Use of data from 21st century skills assessments: Issues and key principles

With the learning goals of  education shifting to include a broader range of  skills, the challenge globally is how to support students in developing these skills. The components of  the education system must be aligned to support the development of  21st century skills, and the qualitatively different structure of  these skills requires some completely new approaches, both in the measurement aspect and collection of  assessment data. A major issue that confronts education systems is a deficiency in the effective use of  collected student learning outcomes data. Notwithstanding the huge sums that are dedicated to its collection, a proportion-al commitment is not made to its strategic analysis or its dissemination. 

The main purpose of  this publication is to provide guidance on how data from 21st century skills assess-ment can be used and interpreted in terms of  learning outcomes to inform teaching and learning. Towards this purpose, we put forward actionable recommendations that are both applicable and relevant to the current state of  assessing these 21st century skills to enhance learning outcomes, as well as forward-look-ing in anticipating the future of  assessment. 

This publication considers the purposes of  collecting student achievement data associated with 21st century skills, discuss how these data are currently used in various contexts and the challenges associated with each, and finally provide key principles for effective data use both generally and specific to major stakeholders.

Beginning with a discussion of  what demarcates 20th and 21st century skills in the context of  assessment, we consider the main purposes of  the practice. These purposes are roughly dichotomized across formative and summative types of  assessment. 

Formative assessments are undertaken throughout the teaching and learning process, with the direct purpose of  im-proving the learning outcomes of  those students being assessed. Summative assessments are typically con-ducted at the end of  learning processes to evaluate students’ learning outcomes by comparing them with some validated standards or benchmark. However, it is the purpose of  the assessment, rather than the type, that leads to different uses of  assessment data—for teaching and learning, as well as for monitoring and accountability. 

The current state of  teaching and assessment of  21st century skills is outlined, with acknowledgement of  some major issues. These include our lack of  understanding and knowledge of  how 21st century skills can be taught, and the possible lack of  alignment between traditional curricula and a 21st century skills learning agenda. 

Related article