The length of the assessment – a longer assessment generally produces more reliable results.There is always some random variation that may affect the assessment, so you should always be prepared to question results. No results, however, can be completely reliable. This puts you in a better position to make generalised statements about a student’s level of achievement, especially when you are using the results of an assessment to make decisions about teaching and learning, or reporting back to students and their parents or caregivers. Reliable assessment results will give you confidence that repeated or equivalent assessments will provide consistent results. The validity of an assessment tool is the extent by which it measures what it was designed to measure.
The reliability of an assessment tool is the extent to which it consistently and accurately measures learning.
