SCENARIO 2 — EXHIBIT: DRAFT ASSESSMENT TOOL A colleague at Kgotso Primary School, Ms T Radebe, has drafted the following class assessment for Grade 5 and asks for your professional opinion before she uses it. 'MY HEALTHY LUNCHBOX' — DESIGN AND MAKE TASK Instructions: Answer all the questions. 1. Name five healthy foods. (5) 2. List the food groups. (5) 3. State what you should pack in a lunchbox. (5) 4. Identify two unhealthy foods. (5) 5. Name a fruit and a vegetable. (5) Total: 30 marks 2.1 Identify FIVE design flaws with Ms Radebe's draft assessment tool . Each fault must be explicitly stated (quote or refer to the exact line or question affected) and linked to a specific principle of the module (e.g., essential information required on an assessment tool, balanced weighting of cognitive levels, appropriateness of the 'Design and Make' format, differentiation). (10) 2.2 For EACH of the five faults identified in question 2.1, justify with reference to theory and name the relevant principle, and explain why it is a real violation of sound assessment design. Explain what particular harm it could do to the validity of the results or to specific learners in the class profile of Scenario 1. (10) 2.3 Rewrite a corrected excerpt of this assessment tool that resolves AT LEAST THREE of the faults you identified. Your redesign must include the essential information that must TMN3703 October/November 2026 Page 6 of 6 appear on an assessment tool, and must demonstrate a defensible balance of cognitive levels appropriate to a 'Design and Make' task. (1

2.1 Identify FIVE design flaws with Ms Radebe's draft assessment tool

1. Fault: The assessment is titled 'MY HEALTHY LUNCHBOX' — DESIGN AND MAKE TASK, but the questions (1-5) are exclusively knowledge-recall items, completely lacking any design or making component.
   • Principle: Appropriateness of assessment format and alignment of task description with assessment items.
2. Fault: The draft assessment tool lacks essential administrative information such as the learner's name, date, grade, subject, and duration of the assessment.
   • Principle: Essential information required on an assessment tool.
3. Fault: All five questions (Q1-Q5) primarily assess lower-order cognitive skills (knowledge and recall), with no questions requiring higher-order thinking skills like application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation, which are crucial for a 'Design and Make' task.
   • Principle: Balanced weighting of cognitive levels (e.g., Bloom's Taxonomy).
4. Fault: Questions 1 ("Name five healthy foods"), 3 ("State what you should pack in a lunchbox"), and 5 ("Name a fruit and a vegetable") are highly repetitive and overlap significantly in the knowledge they assess.
   • Principle: Content validity and efficiency of assessment items.
5. Fault: The assessment provides no differentiation or scaffolding, which is particularly important for a ' 'Design and Make' task where learners might have varying levels of practical skills or access to resources.
   • Principle: Differentiation and inclusivity in assessment.

2.2 For EACH of the five faults identified in question 2.1, justify with reference to theory and name the relevant principle, and explain why it is a real violation of sound assessment design. Explain what particular harm it could do to the validity of the results or to specific learners in the class profile of Scenario 1.

1. Fault: Mismatch between the 'Design and Make' task title and the purely knowledge-recall questions.

   • Principle: Alignment of assessment with learning outcomes and task description.
   • Violation: Sound assessment design requires that the assessment tasks directly measure the skills and knowledge implied by its title and intended learning outcomes. Here, the title suggests a practical, creative, and problem-solving task, but the questions only assess factual recall. This creates a fundamental misalignment.
   • Harm: This violation severely compromises the construct validity of the assessment. It fails to measure the intended "design and make" skills, leading to an inaccurate representation of a learner's abilities in these areas. Learners who are strong in practical application and creativity but weaker in rote memorization will be unfairly disadvantaged, as their strengths are not assessed. Conversely, learners who are good at recall but poor at design will appear to have mastered the task, which is misleading.

2. Fault: Lack of essential administrative information.

   • Principle: Clarity and completeness of assessment instructions and metadata.
   • Violation: A well-designed assessment tool must include all necessary administrative details to ensure its proper use, identification, and record-keeping. Missing information like learner's name, date, grade, and subject makes the assessment impractical and prone to administrative errors.
   • Harm: This compromises the administrative validity and utility of the assessment. Without a learner's name, it's impossible to attribute marks correctly, leading to confusion and potential loss of data. Missing dates or grades can lead to assessments being used out of context or misfiled, making it difficult to track learner progress over time. This can negatively impact all learners by creating disorganised records and potentially inaccurate reporting.

3. Fault: All questions assess lower-order cognitive skills (LOTS).

   • Principle: Balanced weighting of cognitive levels (e.g., Bloom's Taxonomy).
   • Violation: Effective assessment should engage a range of cognitive processes, from basic recall to higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creation. A 'Design and Make' task, in particular, should primarily target HOTS. This assessment is entirely focused on LOTS.
   • Harm: This limits the cognitive validity and predictive validity of the assessment. It fails to measure learners' ability to apply knowledge, solve problems, think critically, or create, which are essential skills for a Grade 5 'Design and Make' task. Learners who possess strong HOTS but may not excel at simple recall will not be able to demonstrate their full capabilities. It provides an incomplete and potentially misleading picture of a learner's true understanding and ability to engage with complex tasks.

4. Fault: Repetitive and overlapping questions (Q1, Q3, Q5).

   • Principle: Content validity and efficiency of assessment items.
   • Violation: Assessment items should be distinct and cover a broad range of relevant content or skills without unnecessary overlap. Redundant questions waste assessment time and disproportionately weight certain knowledge areas.
   • Harm: This compromises the content validity and efficiency of the assessment. By asking similar questions multiple times, the assessment over-emphasises a narrow band of knowledge (naming healthy foods) while neglecting other important aspects of healthy eating or lunchbox planning. This can lead to an inflated score for learners who happen to know those specific facts, while not truly assessing a comprehensive understanding. It also reduces the opportunity to assess a wider range of knowledge or skills within the given time.

5. Fault: No differentiation or scaffolding.

   • Principle: Differentiation and inclusivity in assessment design.
   • Violation: Sound assessment design acknowledges the diverse learning needs and abilities within a classroom. It should offer opportunities for all learners to demonstrate their knowledge and skills, potentially through varied response formats, scaffolding, or choice.
   • Harm: This compromises the fairness and equity of the assessment. Learners with diverse learning styles, special educational needs, or language barriers (e.g., English as an Additional Language learners) may struggle to access or respond to the questions in the prescribed format, leading to an inaccurate reflection of their actual understanding. Without scaffolding, learners who need support to structure their thoughts or approach a task may be disadvantaged, while those who could be challenged further are not.

2.3 Rewrite a corrected excerpt of this assessment tool that resolves AT LEAST THREE of the faults you identified. Your redesign must include the essential information that must appear on an assessment tool, and must demonstrate a defensible balance of cognitive levels appropriate to a 'Design and Make' task.

Kgotso Primary School
Grade 5 Life Skills: Healthy Living
Assessment Task: My Healthy Lunchbox Design Challenge

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