The main objective of this work was to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness and limitations of a program for helping social science teachers to reflect on, learn and change their assessment practices if necessary. Previous studies had shown that teachers’ ideas on valid criteria and procedures for assessing different aspects of learning are often inadequate. Based on this knowledge as well as on research on training conditions favouring teacher’s reflection and change, a training program was designed with careful attention to content and training methodology. Nineteen social science teachers participated in the study. Evaluation centred on program perception and teachers’ learning on assessment. Information was gathered before and after each module through the use of a portfolio. Results showed a very positive evaluation of the program from the part of teachers as well very positive effects on actual learning, but also have helped to diagnose program limitations.

            The main objective of the present work was to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness and limitations of a program for helping in-service social science teachers to reflect on, learn and change their assessment practices if necessary.

            Previous studies had shown two important facts. First, assessment tasks used by secondary and high-school teachers in the area of social sciences demand mainly root-memory (Villa & Alonso-Tapia, 1996), a fact that has negative effects on students’ motivation, on the learning strategies preferred by them and on understanding and conceptual change. Second, teachers ideas on valid criteria and procedures for assessing a) conceptual and causal understanding achieved by students in the area of social sciences, b) specific understanding of information contained in different social sources and documents –texts, graphs, objects, etc.-, and c) reasoning and critical thinking in the context of social science problems, have important shortcomings that may be in part responsible of actual assessment practices (Alonso-Tapia et al., 2004, this congress).

            Based on this knowledge as well as on research on training conditions favouring teacher’s reflection and change, a training program addressed to social science teachers was designed and a preliminary evaluation was carried out

            Methodology.

Sample. Nineteen secondary and high school teachers of History and Geography of two different cities participated in the program along 75 hours in one of two modalities, distance teaching with four tutoring sessions –11 teachers- , and attending to traditional classrooms, in three-hour sessions. Teachers’ ideas on assessment were assessed before and after each module. No control group was used.

The content of the program was based on several kinds of consideration.

            First, according to explicit objectives of the Spanish curriculum, the study of social sciences should make students able to understand information contained in different kinds of document and to build conceptual and causal models useful for assessing critically present social problems. Thus, the program included modules to show how to assess conceptual and causal understanding as well as the capacity to understand, integrate and use information coming from different primary and secondary sources, and the ability of reasoning and critical thinking.

            Second, curriculum and teachers are also concerned with usefulness of assessment for identifying the kinds of help that should be given to students in order to improve their meaningful learning. Thus, each module presented assessment tasks based on psychological models of ability, understanding and thinking that allowed the identification of specific sources of students’ difficulties, as a step for developing their potential for learning.

Third, teachers are also concerned with practical problems stemming from the actual conditions in which assessment is to be carried out. Thus, we included two additional modules, one on techniques for gathering information and the other on ways of organising the assessment process, stressing portfolio assessment.

Thus, nine training modules were carefully designed in relation to content, training methodology and evaluation.

            As for training methodology, all modules have the same structure aimed at enhancing reflection, understanding and motivation to change: 1) The problem is presented; 2) teachers’ ideas on how best it should be managed are made explicit; psychological models of the capacity being assessed are introduced; empirical data showing the way other colleagues confront the problem are presented; explicit discussion and self-assessment of own ideas are encouraged; criteria and examples of assessment tasks satisfying the criteria previously introduced are presented; practical work and interchange of ideas in the context of portfolio assessment are carried out and feedback from the trainers follows.

            A preliminary evaluation of the program was made. Following a cyclic model inspired in Fetterman (1997), we centred evaluation first on teachers perception of quality characteristics of the program –clarity, usefulness, easy of application to classrooms, anticipated effects on student motivation and learning, etc.,- and on actual learning and acquisition of assessment competencies in order to obtain information for improving the program. Transfer and impact evaluation were left for future studies.

            Quality perception was assessed using a part-open questionnaire. As for assessing learning, tasks designed by teachers before and after training and included in their port-folios were coded using categories derived from psychological models of ability, understanding and reasoning.

            Findings, that will be presented for discussion, showed a very positive evaluation of the program from the part of participants as well very positive effects on actual learning, but also have helped to diagnose program limitations than are now being corrected before carrying out a second evaluation study. All of them will be discussed.

            Results have theoretical relevance for understanding training programs effects, whether positive, negative or null, as well as practical relevance for designing teachers’ training programs on students’ assessment. Each kind of relevance will be discussed.