Inclusive Assessment: Issues and Challenges for Policy and Practice

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of inclusive assessment and discusses some key challenges around the assessment policy-practice gap. It takes a broad perspective of inclusive assessment that includes all learners and focuses on children’s rights to as well as within education. The chapter reflects the research and policy development work on assessment being undertaken internationally, and it particularly draws on the relevant work of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (the Agency). It first sets out to discuss the concepts of high quality inclusive assessment at policy, local area and school levels. It then provides a detailed account of the main policy issues and challenges that countries commonly face in the implementation of inclusive assessment and suggests ways to address these challenges. The concluding section summarises the main elements of a coherent assessment system that supports the inclusion of all learners.

Citation

Kefallinou, A. and Donnelly, V. (2016), "Inclusive Assessment: Issues and Challenges for Policy and Practice", Implementing Inclusive Education: Issues in Bridging the Policy-Practice Gap (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 209-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620160000008013