A national teacher-managed, curriculum-based assessment system: Assessment tools for teaching and learning (asTTle)

Abstract

The Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle) project has released a computer software package that enables teachers to assess student progress in reading, writing, and mathematics in both English and Maori. The asTTle tool enables teachers to interpret student progress and obtain resources for further teaching. asTTle has been developed within a teacher-managed system of national testing that builds on teachers’ conceptions of assessment. This paper will review improvement-oriented principles of national assessment, discuss how these relate to New Zealand primary school teachers’ conceptions of assessment, and describe how the asTTle tool allows teachers to design assessments, analyse reports, and obtain resources to improve the quality of their teaching and their students’ learning.