offer has boosted the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning of modern languages. The use of ICT to assess languages is less frequent, however, although online testing is starting to develop...speaking is inadequately served by online testing as tests currently focus primarily on receptive language skills. The implications for future successful online testing include the incorporation of interactive skills and effective formative feedback" (p. 195). Although this is only one specific topic, the potential for ICT to improve formative assessment has been taken with caution by other researchers and organizations for similar reasons, as described in greater detail in following sections.

Two years following the research of Hunt, Neil, and Barnes, Franklin, Stam, and Clayton (2009) published their three year analysis of processes and representatives from 13 European Union (EU) statistical offices (and other less powerful figures) to find that ICT continues to be a facilitator of further innovation, in areas ranging from business to educational organizations; with this, the faults of areas discussed in studies such as Hunt, Neil, and Barnes' were assumed to be the results of a lack of innovation in development and application, rather than the nature of ICT. The following year, Rodiiguez et al. questioned the impact of ICT on student attainment, claiming that concrete evidence was lacking despite two decades of progress; assessments were considered in the range of topics analysed in this research effort, while the main points of this recent analysis included "the mismatch between the methods used to measure the effects and the type of learning promoted, the absence of information regarding the specific types of ICT used, and the scarce attention paid to the monitoring and evaluation of ICT for Education (ICT4E) programs. A monitoring and evaluation scheme would provide qualitative and quantitative data to refine, adjust and improve an ICT4E project, to learn from the experience gained, and to determine whether the program has served its client communities and how it might be replicated" (p. 166). Moreover, the study found positive correlations between the effectiveness of testing and programs in control groups which had chosen to adopt such organized programs, supporting studies which claim ICT has potential for education, but it has been generally difficult for institutions to achieve this potential.

Also in 2010, Savage explained that using ICT is a main component of KS3's national curricula within the UK, and thus it has been especially challenged by the areas of concern covered across the aforementioned research. Savage (2010) assessed the availability and use of ICT, and ultimately only came to positive conclusions regarding the impact of aspects outside of assessment. Although the developments of ICT have been progressive and substantial, and the potential for improvements in education have also been positive, the impacts on assessment have been less positive and an area of concern realized by academic and non-academic institutions alike.

1.3 ICT and Developments in KS3

ICT's role in KS3 developments have been as substantial as their role in other programs within developed nations, and ICT has been implemented in formative assessments across a range of topics. Ball analysed the role of ICT in formative assessment for mathematics within KS3, and found that ICT software is best used to develop critical thinking through activities rather than effective assessment. In 2008, Mansell analysed pupils between years seven and nine in the KS3, and he also found that ICT implementations were only clearly effective outside of assessment. ICT changes are assumed to have major continued impacts on formative assessment and KS3 as a whole.

Mansell, in another piece of literature, described the repercussions of a governmental decision to change assessment policy, writing "more than two-thirds of English secondary schools have ordered key stage 3 papers this year, despite the Government's decision to axe the Sats as a statutory exam from 2009. A total of 2,207 of 3,163 schools (or 70 per cent) have ordered the assessments for 2009, with a week still to go until the deadline for requesting the tests. Of these, only 321 (10 per cent) requested the papers before the Government announced on October 15 that it was scrapping KS3 tests, suggesting that 60 per cent of schools have consciously decided to continue with the tests even though they are now voluntary. Observers have greeted the figures with surprise, although the findings follow warnings from the NASUWT teachers' union in last week's TES that many schools would retain the Year 9 exams" (Mansell, 2008b, p. 14). Later, Evans and Fisher would assess new policy initiatives responsible for altered KS3 framework regarding formative assessment, language, and teaching. Although this research effort did not lead to any unique conclusions outside of the area of language, it demonstrated the urgency for on-going research with regards to teaching and the structure of KS3.

1.4 ICT and Assessments in KS3

The research outlined in prior sections has shown the nature of ICT's impact on formative assessment, its potential in assessment in other areas, research regarding KS3 and governmental initiatives, and an introduction to governmental concerns regarding ICT and assessment. This section will explain the initiatives impacting ICT in an active attempt to alter its role in formative assessment within KS3.

In 2008 and 2009, the QCA found alarming data in KS3 Year 9 writing test data, as it discovered ICT was partially or wholly responsible for incorrect grading on nearly half of the writing tests observed, as well as a substantial portion of science tests observed. Also in the same time frame, unions began to call for the cessation of all national testing across KS3, leading to drastic changes and many critical implications for the future of ICT (QCA, 2009). The present system was criticized for being invalid, mismanaged, and damaging, and some experts felt that national sample testing was the most desirable alternative. In late 2008, England's national assessment policy would remove national tests from KS3, while research on the topic would continue in consideration of improved solutions. In a related analysis, the Education Publishing Worldwide Ltd would support the demand for continued improvements in testing structures (and also find a gap between Welsh and English performance that varied across the years of KS3).

In 2010, Lawson focused on ICT more directly, both as an individual topic and in terms of its relationship to ICT. Key points of his study included a lack of consistency in ICT assessment, a lack of understanding of this relationship in schools, inconsistency in other assessment-related practices, and the government's partially effective attempts to facilitate improved ICT assessment practices.

1.5 Summary

Clearly, the potential for ICT to impact formative assessment remains great, however, academia has been limited by inconsistency and ineffective aspects of practice. KS3, meanwhile, has been generally troubled by testing in the past few years, while the government has attempted to facilitate improvements. There is a clear demand for improvements in ICT, formative assessment, and research and data for any related topic.

References

Ball, B. (2007), 'Knowing the Answers', Mathematics Teaching Incorporating Micromath, no. 200, pp. 17-18.

Education Publishing Worldwide Ltd. (2010), 'Welsh children falling behind English pupils by KS3', Education, no. 399, p. 4.

Evans, M. and Fisher, L., 'Translating Policy into Practice: The Impact of the KS3 Framework for MFL on Language Teaching and Learning in Schools in England', Research Papers in Education, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 479-493.

Franklin, M., Stam, P., and Clayton, T. (2009), 'ICT impact assessment by linking data', Economic & Labour Market Review, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 18-27.

Hunt, M., Neill, S., and Barnes, A. (2007), 'The use of ICT in the assessment of modern languages: the English context and European viewpoints', Educational Review, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 195-213.

Lawson, M. (2010), 'An Investigation Into The Process Of Teacher Assessment Of ICT Capability In A Sample Of Schools In The North West Of England', [Online]

Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield.

Mansell, W. (2008), 'KS3 goes fully functional', Times Educational Supplement, no. 4801, p. 21.

Mansell, W. (2008b), 'Tests still in demand despite their KS3 demise', Times Educational Supplement, no. 4817, p. 14.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (2009), 'Policy and research seminar on National Assessment Arrangements for Key Stage 3', [Online] The Nuffield Foundation.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) (2009), 'Huge marking inaccuracies revealed during KS3 test study', Education, no. 348, p. 1.

Rodiiguez, P., Nussbaum, M., Lopez, X., and Sepúlveda, M. (2010), 'A Monitoring and Evaluation Scheme for an ICT-Supported Education Program in Schools', Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 166-179.

Savage, J. (2010), 'A survey of ICT usage across English secondary schools', Music Education Research, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 89-104.