Assessment

1. Assessment School Based Assessment and Reporting Unit Curriculum Directorate

2. What is assessment? “Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about students' learning. The central purpose of assessment is to provide information on student achievement and progress and set the direction for ongoing teaching and learning.” (Principles for Assessment and Reporting in NSW Government Schools) “Schools are to undertake assessment to collect information about students’ learning. This will occur through both formal and informal activities. Assessment of student learning will be undertaken for all learners, including students with disabilities: • enrolled in regular classes; • enrolled in special classes or in special schools; • accessing life skills outcomes and content in Years 7-10 or following life skills patterns of study in Years 11-12.” (Policy Standards for Curriculum Planning and Programming, Assessing and Reporting to Parents K-12)

3. Describing effective assessment Good assessment practice requires that students are assessed using appropriate strategies for the information that is being collected during teaching and learning. To ensure that assessing student achievement and progress is manageable, it is important that teachers are clear about what is expected in assessment.

4. Describing effective assessment Assessment programs that focus on individual outcomes create assessment regimes that are inappropriate and unmanageable. Assessment should address groups of outcomes and should enable teachers to make judgements which: • inform teaching and learning • provide feedback to students • provide a basis for reporting to parents

5. Purposes of assessment Teachers need to be clear about what they are assessing and why. Assessment provides information for participants in the teaching and learning process to compare what is known and can be demonstrated against standards. Assessment takes many forms in schools and classrooms: • Formal and informal observation and discussion with students • Formal assessment tasks • Formative monitoring and adjustment of teaching • Summative assessment at key points • Comparing evidence of achievement with other students • Comparing evidence of achievement against syllabus standards. Assessment provides vital information at the point of planning, along the way and at the end of a cycle in preparation for the next teaching and learning cycle. In a standards framework, teachers can compare student achievement against syllabus standards that remain constant over time.

6. Discussion • What do you consider are the features of effective assessment practice?

7. Features of effective assessment practice • assesses what has been taught • links directly to syllabus outcomes • allows for a range of performance • engages students in purposeful interaction or activity • is equitable in allowing opportunities and access for students to demonstrate what they know and can do • is clear and explicit • has clear criteria for making judgements • provides clear directions for teaching and learning • promotes reliable and consistent judgements by teachers • allows students to clearly understand and be involved in the assessment process • provides meaningful feedback to students, parents and other teachers

8. Choosing the right grade in the assessment process • allocating grades requires teachers to use their on-balance judgement in relation to standards. • this is a key professional skill. • an on-balance judgement does not just focus on a single piece of work. • teachers weigh up the assessment information collected for a student up to that point in time. • this information will come from both formal assessment activities and informal observations and will be built up over time and in different situations.

9. Assessment for learning Assessment for learning acknowledges that assessment should occur as a regular part of teaching and learning and that the information gained from assessment activities can be used to shape the teaching and learning process. Assessment for learning: • is an essential and integrated part of teaching and learning • reflects a belief that all students can improve • involves setting learning goals with students • helps students know and recognise the standards they are aiming for • involves students in self-assessment and peer assessment • provides feedback that helps students understand the next steps in learning and plan how to achieve them • involves teachers, students and parents reflecting on assessment data.

10. Principles of assessment for learning i) Emphasises the interactions between learning and manageable assessment strategies that promote learning In practice, this means: • teachers reflect on the purposes of assessment and on their assessment strategies • assessment activities allow for demonstration of learning outcomes • assessment is embedded in learning activities and informs the planning of future learning activities • teachers use assessment to identify what a student can already do

11. Principles of assessment for learning ii) Clearly expresses for the student and teacher the goals of the learning activity In practice, this means: • students understand the learning goals and the criteria that will be applied to judge the quality of their achievement • students receive feedback that helps them make further progress

12. Principles of assessment for learning iii) Reflects a view of learning in which assessment helps students learn better, rather than just achieve a better mark In practice, this means: • teachers use tasks that assess, and therefore encourage, deeper learning • feedback is given in a way that motivates the learner and helps students to understand that mistakes are a part of learning and can lead to improvement • assessment is an integral component of the teaching-learning process rather than being a separate activity

13. Principles of assessment for learning iii) Reflects a view of learning in which assessment helps students learn better, rather than just achieve a better mark In practice, this means: • teachers use tasks that assess, and therefore encourage, deeper learning • feedback is given in a way that motivates the learner and helps students to understand that mistakes are a part of learning and can lead to improvement • assessment is an integral component of the teaching-learning process rather than being a separate activity

14. Principles of assessment for learning iv) Provides ways for students to use feedback from assessment In practice, this means: • feedback is directed to the achievement of standards and away from comparisons with peers • feedback is clear and constructive about strengths and weaknesses • feedback is individualised and linked to opportunities for improvement

15. Principles of assessment for learning v) Helps students take responsibility for their own learning In practice, this means: • assessment includes strategies for self-assessment and peer assessment emphasising the next steps needed for further learning

16. Principles of assessment for learning vi) Is inclusive of all learners In practice, this means: • assessment against standards provides opportunities for all learners to achieve their best • assessment activities are free of bias.

17. Assessment of learning Assessment of learning is assessment for accountability purposes, to determine a student's level of performance on a specific task or at the conclusion of a unit of teaching and learning. The information gained from this kind of assessment is often used in reporting.

18. Discussion • How do we currently assess our students? • What is working well? • What are our concerns? • What are the purposes for assessment in our school? • What assessment strategies do we use? Identify as many as you can. • How do we use assessment to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses for curriculum planning purposes?

19. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice The assessment practices of teachers are clearly much broader than the written materials they use for assessing student achievement and progress. The “Quality teaching in NSW public schools: an assessment practice guide” has been written to assist schools in building a shared vision. It provides an elaboration of the elements of the model to assist teachers and school leaders to talk about assessment practice and to understand what constitutes quality teaching.

20. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice When planning assessment the students to tasks it is useful to consider the following four questions: • What do you want learn? • Why does that learning matter? • What are you going to get the students to do or produce? • How well do you expect them to do it?

21. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice What do you want the students to learn? Consider: • Key concepts in KLA outcomes and content • How do key concepts relate to each other?

22. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice Why does that learning matter? Consider: • Does the learning have meaning in the world beyond the classroom? • How does the learning link to prior learning? • How does the learning in one task link to the learning in another?

23. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice What are you going to get the students to do or produce? Consider: • How will students demonstrate their deep understanding of key concepts? • Assessment tied to concepts • Which products or performances will be most meaningful to students?

24. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice How well do you expect them to do it? Consider: • High expectations for student performance and/or product. • How will students know what a quality product or presentation looks like? • How will they know when they have achieved the outcomes?