Putting the learner at the heart of assessment

Sue Horner, Director of CurriculumQualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

12 November 2009Scottish Qualifications Authority

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The archaeological dig – Year 1

The changing picture in England

• reduction in external testing

• development of teacher assessment systems

• need to integrate curriculum and assessment

• professionalising assessment in schools

Government objectives

• Every child knows how they are doing, and understand what they need to do to improve

• Every teacher is equipped to make effective judgements about learners’ attainment and how to plan to improve it

• Every school has systems for making regular, useful and accurate assessments

• Every parent knows how their child is doing, what they need to do to improve, and how they can support the child and their teachers

“The research indicates that improving learning through assessment depends on five, deceptively simple, key factors:

– the provision of effective feedback to pupils– the active involvement of pupils in their own learning– adjusting teaching to take account of the results of

assessment– a recognition of the profound influence assessment has on

the motivation and self-esteem of pupils, both of which are crucial influences on learning;

– the need for pupils to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve.”

Assessment for learning: beyond the black box, Assessment Reform Group (University of Cambridge School of Education), 1999

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Working towards good assessment

QCDA’s Principles for assessment

• the learner is at the heart of assessment

• assessment needs to provide a view of the whole learner

• assessment is integral to teaching and learning

• assessment includes reliable judgements about how learners are doing, related, where appropriate, to national standards

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Current priorities

• Increasing the focus on pupil progress rather than achievement linked to age-related expectations

• Raising the status of teacher assessment

• Expanding the assessment repertoire

– a wider range of assessment evidence

– learners’ involvement in their assessment

– Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS)

– more accessible and relevant information for parents

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Developing a framework for teacher assessment

To help schools and teachers

make decisions aboutwhat, when and how to assess

recognise and make useof a range of evidence

use the information effectivelyfor maximum impact

use assessment techniques efficiently - reducing specific/separate assessment activities

Evaluation of impact: - progress of pupils

- enhancement of curriculum - improvements in pedagogy

Making a difference

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Ownershipby teachers

Involvement ofparents and learners

Continuing development and responsivenessto changing local and national priorities

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Day to day

Learning objectives made explicit and shared with students Students engaged in their learning and given immediate feedback In class adjustment of lessons to take account of students’ needs

Periodic

Broader view of progress across subject for teacher and learner Use of national standards in the classroom Improvements to medium-term curriculum planning

Transitional

Formal recognition of students' achievement Reported to parents/carers and next teacher(s) Uses external texts or tasks

Assessment overview

Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP)

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• Tools to support periodic assessment judgements

Assessing Pupils’ Progress

Features of APP assessments

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• Independence and choice – pupils demonstrating what they know and can do

• Wide range of evidence – could be drawn from work across the curriculum and beyond school

• Use of assessment guidelines which unpack National Curriculum level descriptions

• Standards files - annotated evidence of pupils’ learning

APP further support

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Changing assessment systems

Challenges

Five challenges from QCDA’s Articulating assessment pilot

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establishingcoherence

gaininginvolvement

buildingconsistency

securingmanageability

achievingimpact

Establishing coherence

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Hazelwick School, West SussexConnecting curriculum, teaching and assessment• assessment moved them towards a more active and

participatory approach to science in year 7• focused on developing an individual learner's science skills

rather than the coverage of subject content• this led to fairly significant changes in work schemes and

teachers’ planning

Gaining involvement

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St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, WarwickshireLeading whole-school change• assessment development to improve the standard of

children’s writing• involving children in their writing targets• parents to support their child at home in achieving these

targets.• the success of the project so far is rooted in the

effectiveness of a working party that represents all stakeholders, supported by the school leadership team.

• a vision statement provided a shared understanding of what the school set out to achieve

Ensuring consistency

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Swinton Fitzwilliam Primary School, RotherhamImproving the consistency of assessment • assessment for learning as a basis to improve standards• planning for, developing and assessing learners’ personal learning

and thinking skills (PLTS)• enhance assessment practice within the classroom using video and

audio technology• ensure that evidence-gathering was manageable and useful,

happened at the point of learning and involved the learners themselves

• all school staff contributed through discussion, trialling methods and feedback

Securing manageability

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Durrington High School, West SussexCapturing assessment evidence• ‘learning conversations’ are an integral part of weekly catch-up

meetings• learners are encouraged to take responsibility for the collection of

evidence• started to use digital video cameras, still cameras and audio

recordings as well as paper-based notes to record progress

Achieving impact

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'It quickly became clear that the use of Apgar and its creation of a new dialogue between everyone at Easebourne (children, teachers, parents, carers and governors) was going to revolutionise the way we think about learning.'

Easebourne Primary School, West SussexBroadening the assessment dialogue• opportunities for pupils to self-, peer- and group-assess• the staff came to the view that assessment based on skills that could

be transferred across all subjects would be both far more manageable and have a greater impact on the children’s learning.

• based their approach on the four Rs: resilience, reflection, relationships and resourcefulness

• used a version of Apgar to capture the progress individual children made in developing the four Rs on a residential trip

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Working towards a new assessment landscape

Assessment for pupils and teachersMy teacher gives me feedback which helps me progress day by day

I know how I am progressing and what to focus on next…

I do different tasksto show what I can do

When I move class my new teacher understands where I am and what I need to do next

… and my family knows it so they help me too

I build my knowledge of my pupils into my planning and teaching

I know my pupils’ strengths and areasfor development

I understand national standards in detail

I recognise learning and achievement inthe classroom

My pupils make faster progress than they used to

I know that my colleaguesshare the same expectations

I am supportedby my school systems and by assessment experts

Making the most of current opportunities

• Ensuring consistency of standards

• Keeping assessment relevant, up-to-date and responsive to developments in curriculum and pedagogy

• Expanding the repertoire of types of assessment

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Putting the learner at the heart of assessment