New directions for ipsative assessment and personal learning gain

Abstract

Conclusions to edited collections often revisit the themes and aims of the book and this chapter follows this protocol even employing direct quotations from the case studies. Ipsative assessment can motivate students to take a long-term view of learning, promote self-regulatory learning while personal and cohort learning gain data can help teachers make decisions about teaching methods and evaluate learning, perhaps with the assistance of digital technology. It is clear that successful ipsative assessment is recorded in detail, is consistently applied over time and needs to be acceptably combined with competitive assessment. There are some unanswered questions for future work such as how to deal with issues of reliability and who should have access to personal learning data. The book closes with a realistic yet optimistic look to the future for ipsative assessment and measurement of personal learning gain.