School Assessment in an inclusive education system – Do we measure what we value or do we value what we can measure?

Introduction to Topic

This section will explain why we have focused on school-level assessment of inclusion. We will discuss different approaches to school assessment and how they can support inclusive practice in the light of diverse understandings of inclusion across schools and countries. We will show why assessments designed and conducted by individual school communities can be particularly effective in supporting inclusive practice.

This chapter will support schools to reflect on why evaluation might support their inclusive practice, what key areas they might wish to explore, what indicators of inclusive practice might be used within particular key areas, and how effective school system assessment might be explored through an action research model. We believe teachers are “‘meaning makers’; they bring creativity and commitment” (Ball et al., 2012) to the work of envisioning, enacting and assessing inclusive practice. Our chapter will support school communities in developing forms of assessment that reflect their values of inclusion, in planning assessment that help school communities to answer questions that are important and meaningful for them (drawing on resources like the Index for Inclusion (Ainscow & Booth, 2002), the Framework for Inclusion (Scottish Universities Inclusion Group, 2022) and the many resources available through the UN and the EU in collecting and analysing useful data and – most importantly – in putting this new information to work in improving inclusive practice in schools.

Types of assessment

There are many types of assessment associated with schools, some of which are very familiar to teachers and learners, and others which can seem more distant and – perhaps – less relevant to the everyday work of teaching and learning.

Many teachers are familiar with individual level assessment. This can be assessing pupils’ attainment through formative and summative assessment, or identifying various learning differences such as dyslexia. Individual level assessment is a hugely important part of inclusive practice – how can assessment be made more accessible for individual pupils? How can identification be used equitably and fairly to support pupils’ learning? There are also some important questions about whether identification practices can reproduce existing social inequalities. For example, Holmqvist (2020) describes how identification of dyslexia was used to support the attainment of pupils in an elite school in Sweden. Likewise, some groups (particularly affluent young people) may be more likely to be identified as gifted than other equally gifted young people (Ambrose, 2013). Schools do not always find it easy to recognise high ability in all. Looking beyond the individual level of assessment could help us to recognise – and perhaps change – patterns of educational injustice.

Another form of assessment familiar in many education systems is top-down assessment, from local educational authorities or national governments. This kind of assessment can allow for schools to be compared to each other within a particular education authority or country. This kind of comparison can be very valuable when engaged in international comparisons and when considering national policies in relation to international frameworks produced by bodies such as UNESCO, but it can also have some drawbacks. There are some particular methodological challenges when attempting to assess inclusion internationally, including varying approaches to identification, assessment and support, alongside definitional differences (D’Alessio and Watkins, 2009). Even within one particular country, schools could be assessed on national measures which do not necessarily match their own local concerns or challenges. This kind of assessment can also often be quite time consuming. For example, in Scotland the “How Good Is Our School” (HGIOS) document is 69 pages long and includes 15 sections, each of which is further broken down into multiple themes, illustrations and lists of features of effective practice and challenge questions (Education Scotland, 2015). This exhaustive approach to school assessment can make quite high demands on teacher time, and consume resources which might otherwise have been used in teaching and learning. But there are also other concerns. There is a danger that top down assessment such as HGIOS can also change school community practices and even values – schools can end up focusing on meeting the demands of the external assessment and national policy rather than focusing on the enactment of their own values (Ball et al., 2012).

International assessments are one of the most prestigious forms of educational assessment, and PISA results will often make national news (Picken, 2023). For example, PISA 2018 Results (Vol. V) (2020) examines, school polices and practices in a relations to performing materials and school staff and different types of assessment.  However, there are some questions around PISA and inclusive education. PISA has historically extremely low rates of participation for young people identified as having special educational needs (SEN). LeRoy et al. (2019) report historical rates of inclusion for young people with SEN as being below 3%. The PISA rules also allow for (and even require) the exclusion of some young people (Guez et al., 2024), permitting exclusions of up to 5% of the population. These levels of exclusion are not a good match with how SEN is understood in many countries, which can lead to much higher numbers of pupils identified as having additional support needs. For example, in 2022 40.1% of Scottish secondary pupils (aged 11-18) were identified as having additional needs (Scottish Parliament Education, Children and Young People Committee, 2024).

It is also possible that some nations may inappropriately exclude large numbers of young people. PISA has many rules about how many young people can be excluded from testing, how many must be included and how many schools must respond to tests. These can be misunderstood and misapplied by testers, and results can differ from requirements without questions necessarily being raised by the OECD (Andersson & Sandgren Massih, 2023). There are also more fundamental questions which can be raised about the validity of international comparisons. Given the unique history and context, resource availability and cultural attitudes to education in different systems, is it meaningful to use the same metrics to assess them? Kamens (2013) criticises the idea that ‘a school is a school is a school’, that all schools are fundamentally the same and that the same metrics may be used to evaluate them, no matter their context.

In any case, external evaluation provides valuable data and feedback to educational institutions, which can contribute to enhancing inclusion in schools through reflective and improvement practices.

Finally, teacher evaluation is another type of evaluation taking place within school. Although models of teacher evaluation are significantly differentiated across different education systems due to diverse educational philosophies and legislation frameworks, teacher evaluation generally refers to the process of assessing the teaching effectiveness of educators that was found to be improved after evaluation procedures (Taylor & Tyler, 2012). One main objective of teacher performance evaluations is to enhance the learning experience for students, and on these premises, teachers evaluation can be used as a valuable source for identifying factors that may affect inclusion-related issues in schools such as challenges faced, need identification, and so on.

School communities and assessment

While we acknowledge that all these approaches to assessment can be very useful, we are going to focus on how school communities assess themselves and their systems in terms of inclusion. In particular, we will show how teachers can use this kind of meaningful and specific assessment to improve their inclusive practice using teacher enquiry (Alves et al., 2024). However, we are not going to dictate one form of assessment that should be used in every school as what counts as meaningful assessment – and how we understand inclusion – can vary from practitioner to practitioner, and from school to school.

We define school assessment as an enquiry undertaken by a school community to understand and improve some aspect of their practice – in this case, inclusion. School community members such as learners, teachers, families and communities will work together towards a shared understanding of an educational value, creating an environment which supports agency (Biesta et al, 2015). They will  plan and conduct an enquiry into how their practice reflects their values. The resulting information will then be used to improve inclusive practices.

The Evolving Concept of Inclusion

Although inclusion has been part of the work of schools for a long time, busy educators may not always have had time or resources to consider what inclusive practice is, and what it can look like in their school. We consider one of the most important benefits of school assessment to lie in the opportunity for school communities to consider and to discuss what inclusion is, and what it looks like in their context.

Inclusion is an evolving concept and has taken many forms in different times and in different contexts (McCulloch & Sutherland, 2018). International definitions of inclusion have exerted tremendous influence, such as the UNESCO Salamanca statement, which had its 30th birthday recently (UNESCO, 1994). The Salamanca statement proposed that all children should be educated in the same schools – schools for all – as part of a movement towards Education for All. This was in contrast to previous approaches to education for children with SEN, which had often focused on special teaching, special classes and special schools (Lewis & Norwich, 2005). Salamanca offered an educational, a social and an economic justification for inclusive schools and, along with other legislation such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006), has had a meaningful impact on how young people are educated (Ainscow et al., 2019). Another significant UN initiative is the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (UNDP, 2024), whose 17 ambitious goals underline a commitment that everyone is included, and no one is left behind. Understanding this international context can be tremendously useful for schools as they interpret their own national and local policy.

The European Union has also shown a long term commitment to inclusive education, including both policy commitments and support and guidance. For example, the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2024) offers support for members on how to implement and assess inclusive education. The European Commission also offers detailed support for policy makers and governments who are interested in using school self-evaluation alongside top-down school assessment to support inclusive practices (European Commission & Directorate-General for Education, 2020).

As well as looking at definitions and guidance from international organisations, school communities may explore other resources to help establish their understanding of inclusion. One important tool is the Index for Inclusion (Ainscow & Booth, 2002), which is a resource designed to help school communities develop their inclusive practice. The Index for Inclusion for schools is available online in many different languages (Index for Inclusion, n.d). Other guidance may be found at a national level. For example, in Scotland, the National Framework for Inclusion (Scottish Universities Inclusion Group, 2022) offers challenge questions for student teachers, teachers, and experienced teachers to reflect on their practice.

Constructing school community understandings of inclusion

While grappling with all these, many definitions can seem intimidating or even overwhelming, it is important to see all of the above as resources for schools to put to work in ways that are meaningful for them. Using resources such as the frameworks, indices, supports and policies above can help school communities shape their shared understanding of inclusive practice. It is our belief that through thoughtful, critical engagement (rather than compliance) with national and international ideas of inclusion, school communities can build a shared understanding of inclusion. Teachers, learners, families and communities can come together to build a strong foundation of shared values to their assessment of their practice.

A strong shared understanding of inclusion can also support schools to determine which aspects of their inclusive practice they wish to explore, and what kinds of assessment would be appropriate and proportionate for the time and resources available. We think it is important for schools to determine their own assessments because inclusion can look very different in different contexts. This can mean national contexts, but we suggest that inclusion can even look different in different parts of the same schools – teachers may understand and practice inclusion in different ways due to resources, teacher education, disciplinary requirements, personal and professional ethics and external pressures such as accountability (Ball et al., 2012). School communities, including learners, teachers and adults in schools, families and communities should be empowered to explore their own values and to understand and assess their own practices, and to plan for improvement.

Key aspects

Inclusive education aims to create an education system that can meet the unique needs of each student. To achieve this goal, a multifaceted school evaluation is essential to ensure the effective implementation of inclusive practices. This evaluation process can include many areas, but in this book chapter we will address the following five key areas that form the cornerstones of an inclusive educational environment and possible indicators for their assessment:

1. School environment
2. Staff
3. Curriculum
4. Learners
5. Family and community.

A comprehensive assessment of these five key areas allows schools to identify their strengths, identify areas for improvement and ensure that they are on track to create a fair and equitable education system for all students.

School Environment

Assessment of the school environment focuses on providing a safe, accessible and supportive atmosphere for all students. Some possible indicators for school environment assessment are mentioned below.

Safety

Physical safety requires that school buildings and facilities are safe and accessible, as well as the establishment of emergency plans and procedures (Florian, 2019). Emotional and psychological safety requires that students feel safe, respected and accepted, and that the school provides psychological counselling and support services (Sharma & Salend, 2016). One of the important criteria to have in the school environment is a sense of both physical and socio-emotional safety felt by students, teachers, parents and other school members. It is important that all school members feel safe and believe that the school is physically and socio-emotionally safe for everyone. Indicators of the sense of safety can be physical violence, verbal abuse, harassment, bullying, and others. Practices that provide students and adults with a sense of safety from physical abuse, verbal abuse, bullying and exclusion (Darling-Hammond, L., & Cook-Harvey, 2018; Dary & Pickeral, 2013; Hoffmann et al., 2021) are supportive practices that contribute to a safe school environment and promote inclusion within the school (McCarthy, 2019; Shareefa, 2016).

Accessibility

The accessibility of inclusive educational environments is critical to meeting the educational needs of all learners. The physical environment of the school should provide a safe and accessible learning environment for all. The physical environment of the school can be defined as buildings, spaces and equipment (St Leger et al., 2014, Wilson, 2017). The physical environment and infrastructure of schools should be made accessible to all students. It can be said that accessibility refers to the extent to which something is available to everyone. When something is accessible, everyone has the opportunity to use it or participate in it. Accessibility happens when we discover and break down barriers and create opportunities for everyone to participate fully in their schools and communities. For example, something that can be used by everyone, such as an automatic door, ramp or wide corridor, is considered accessible. In addition to that, physical access to facilitate inclusive school physical environments should be enabling and enriching for optimal learning and social experiences.When these elements are not present, all students, especially disadvantaged students, are deprived of full participation and an equitable educational experience. According to St Leger et al. (2014) social accessibility is also essential. The social environment of a school is also a composite of the quality of relationships between staff and students. It is about building quality connections between and among all key stakeholders in a school community. Consequently, when the physical and social environment is accessible to all students, they can make the most of and participate in all aspects of school life.

Resources

Resources in the school environment can be listed as human resources, physical resources, technology materials, educational materials resources, and curriculum. While physical resources ensure physical access and safety of school members, educational resources support the learning process and provide education that is appropriate for different needs. Effective use of  resources is critical to the success of inclusive education. The issue of resources for inclusive education is theoretically intertwined, taking place at different levels and within different academic disciplines, such as policy making, district, school, classroom, students, parents and teachers (Goldan et. al., 2022). When assessing their resources, schools can take the opportunity to identify opportunities and barriers to resource provision, and to think about how best to maximise the resources available to them within their particular policy and funding context. Educational spaces used in inclusive education should be designed in accordance with the needs of all students. These spaces should support students’ learning processes while also meeting their physical and emotional needs. However, schools may struggle to access the resources required to create such spaces, and may be required to make choices about what aspects of inclusive educational space to prioritise. Educational resources are teaching, learning and research materials in digital or non-digital media and provide students with an additional platform for learning (UNESCO, 2017). Areas such as individualised education programmes, assistive technologies, libraries, computer labs, sensory rooms, art and music rooms, sports halls, science labs, multi-purpose halls, and guidance and counselling rooms are critical to the success of inclusive education.  However, learning management systems (LMSs) allow students to choose their own learning paths through a course in a non-classroom environment and share information through tools such as forums, e-mails, chat rooms and discussion groups (García et. al., 2009). Consequently, the accessibility of educational resources is crucial for students to have equal opportunities by creating an inclusive teaching environment.

Table 1: System/school Assessment Key Areas and Examples of Questions

Staff

In the establishment of an inclusive school system, staff resources are recognised as a key factor. All staff (teachers, administrators, psychological counsellors, administrative staff, etc.) should be adequately trained and equipped about inclusive education. All staff should recognise the diversity of learners (cultural, linguistic, physical, etc.) and know how to take advantage of diversity positively in the educational process. Teachers should be able to develop teaching strategies appropriate to different learning needs and use technology and other educational materials to make the classroom environment more inclusive. They should be able to create a positive learning environment and prepare a flexible learning environment according to student needs and should be able to communicate effectively, be collaborative, open and sensitive to innovations. Schools should also consider how they work with outside agencies or school staff, such as social workers, educational psychologists and community paediatricians, to  meet the psychological, social and emotional needs of learners. In addition, having crisis management skills is another important qualification. Administrative staff, as school members, are also an important part of inclusive education. Staff need good communication and organisational skills. In inclusive education, managers should have good leadership qualities. They should be leaders who set a vision that embraces all students, encourage collaboration, support teachers and other staff, create a fair and equitable environment, empathise and advocate continuous improvement (Hitt and Tucker, 2016; McCarthy, 2019).

Professional development of staff on inclusive education practices is very important. Staff should be able to benefit from professional development opportunities in a fair manner without any discrimination. Instructional leadership is one of the important variables that contribute to the professional development process (Cooc, 2019), therefore the school management should offer these development opportunities to staff.

Table 2: System/school Assessment Key Areas and Examples of Questions

Curriculum

Curriculum is a foundational part of school education, but it can often pass unquestioned by teachers. As working professionals, we can tend to accept curriculum as a natural part of our working lives rather than critically engaging with it as a document produced by a particular society in order to achieve a particular educational purpose. And yet the work of the curriculum is tremendously complex and interactive. For Priestley et al. (2021), curriculum involves “interpretation, mediation, negotiation and translation, across multiple layers or sites of education systems.” This includes both the developers of the curriculum, schools, teachers and learners. Kelly (2009) asserts the importance of the need for teachers to have the tools to engage critically with curriculum “as a defence against the imposition on them of policies framed by amateurs”. This is perhaps particularly important when assessing inclusion, where curriculum can be used as a tool to include or exclude groups in society (Kelly, 2009). This section will invite you to explore to what extent your curriculum includes and excludes all learners.

Indicators – Curriculum Content

The following questions, and their accompanying notes, may be helpful when engaging critically with the curriculum in your school.

Question One – What educational purposes shaped this curriculum? Does the curriculum match the stated or implicit educational purposes of the curriculum?

• Schiro (2013) emphasises the connection between educational purpose and curriculum. What are the purposes of education in your context? Are they explicitly stated, or implicit in the curriculum itself?
• Biesta (2009) suggests three purposes for education – qualification (earning examination results, valued knowledge and skills – including vocational skills), socialisation (learning to live in your society) and subjectification (becoming a unique, independent person). Do you think that the curriculum in your context helps school communities achieve these educational purposes?

Question Two – Is inclusion fundamental to your curriculum?

• Does your curriculum address inclusion explicitly? Does it include inclusive principles implicitly?
• To what extent does your curriculum teach learners about inclusion?
• The Index for Inclusion (Ainscow & Booth, 2002) offers some suggestions into how the curriculum can support inclusion – or can exclude young people.

Question Three – Is the curriculum informed by educational research? How often is this reviewed to reflect changes in the research literature?

• In the Scottish National Framework for Inclusion, section 2 (Scottish Universities Inclusion Group, 2022) you can find questions to help teachers reflect on their use of research to support inclusive practice. Consider whether these questions make sense for your context, and whether your curriculum draws on recent, relevant research.
• How do teachers access educational research in your context? Do they have time and resources set aside to support this? Is research engagement supported with practitioner enquiry ?

Question Four – Does the curriculum focus on the histories and stories of one particular group in society to the exclusion of others?

• Does the curriculum include education about historical and ongoing social injustices and inequities such as the history of colonialism or the oppression of marginalised groups due to race, gender, and sexuality?

• In their blog, Johnson and Mouthaan (2021) identify the role of teacher education and professional development in decolonising the curriculum and working towards anti-racist curricula. Does their approach fit with your context? Or would your school require a different approach?
• When thinking about histories and stories, consider whether the teacher collaboration approach outlined by Olsson Rost (2022) reflects your current practice, or whether this could be a model that might fit your school community.

Question Five – Which voices are included in determining the curriculum?

• Is this curriculum: pupil centred, teacher determined, subject discipline centred, assessment focused? Whose voice is included and whose voice is excluded in determining what is taught to whom?

• Messiou and Ainscow (2021) suggest the Inclusive Enquiry technique as a method for making classroom lessons more inclusive, and as a way forward to promote equity. The Inclusive Enquiry technique joins the lesson study approach with a reflective centring of young people’s voices. To what extent does your school community view curriculum as a negotiation between learners and teachers?
• If your curriculum is centrally determined, how much flexibility do learners and teachers in your community have about how it is enacted?

Question Six – How does the curriculum navigate individual differences?

• Must all young people learn the same material at the same time in the same way? How much flexibility is available within the curriculum? What measures are in place to ensure that learners are able to access the curriculum equitably?

• Does your school community insist that all learners learn with peers of the same age, or do you offer opportunities for young people to learn with cognitive peers? How much flexibility does your curriculum have to support learners who are different to their peers? The World Giftedness Council proposed some principles for learners who are more able (World Giftedness Council, 2021) – how would your school community navigate these learners’ learning needs?
• To what extent does the curriculum include sufficient breadth and depth to allow young people to make meaningful choices about what they learn?

Table 3: System/school Assessment Key Areas and Examples of Questions

Learners

Assessment, as it is known, captures the learners’ progress throughout their educational journeys by identifying their ever-growing knowledge and understanding. Additionally, it supports the educators to reflect on and enhance their pedagogical practices. It is considered one of the most powerful pedagogical processes. However, due to external pressures at times, from policy makers, families and educators in some contexts, the social skills and attributes of learners are often overlooked (European Union, 2024). Experiences throughout education teaches us many interpersonal, intrapersonal and life skills. There is a responsibility on educational settings to promote these skills among the learners, so that they have an understanding of the everyday experiences of ‘life’ (McMullen & McMullen, 2018). However, Zaman et al. (2023) state that both life and social skills are the least focused within educational settings where a strong focus is aimed at the development of deep critical thinking and problem-solving skills. A key component of nurturing and supporting social development skills of learners is the educator.

Within an inclusive school environment, learner assessment remains a critical component that ensures all learners, regardless of their backgrounds, circumstance or differing abilities, are provided with equitable opportunities to thrive and succeed in the learning environment. An inclusive approach to learner assessment recognises the many diverse needs of all learners and places a strong emphasis on the importance of tailored, individual assessments that capture their ongoing achievements, skills, participation and engagements. This type of inclusive assessment not only identifies the progression of academic abilities, but also takes into consideration the social and emotional development of the learners (Nieminen, 2019). Educators can create and utilise a variety of assessment tools and strategies that creates an environment in which every learner can have the opportunities to demonstrate their strengths and receive the support they need to succeed.

Incorporating holistic perspectives towards these areas of evaluation and indicators within school assessment, foster a supportive and collaborative environment that promotes the full potential of all learners. The following indicators, while not exhaustive, may be useful to consider within your practice.

Achievements

A variety of methods and tools can be used to capture the diversity of learners’ achievement. (Andersen, 2023; O’Neill & Padden, 2021). Some of them are presented as follows.

• Individual Educational Plans (IEP) to support all learners with diverse learning needs to co-create specific, personalised learning goals to meet.
• Portfolios that have compiled collections of the learners’ work over the learning period. This can be showcased throughout the year to support the learner to reflect on their growth, new and extended learning, skills and abilities.
• Reflections and self-assessments where all learners are encouraged to engage in their own form of self-reflection and given opportunities to foster their personal growth.
• Collaborative assessment between learners where they assess each other’s work. This builds a collaborative environment where learners are exposed to diverse feedback.
• Parent/guardian and learner feedback that is taken into consideration and incorporated into the curriculum.
• Reflections and self-assessments where all learners are encouraged to engage in their own form of self-reflection and given opportunities to foster their personal growth
• Formative assessments including observations to see and document learners’ progression through group work, quizzes, and class discussions.
• Summative assessment methods to include various paths for students to allow them a fair chance to show what they could achieve.

Life skills and social skills

• Observations play a key component in assessing learners’ life and social skills. Educators can observe learners in various environments and scenarios. There are opportunities to document interactions, communication styles, behaviour towards self and others.
• Reflective journals through various written, digital or creative formats that encourage thinking, feeling, awareness and creativity.
• Role-play, when carefully planned and sympathetically handled to strengthen collaboration, knowledge and understanding of learner’s responses to various scenarios.
• Group projects that require teamwork, collaboration and communication skills.

Engagements

• Learner voice and choice in the assessment process, having a say in their learning and choosing the methods in which they participate i.e. assignments, routines, creative projects.
• Mentoring supports where learners work in pairs with other faculty, older learners and members of the community to attain guidance, support and encouragement.
• Interactive learning through technology with fun, engaging learning platforms and to extend on the learners existing knowledge.
• Positive reinforcement through recognising and celebrating the learners’ progressions and achievements that enhances engagement and motivation.
• Regular check in with learners to discuss progress, social-emotional well-being and any issues that they may be facing.
• Signposting services for learners who may be or feel at risk of disengagement such as counselling and mental health support (Thompson & Carello, 2022).

Table 4: System/school Assessment Key Areas and Examples of Questions

Families and Communities for school assessment

Family involvement remains a key component in relation to a learner’s education. Through the recognition of family involvement, particularly within the assessment process, provides excellent opportunities to understand the learner’s ongoing development.Theoretically speaking, at the beginning of early childhood education we identify the importance of family involvement through the educational and community systems that are surrounding the child (Rutland & Hall 2013). However, it must be noted that in order to have good engagement with families, strong relationships must be built. Strong relationships are considered a key underpinning to a sense of identity, belonging and part of a community, particularly in creating and fostering inclusive environments (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2009). Rutland and Hall (2013) further recognise the importance of family involvement and highlight the limitations of their roles, lack of relationships within educational settings.

Henderson and Mapp (2002) emphasise the benefits of parental and community engagement including consistent retention rates and positive social skills.  Epstein’s six type involvement model highlights how family and community engagement between educational settings promote a deep sense of responsibility and collaboration. These partnerships may further create a more inclusive educational environment where all diverse perspectives are valued, and resources are allocated efficiently to meet the individual needs of all learners. She further states that family and community involvement not only enriches their educational experiences, but also strengthens the social development of the community therefore, fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaborative support (Epstein, 2011). The following indicators, while not exhaustive, may be useful to consider within your practice.

Communication

• Regular meetings and discussions in relation to the learner’s individual progress.
• Ensuring that all families receive information in relation to their child’s learning through modes of communication in which they can interpret and understand.
• Quarterly information days/evenings surrounding news and updates about the educational setting, trips, activities, parental and community involvement.
• Seeking family volunteering opportunities for further engagement.
•  Developing parental committees and supporting shared decision making towards policies, curriculum design and support services.

Connections

• Providing learners with real- world experiences through shadowing programmes where they can attain professional skills and identify career paths.
• Developing partnerships with local businesses for sponsoring, funding, extra-curricular activities and projects.
• Engaging in the design and implementation of community-based projects that ensure involvement of all families and learners.
• Promotion and incorporation of the arts in the educational setting and community to inspire creativity, a sense of belonging and identity.
• Development of cultural events and programmes that celebrate diversity and cultural heritages
• Collaboration with community resources and wellness organisations
• Signposting for family resources within the community that navigates their understanding of the education system.

Engagement

• Designing types of surveys, suggestion areas and questionnaires for distribution to families and communities highlighting key areas for discussion for example; inclusivity, policy, feedback, improvements.
• Maintenance of communication- consistent with families through various modes.
• Focus groups and meetings to conduct with families and community members to attain a deeper insight into enhancing/supporting ongoing engagement.

Table 5: System/school Assessment Key Areas and Examples of Questions

Process of school assessment in an inclusive education environment

The development of effective school assessment models has received increasing attention in recent decades. European education systems and many others globally have prioritised the school assessment as a powerful means to accomplish the quality assurance of the education provided. The new trends in school system evaluation do not consider the external and the internal assessment as two distinguished procedures, highlighting them as complementary and beneficial to each other (Brown et al., 2018; OECD, 2013).

In regard to the internal assessment where primarily this work focuses, a recent empirical review (Mason & Calnin, 2020) stresses out the added value of the internal school assessment with respect to the improvements in school quality, teaching and advances in learners’ outcomes. In literature, we meet a range of school assessment models (Brown et al., 2021; Cambridge University International Assessment, 2021; Irish Department of Education and Science, 2004; Msezane, 2020; NZMoE, 2016; Patil & Kalekar, 2014; OECD, 2019;Şahin & Kılıç, 2018) that usually are differentiated in their approaches depending on the mission of the school, the objectives, the context of the evaluation, and the legislative frame that guides the process.

Different education systems or schools may follow different or similar approaches when it comes to assessing their systems in regard to inclusion (Aziz et al., 2018; Brown et al., 2021). The process of school internal assessment consists of different phases and each of them play a significant role in its consistency and its quality. Typically, all the assessment phases are meaningful and include various activities that aim to contribute to the successful completion of the assessment process. An overview of different assessment models indicates that there are some commonalities in regard to the basic steps or phases of the assessment. The common phases we usually find are described as follows.

First phase: The planning and development phase which involves the following steps and actions.

1.     Identify the focus of the assessment and the priorities. At this first step, it is important for the school to identify what it values highly as an inclusive school environment, and how it thinks an effective inclusive school looks like. This identification of the basic mission and vision of the school along with its priorities set out will build the basis for the next steps of the assessment.
2.   Define the objectives. In this step, the school defines the objectives of its assessment which should be aligned with the focus and the priorities of the assessment and what the school values highly.
3.     Design the methodology of the assessment. Next, the schools design the methodology of the assessment. The methodology refers to all steps that will be taken to ensure the quality of the process. When designing the methodology, various factors are taken into consideration based on goals of the assessment such as:

• period and timeline of evaluation
• information sources
• areas and indicators of evaluation
• tools used to gather the data
• the process of data gathering, and
• the methods of data analysis.

4. Define the areas and the indicators of the assessment. The school defines the areas of assessment and the respective indicators that should be in line with assessment goals. The assessment areas and indicators should be chosen in a way that ensures that different aspects of the school are covered according to the school’s evaluation goals and no exclusions are applied.
5. Determine the information sources. Next, the schools decide on the information sources that will be used to derive the evaluation data. In an inclusive environment, it is crucial that all voices will be heard and all stakeholders and members of the school community will contribute to the assessment process. The plurality of sources will support the gathering of diverse data which should be considered in an inclusive education system. Possible information sources could be the school staff (principal, teachers, assistant teaching staff, other specialties working in school such as psychologists, social workers, cuisine staff, cleaners, etc.), students, parents, educational counsellors or institutions, other community members or community organisations that have cooperated with the school. It is crucial for inclusivity reasons the school to take care to inform all participants on time and to ensure that all will have access to the assessment process. If needed, for diversity reasons, the school should ensure that different assessment paths are provided for people with different needs and capacities.Here it is important to note that schools should adhere to GDPR issues as they are addressed by EU data privacy guidance and/or national legislation frames. The protection of the personal data of all people engaged in the evaluation process should be protected by the schools. Data should be used exclusively for the evaluation reasons and anonymity of participants  should be protected. To  motivate possible participants to take part in the school evaluation, it is crucial to communicate the aforementioned rules on the GDPR.
6. Select assessment tools. In this step, the school selects the appropriate tools that will effectively contribute to the gathering of the data. Such tools can be interview protocols, questionnaires, focus groups, observations, reports, and others.
7. Define the assessment moderators. At the end of this phase, it is helpful for the school to have defined the assessment moderators, the people who will be responsible for the assessment moderation and the procedure followed as has been designed.

Second phase: The implementation phase of the assessment. In this phase, the schools activate the procedure of gathering and analysing the data according to the initial assessment plan set out in the planning phase.

1.   Gather evidence. Based on the assessment design, the schools deploy the tools to gather data. The data will be selected from all the information sources defined at the planning phase.
2.     Analyse the data. Using appropriate methods, the school analyses all the data to produce the assessment results. These results will provide them with evidence on their effectiveness and quality as an inclusive school system. The results will help the school to answer fundamental questions in regard to its inclusivity as well as practices and policies related to inclusion.
3. Document the results of the assessment. Last but not least, the school documents  the results in a way that is helpful and accessible to all stakeholders interested in it. These findings can be presented with respect to the objectives set out initially and the basic mission and priorities of the school. The overview of the results should give a clear picture of the strong and weak elements the results revealed in relation to the focus and the priorities of the assessment. The assessment results could be used by different parties and for different purposes including the schools themselves for improvement purposes, central educational or governmental organisations for the external assessment, and by local educational authorities for management purposes or for reporting to higher authorities (EACEA, 2015).

Third phase: Reflection and Action Plan phase. This phase follows the assessment results and comes to add in the next actions needed to follow.

1. Reflect on the results. Following the report of the assessment results, the school should reflect on the findings. Some reflective questions that might be helpful in this stage are: What do the results show? What has been done well so far? What elements need improvement? What did the school expect from the results? What has to be done to improve the level of inclusivity in school? What were the effective strategies so far? Which inclusive strategies seemed to work well and which not? What we learned from the results?  Reflective practices will help all schools indepedently of their inclusivity level to problematise and think of possible actions that can improve the inclusion level of the school.
2. Design an improvement action plan. Based on the assessment results, schools  can design an improvement action plan, if needed. The action plan should focus on different aspects of the school which need some improvement, ensuring spontaneously that all participants will benefit from the changes that will be promoted.
3. Put action in plan.  Upon the completion of the action plan, the school put it into action. This improvement plan will be assessed following the same assessment procedure as it has been described above.

It is comprehendible that the process of the assessment is cyclical. It starts and ends from the point it starts. It is a continuous process where each phase gives feedback to the other. The assessment process is briefly presented in the table below.

Conclusion

The purpose of this work was to shed light on the school assessment in inclusive education systems. Inclusive education is a door open to achieving social, economic and cultural inclusion for all members of the school community and its foundation is a means for an inclusive society (The Centre for Inclusive Education, 2021). From this perspective, the quality of the education, the policies and practices adopted in an inclusive education system can be explored thoroughly via a well-designed school assessment. As Cambridge Assessment (2021) mentions, the school evaluation is “an essential part of helping schools to understand how effective they are”.

Recent research has demonstrated the advantages of school assessment for various areas of schools (Mason & Calnin, 2020) which support them in “establishing an accurate view of their performance against a clearly defined set of standards” (Cambridge Assessment, 2021). It is important for schools to determine the standards that are meaningful for them and do not depend exclusively on external evaluation standards that might not be in line with their priorities and their inclusion vision. Their assessment goals should be defined mindfully in accordance to their focus, mission, vision and priorities. Without no doubt, in inclusive education systems, it is fundamental that a wide range of key areas will be assessed along with the use of a variety of indicators and diverse information sources across the school context. This will maximise the opportunities that all school voices will be heard and contribute equitably to the school assessment as a whole. The design of a school assessment in inclusive environments should adhere to the basic phases and steps, as outlined previously to ensure reliability and validity issues.

However, the question “Do we measure what we value or do we value what we can measure?” is one of the crucial concerns that an inclusive school needs to address in the context of a school assessment. It is important for the school to define at the preliminary phase of the assessment what it values mostly as an inclusive school and what an ideal inclusive school looks like. The areas or aspects that are valued as the most important for its inclusivity should be defined as the key areas for assessment. This process of identification encourages schools to consider the fundamental areas, the information sources and the indicators that are of high value for their mission to achieve inclusion and ensure equitable participation for all school community members. Otherwise, if the school do not define clearly its inclusion priorities during the planning phase of the evaluation and do not determine the appropriate goals of the assessment which should be aligned with its inclusion mission, there are high possibilities to value what the school can measure based on other cases of evaluations or examples or guided exclusively by the indicators of an upcoming external evaluation. In such a case, the school is distancing itself from its goals and ends up evaluating what it can really measure. Such an evaluation can lead to results that cannot contribute to a substantial reflection toward the school’s achievements with respect to its inclusion vision.

To conclude, the school evaluation is a challenging but also important process for all schools that aspire to establish a clear view on their accomplishments and their inclusion related achievements. It is a means to reflective practices that can support improvements in school inclusive environments and work effectively with external evaluations.

Local contexts

Literature

About the authors

name: Vana Chiou

Vana Chiou loves teaching and training future teachers on contemporary teaching methods and techniques. Her research interests include contemporary methods of teaching and assessment, teacher training, inclusion and education. Her published work includes editing books, chapters in books and articles in Greek and international journals.

name: Catherine Reid

Catherine Reid is a lecturer in Teacher Education at the University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on widening participation in Higher Education for young people from areas of high deprivation. She is particularly interested in highly able learners and the role of teacher knowledge in education.

name: Leslie-Ann Webster

Leslie-Ann Webster is a lecturer in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning at Maynooth University, Ireland. She has a deep passion for educating and values the power of transformative education. Her research interests include children and educator well-being, relationships, progressive teaching methods and a specialised focus towards embedding trauma informed practices within educational settings.

name: Merve Ayvalli Karagoz

Merve Ayvalli Karagöz works as a lecturer at Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey. She has a Ph.D. in educational measurement and evaluation. Her areas of expertise include psychometric applications, educational assessment practices, and item response theory. Her scholarly work focuses on advancing robust assessment techniques that enhance the reliability and validity of educational evaluations, contributing to higher standards in educational measurement.