Making meaning of assessment policy in Australia through teacher assessment conversations

In Queensland, Australia, despite a long tradition of classroom-based assessment and scholarly assessment research, assessment for learning (AfL) has not had a distinct identity as a set of ideas within daily teacher classroom practice. Rather, the initial research by the Assessment Reform Group that sparked reform in other contexts has been accommodated into existing policies and practices. This has resulted in missed opportunities for teachers to engage in deep inquiry into the underpinning and interconnected philosophy of AfL as a suite of practices that inform ongoing teacher and student dialogue into improving learning. However, recent national assessment policy changes have disrupted curriculum planning, assessment and reporting practices and enabled renewed conversations about the role of assessment in informing classroom learning. This chapter focuses on the first phase of AfL classroom practice that involved developing shared teacher understanding of assessment standards. We suggest that this dialogue about standards at the beginning of the teaching semester is a necessary precursor to informed teaching that involves the sharing of expected standards with students, and is an opportunity for teachers to engage with the philosophy of AfL.