Assessment in O&O Education: Supporting O&O students in their development

Previous research indicated that providing high quality assessment in the secondary school subject of Onderzoek & Ontwerp (O&O; Research and Design) is challenging for O&O teachers. This report, therefore, aims to design a tool that supports teachers in their assessment practices. To gain deeper insight into current assessments practices in O&O, obstacles faced in assessment in O&O, quality criteria for assessment and potential solutions; interviews with O&O teachers, O&O students and university staff were conducted and a focus group session with O&O teachers was organised. Inductive thematic analysis of the responses to the interviews and the focus group resulted in three distinct purposes for assessment in O&O: (1) quality assurance, (2) motivation and (3) student development. Based on these results, it was decided to focus on the purpose of student development. This led to a reformulation of the research question to fit this direction, resulted in the design of six concept solutions. These concepts where then evaluated in two steps by two different teachers, resulting in one final design. This ‘Challenge Track’ uses the principle of ‘creating space for growth,' assessing the time and effort students invest in their development rather than the development itself.