Two Models of Educational Assessment: a response from initial teacher education: if the cap fits …

This paper is supportive of the judgemental model of assessment posited by Hager & Butler (1996) and is a twofold response. First, it examines the underpinning principles of assessment and testing theory on which their paper is based. Whilst the judgemental model of assessment is not based on the traditional notions of validity and reliability, as in classical test theory, it nevertheless does take account of and is built on appropriate conceptions of these two fundamental principles of any instrument of assessment. It is the concomitant and necessary shift in perceptions of these underlying principles that give support for Hager & Butler's justification for a judgemental model of assessment as that which is appropriate for the assessment of workplace performance. Second, it supports the application of the judgemental model to workplace performance by considering a pertinent area, that of a postgraduate certificate in initial teacher education.