Immigration has dramatically increased in recent years; meeting and satisfying the demands of a diverse multicultural classroom is taxing educators at all levels of the Irish educational spectrum as well as across Europe and internationally. The theory of culturally responsive assessment suggests that ethnic minorities may suffer discrimination through the modes of assessment of learning. The effects can be particularly significant when the assessment tests knowledge, competence and ability at a point of transition which determines future life path or a rite of passage. Instead of a “one-fits-all” mentality ACRAS wants to develop methods of culturally responsive assessment which allow for differentiation and the contextualisation of learning in a culturally appropriate manner. Strategies which have previously been proposed for creating culturally responsive assessment include using locally validated formative assessments (Tichá & Abery, 2016), the addition of creativity assessments (see Kim & Zabelina, 2015) or utilising multiple methods of assessment to provide additional opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; Qualls, 1998). Yet no study, domestically or internationally, looks at the various strategies teachers use to integrate cultural responsivity into their student assessments and compare the relative merit of these strategies. As such, using a collaborative approach including a number of European HEIs, ACRAS will endeavour to develop a conceptual framework of best practice in educational assessment for minority and migrant students as well as supportive strategies (presented as a toolkit) to incorporate culturally responsive assessment in educators’ practice. The first phase will include an initial exploratory survey in primary and post-primary schools (n≈120/country) to explore methods of assessment and any accommodations/differentiation used by educators for assessing migrant students. This initial survey will target the teachers and/or headteachers of these schools (n=480). Following the survey, approximately 12 schools per country will be chosen to participate in a case study. The case study will seek to elicit the experiences of all stakeholders (e.g. Principals, Class teachers, Students, Parents) using a multi-method approach (e.g. interviews, assessment biography). The case studies will aim to involve 4,224 participants across the four countries. Based on the findings from the surveys and case studies, common strategies and pitfalls of assessment will be identified and collated into a conceptual framework of best practice in culturally responsive assessment. Based on the conceptual framework a toolkit will be established for educators. This toolkit will be piloted and, following alterations, externally evaluated. The toolkit has a potential legacy of at least 500 teachers (approximately 100 per year over 5 years) who complete Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Profession Development Courses in the Primary programme institution. These 500 teachers will be able to use the toolkit to influence the trajectory of their students' learning for years to come resulting in a potential impact of 5,000 minority and/or migrant students.
Aiding Culturally Responsive Assessment in Schools (ACRAS) is a three-year pan-European project (2016-2019) which focused on developing culturally responsive assessment at school. Defined as ‘assessment that utilises strategies to acknowledge and respect learners’ cultural backgrounds and approaches to learning as they strive for academic success”, this project has yielded results indicating that framework to ensure culturally responsive assessment is feasible. The project consortium consists of researchers from four different institutions (Johannes Kepler University in Austria, Dublin City University in Ireland, University of Oslo in Norway and Cankiri Karatekin University in Turkey) whose countries have complementary, albeit different migrant background populations. This combination of strong traditions of emigration combined with the current increased migrations rates experienced by countries across Europe adds strength to this consortium’s ability to develop culturally responsive assessment for schools that are suitable for Europe. ACRAS activities were divided into the following 8 domain areas with the objective of increasing understanding of national contexts so as to improve school assessments. These domains were: 1. Assessment 2. Information 3. Framework 4. Case Studies 5. Surveys 6. Toolkit 7. Evaluation 8. Final Report The research undertaken during this project yielded many outputs, each of which have had positive impact in disseminating the results of the ACRAS project. These include: the multiple academic papers, which were presented as numerous invited conference presentations, globally; the website, available in English, German, Turkish and Norwegian, for continuous information about the project; School Surveys which ensured that schools were placed at the heart of all research activities; Conceptual Framework, which provides guidance for future researchers to build on the activities of ACRAS; Case-Studies, which demonstrates the principles of the conceptual framework as well as the toolkit and pilot study which have been integrated into initial teacher education and CPD programmes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project’s activities. Translation of outputs has been at the heart of this project to maximize the dissemination of the project’s outputs. In terms of longer-term benefits, the toolkit will be utilised within a Module on designing culturally responsive assessment for Initial Teacher Education and CPD courses within the primary partner organisation. In addition the website will remain live with the toolkit available in each language for anyone to use. By publishing a series of peer reviewed articles in academic journals will make the findings from ACRAS available for future researchers to reference, critique and elaborate on as they see fit within other cultural contexts. The videos created for the project are available on Youtube and the publication of outputs on researchgate will also prove as a useful long term resource and also as a catalyst for further discussion and educational change within other European contexts beyond the end of the EU funding.