Master of Education (Educational Assessment)

Full-time

Minimum

1 year

Maximum

2 years

Part-time

Minimum

2 years

Maximum

4 years

Course Descriptors

MAX901 Assessment Principles and Methods (4 AUs)
A foundational knowledge of measurement and assessment in education is requisite to the MEd (Educational Assessment) specialization. This course introduces participants to the general process of educational assessment and the key concepts, principles, and techniques of assessment.

MAX902 Paradigms and Practices of Assessment (4 AUs)
This course seeks to provide strong fundamentals for participants to acquire a critical level of foundational assessment literacy, engage with different paradigms of knowledge, and be proficient in the application of key assessment practices. Assessment is posited as the object of study, and also as the key driver for designing the structure, pacing, and pitching of the course content. Participants are required to grapple with a range of assessment concepts, some of which are not literally nor easily reconcilable, and to distil a conceptual clarity from which they may interrogate their own assessment practice contexts.

MAX911 Item Response Theory (4 AUs)
The student will learn the theoretical foundation for the construction of tests and analyses of test scores. It introduces the concepts and techniques of classical test theory and item response theory. The student will: 1. Examine the use and the impact of these theories in achievement testing, large-scale testing, and comparison of student achievement across different educational and social settings. 2. Learn to use computer programmes to analyse test data. 3. Discuss applications of these theories including objective measures, detection of item- or test-bias, differential item functioning, and computerised adaptive testing.

MAX912 Theory and Assessment of Psychological Constructs (4 AUs)
 At the end of the course, students will be able to: 1. Understand the principles of affective measurement and assessment, and psychological scaling methods 2. Select published psychological scales, or to adapt or construct relevant affective measures 3. Develop a scale to assess psychological constructs.

MAX913 Programme Evaluation (4 AUs)
It is important that stakeholders are able to know if current programmes in schools and organisations are effective and are bringing about the intended outcomes as planned. Periodic monitoring is also important to ensure that the standard and quality of the programmes remain robust. This course is therefore designed to help practitioners learn the skills of programme evaluation to enable them to appraise educational, social and community programmes in their organisations in a scientific and systematic manner - one that is grounded in the science of programme evaluation. As a specialisation elective, the course caters to the interested MEd (Educational Assessment) student.

MAX914 Assessment and Development of 21st Century Competencies (4 AUs)
The 21st century is often described as a VUCA world  one that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. With new demands coming from the 21st workplace, it is thus imperative for educators in various educational institutions to develop students capacities to match the needs of the students future workplace. This thus indicates an imperative need to change the way educators craft their lessons and learning tasks so as to provide students with ample opportunities to gain authentic learning experiences and enable the transfer of relevant knowledge and skills from their classrooms to solve real world problems.

MAX921 Design of Assessment Systems (4 AUs)
Designing an assessment system that is aligned with the curricular or programme goals is essential for the MEd (Educational Assessment) graduate. A comprehensive assessment system comprises both formative and summative aspects and this course introduces participants to the general principles of assessment system design. Participants also examine the relation between assessment and learning, and explore current relevant issues pertaining to assessment.

MAX922 Assessment Feedback for Improvement and Learning (4 AUs)
This course seeks to provide strong fundamentals for participants to acquire critical awareness of key issues and core tenets of instructional feedback as a key assessment practice. Feedback is discoursed as integral to pedagogy and curriculum, and posited as the primary and pervasive dialogue in which learners can identify and address their learning gaps with teachers and peers. The multi-faceted dimensions and purposes of feedback practice are presented, including feedback as pedagogy and/or partnership, and feedback for performance, receptivity, and resilience.

MAX923 Rethinking Assessment in School, for Society: Standards, Fairness, and Meritocracy (4 AUs)
This course seeks to provide a sociological perspective in analysing assessment practices globally and inSingapore, particularly in terms of educational narratives of standards, fairness, and inclusiveness.

At the end of the course, students are capable in:   

(a) situating history of assessment within emergence of modern society,

(b) exploring social roles and purposes of assessment with case studies in Singapore and elsewhere,

(c) navigating thetensions and intersections of educational standards, meritocracy, and social justice in assessment,

(d) imagining new ways of doing assessment for self-directing learning based on educative plural values.

Overall, this coursewill provide teachers with insights into why they practice assessment in the way they do and prepare them foralternative ways of imagining assessment futures for greater fairness and inclusivity.

MAX924 Theory and Practice of Authentic Assessment (4 AUs)
This course aims to provide participants with:

1) conceptual clarity on authenticity,   

2) principles for designing quality authentic assessments that yield valid information of a learners ability,

3) a critical perspective of the role of authentic assessment within Singapore's educational system.

MAX931 Practices of Certification Examinations (4 AUs)
This course focuses on the practices of developing certification or external examinations by testing agencies such as examination boards. The topics covered in the course involve test specialists roles, activities, deliverables, outcomes, and interests in the delivery of certification examinations. Across the topics, there will be emphasis on technical skills, practice philosophy, thinking and decision-making processes, ethical standards, codes of conduct, and professional responsibility. While the primary aim is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values of a test specialist in delivering certification examinations, the course may also be useful to those who work with test specialists (e.g., curriculum planners and developers, examination regulators, contractors, trainers, and services suppliers) in an effective education system. Students whose professional roles are classroom teachers may be interested to know more about the work of test specialists in test agencies.

MAX932 Assessment of Children and Youth with Special Needs (4 AUs)
The increased identification of children with special needs entails a more nuanced approach towards educational programming. The diverse profile that students with special needs requires a detailed assessment of their individual strengths and needs.

This course offers an introduction to assessment and testing of children with special needs. It combines the introduction of the theories and concepts in assessment, with evidence-based practices when assessing children.

Participants in this course will have direct experiences with screening, standardized, criterion-referenced, and behavioral assessment. Through these experiences, they will link the theories and concepts in measurement and child development with the practical guidelines, procedures, and applications.

MAX933 Assessment in the Generative AI (GAI) Age (4 AUs)
This course examines the evolving landscape of educational assessment in the age of generative AI (GAI). Rather than focusing on the technology itself, well critically analyze how GAI impacts assessment practices while upholding fundamental assessment principles. Well learn to design effective assessments that leverage GAI for personalized learning and feedback, while grounding ourselves in enduring assessment concepts. Well also investigate how GAI can uncover deeper insights from assessment data and facilitate self-directed learning. Using Selwyn's socio-technical framework, we will problematise the context, looking into the limitations, and ethical considerations of GAI in assessment, emphasizing the enduring priorities in this rapidly changing times.

MED900 Educational Inquiry (4 AUs)
This course introduces participants to the fundamental processes involved in conducting research such as formulating research questions, writing a review of the literature by synthesizing empirical studies, understanding various methodological approaches, collecting and interpreting research data. Participants in this course will have opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge and strategies needed to read, interpret, and evaluate the quality of research reports. In addition, participants will gain a critical understanding of quantitative, qualitative, and combined research approaches.

MED901 Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students (4 AUs)
This course will guide postgraduate students in studying the discourse and linguistic conventions of academic writing in their own discipline so that they can better manage the writing of their thesis/research paper. In addition to studying the discourse practices of academic writing, students will also examine the thinking processes underlying the production of those practices.

MED902 Integrative Project (2 AUs)
This capstone course requires participants to identify an education issue which forms the focus of inquiry, locate and read the most relevant literature to generate suggested potential solution to address the problem. The solution should show evidence that they are able to take the available information and restructure it in an appropriate way to deal with the issue.

MED903 Elementary Statistics for Education (4 AUs)
This course provides the MEd (Educational Assessment) graduate student with the skills and understanding of elementary statistics and their applications in the social and behavioural sciences. Basic statistical literacy is required in a critical reading of research literature and in conducting sound research. It is essential knowledge for a MEd(Educational Assessment)  graduate working in the field of educational measurement and evaluation.

MED904 Multivariate Statistics (4 AUs)
This course is designed for higher degree students who want to apply different multivariate statistical methods into applied fields such as educational measurement, experimental/quasi-experimental studies and correlational studies. The students will get hands-on experience in running SPSS and AMOS to analyze data.

MED905 Applied Regression Analysis (4 AUs)
This course is designed to equip higher degree students as well as teachers with the basic concepts and methods of regression analysis. The course will cover how regression analysis can be applied to answering research questions, in particular, in the educational context. The students will get hands-on experience in running relevant statistical software to run regression analyses to analyze data.