Teachers’ Professional Judgment in the Context of Collaborative Assessment Practice

Abstract

This chapter examines teachers’ professional judgment in the context of collaborative practices of summative assessment. It adopts theoretical perspectives drawn from research on teacher collaboration and from work on situated cognition in classrooms and in professional communities of practice. A framework is proposed for analyzing four facets of teacher collaboration in summative assessment: the dynamics, scale, object(s) and aim(s) of collaboration. This framework is used to present findings from research on teachers’ assessment practices: a study conducted with Grade 6 teachers in Geneva, Switzerland, and a study involving secondary teachers (Year 8) in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Findings are compared and implications are presented for actions that could promote teacher collaboration in summative assessment, through professional development, collaborative research and social moderation activities. Directions for future research are briefly considered.