Using Foundation Stage Data For School Self-evaluation: Issues and Challenges

1. Using Foundation Stage Data For School Self-evaluation: Issues and Challenges Feyisa Demie - Head of Research & Statistics Foundation Stage Assessment Conference Professional Development Centre, Lambeth CYPS 5 February 2007

2. KEY QUESTIONS FOR THE DAY • How reliable is Lambeth Foundation Stage Assessment Data? Issues • What does the data tell us at child, school, LEA and national level? How can we use FSP data to identify overall strengths and weaknesses? • What must be done to improve your Foundation Stage performance?

3. Use of Assessment Data 1. Assessment data helps to pose and answer questions about: current standards trends over time the progress made by individuals and groups.2. It provides one of the principal indicators of the outcomes of the education provided by schools for use by a range of stakeholders.

4. HEALTH WARNING ABOUT THE USE OF STATISTICAL DATA Statistical data in your school profiles or PANDA provides questions but not answers. It is important, therefore, to note the relative position of a school in particular table or graphs may be due to a number of factors. It is a matter for headteachers and governors to undertake detailed monitoring and review why schools with similar characteristics perform differently. Statistical information is unhelpful if misused or wrongly interpreted.

5. FSP Assessment Data Collection and Areas of Learning • Six areas of Learning each with 3 Assessment Scales • Communication, Language, Literacy (CLL) • Mathematical Development (MD) • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) • Knowledge and Understanding of the World (KUW) • Physical Development (PD) • Creative Development (CD) 2. Data was Collected for 13 assessment Scales 3. Pupils are recorded between 0 and 9 points

6. What other kind of data should schools collect and analyse? School improvement research shows that there are a number of factors that are known to affect pupils’ performance and need to be collected. • Prior attainment • Gender • Ethnic background • Socio-economic background (e.g EAL, FSM and Mobility) • Birth date • Pupils’ motivation and attitudes • The teaching & learning provided by the school

7. How reliable is Assessment Data? Evidence from 2006 KS1 Maths results

8. Issues in Foundation Stage Profile Assessment: 2005 Evidence The two graphs below show the ‘normal distribution curve’ illustrating that a large proportion of Lambeth children are assessed as having higher scores than expected. Lambeth has addressed this issue through training around assessment and moderation. This explains the drop in average point score over the last three years. Figure 2a) Communication, language and literacy – Lambeth distribution 2004/05 Figure 2b) Mathematical development – Lambeth distribution 2004/05

9. Foundation stage profile assessment 2006– after RS/LA interventions and some school reassessments Figure 2a) Communication, language and literacy – Lambeth distribution 2005/06 Figure 2b) Mathematical development – Lambeth distribution 2005/06

10. Issues of Foundation Stage Assessment and Distribution of Average scores

11. Communication Literacy and Language, Lambeth Distribution

12. The Challenge of Effective Use of Data for LAs and Schools • FSP Data can be used in a number of ways to: • Support school self-evaluation. • Identify underachieving groups. • Set targets. • Narrow achievement gaps. • Support teachers in tracking pupil performance

13. Chi ld G E N D E r Month of birth PSE AS1 PSE AS2 PSE AS3 PSE AOL CLL AS1 CLL AS2 CLL AS3 CLL AS4 CLL AOL MAT AS1 MAT AS2 MAT AS3 MAT AOL KUW AOL PHY AOL CRE AOL FSP Total a M 6 7 7 8 22 6 3 4 3 16 4 6 7 17 7 7 7 76 b M 4 7 7 7 21 7 6 5 6 24 7 7 7 21 8 8 7 89 e M 4 8 8 8 24 7 6 7 6 26 8 8 9 25 8 8 8 99 f F 10 9 9 8 26 7 9 8 8 32 8 9 9 26 8 8 8 108 g F 9 8 9 8 25 8 7 8 7 30 8 8 9 25 8 8 8 104 What Does the Data Tell at Child Level?

14. What Does the Data Tell at School Level?

15. What Does the Data Tell at LA level? (%)

16. Using FSP Data for School Self-evalution

17. Using FSP Data for School Self-evaluation

18. Using FSP Data to Monitor Performance Trend 2004-2006

19. Using Foundation Stage Gender Data To identify Underachieving Groups

20. Foundation Stage by Ethnic Groups

21. Foundation Stage by Ethnic Groups

22. Using Ethnicity FSP Data to Identify Underachieving Groups (% Literacy score 6+)

23. Foundation Stage Profile by Free School Meals

24. Foundation Stage Profile Assessment by First Language

25. Foundation Stage Profile Assessment by Term of Birth

26. Term of Birth and Gap in Achievement

27. FSP to KS1 Chances Graphs - Writing

28. FSP to KS1 Chances Graphs - Maths

29. FSP to KS1 Chances Graphs - Maths

30. Conclusions and Key messages Assessment Issues: • Distribution of children’s scores shows great variation between schools. We need to do more in terms of moderations and engaging schools in the use of data • CLL and maths average scores only showing a slight decrease in 2006 but continue improving • Higher number of children assessed as achieving 8 and 9 points in a number of areas and this is a cause for concern • FSP data can be used for school self-evaluation, target setting and identifying underachieving groups but may not be used for value added analysis between FSP to KS1 because of low correlations

31. Conclusions and Key messages (2) Evidence from FSP data: • Boys, summer born pupils are underachieving • Of the major ethnic group Portuguese, African and Caribbean are underachieving in CLL and Maths compared to white British • Performance of Bilingual pupils improve with improvement in level of fluency in English • Bilingual pupils fully fluent in English do better than British White • The above evidence support previous findings from KS1, KS2, KS3 and GCSE

32. End of Presentation – Thank You Contact details: Feyisa Demie, Research and Statistics Unit, Lambeth CYPS fdemie@lambeth.gov.uk Tel. (020) 7926 9448

33. Key Questions for Workshop: You will be given your school and Lambeth FSP data from which you need to answer the following questions. Brainstorm and discuss the following issues: How reliable is Foundation Stage Assessment in your school and in Lambeth. What can be done to improve?What does Foundation Stage Assessment data tell me about overall performance of the LA’s schools?How useful are the proposed chance graphs, which use FSP assessment scores to show the likelihood a pupil will gain a given level at KS1? Are they useful for future target setting?