Machinations of assessment: metaphors, myths and realities

This paper examines the metaphors of assessment for learning in order to reveal the hidden agenda of beliefs which language cloaks. It is argued that the power of metaphor in discourse can both create and impede new realities. This hidden agenda is further exacerbated because of two metaphoric frameworks in the English language: the conduit metaphor, and argument as war, where lack of agreement with the dominant discourse could be seen as ignorance and an act of aggression. The metaphoric associations linked to assessment for learning are so powerful that it has been difficult to challenge its shortfalls and theoretical incompleteness. By looking at the metaphors at the heart of the theory as exemplified in some of the work of Black and Wiliam it is possible to reveal some of the inconsistencies and the contradictions within their theoretical framework.