Assessment for Learning

1. Assessment for Learning

2. Learning outcomes • To appreciate the teacher’s role in planning and assessment for learning • To begin to understand how to make accurate and productive use of assessment • TS 2, TS 6

3. What does assessment do and who is it for? • Effective assessment: • Provides children with feedback and encouragement and fosters the development of self-evaluation skills • Provides teachers with information that in turn informs planning and determines future targets. • Leads to more effective differentiation of learning • Leads to more effective evaluation of learning and teaching

4. Provides pupils, parents/carers and other professionals with information about their child’s progress and attainment • Provides Local Authorities and the Department for Education with information about standards

5. Assessment terms • Formative: On-going, day to day assessment that involves giving immediate verbal and written feedback to children in relation to how well they have fulfilled the learning intentions. Examples would be, marking alongside the child with shared target setting and pupil self evaluation

6. Summative: This provides a picture of what a child can do in a particular curriculum area at a given time. Statutory Assessment Tests are an example.

7. Diagnostic: This identifies particular needs of a child and often involves commercially produced materials, e.g. the Renfrew Language Tests. Outside agencies, such as Educational Psychology may also be involved.

8. Moderation: This enables teachers and others involved in assessment to agree on what is accepted as a particular standard for a level or a grade. It usually involves analysing samples of work against published descriptors for attainment, comparing outcomes, discussing discrepancies, followed by more refined analysis and finally agreement

9. Assessment terms • Criterion referenced – when pupils are judged in relation to criteria or standards that do not depend on other pupil’s assessments • Norm referenced – when pupils are placed in rank order • Ipsative – outcomes of assessment are used to judge pupils against their previous achievements

10. Reporting Tracking progress Planning Teaching Recording children’s achievements Evaluating teaching & learning Assessing children’s learning

11. How to monitor and assess • Learning Objective • Assessment method: • product of learning • process of learning • Monitoring - an overview of learning • Assessment - close examination of learning

12. QCA ‘Assessment for Learning involves using assessment in the classroom to raise pupil’s achievement. It is based on the idea that pupils will improve most if they understand the aim of learning, where they are in relation to this aim and how they can achieve this aim (or close the gap in their knowledge)’

13. Strategies for gathering evidence. • We need to find out what children know, understand and need to do in order to make progress. • Observation • Questioning • Pupil self evaluation • Feedback and responses to feedback (including marking)

14. Observation • Includes: • Listening to how children describe their work and their reasoning • Watching how they approach a task and interact with others • Recording: • Narrative/free description • Checklist/pre-coded categories • Time sampling/structured description

15. Questioning • Questions need to prompt children into thinking about their own learning strategies and to share them with others • Examples: • How can we be sure that…? • What is the same and what is different about…? • How do you…? • How would you explain…? • What does that tell us about…? • What is wrong with…? • Why is…true?

16. An example of assessment

17. Pupil self evaluation ‘…assessment for learning must involve pupils so as to provide them with information about how well they are doing and guide their subsequent efforts. Much of this information will come as feedback from the teacher, but some will be through their direct involvement in assessing their own work. The awareness of learning and the ability of learners to direct it for themselves is of increasing importance in the context of encouraging lifelong learning’ Assessment Reform Group, University of Cambridge 1999 Assessment for Learning : Beyond the Black Box

18. Learning intention and success criteria We are learning to…. We’ll know we have achieved this because….

19. Self evaluation: thinking about what happens when we are learning Choose one or two and add the words of the learning intention: • What really made you think/did you find difficult while you were learning to…? • What helped you (e.g. a friend, the teacher, new equipment, a book, your own thinking) when something got tricky about learning to…? • What are you most pleased with about learning to…? • What have you learnt that is new about …(quote learning intention)? • How would you change this activity for another class/group who are learning to…? Clarke,S (2005) Unlocking Formative Assessment Hodder Murray

20. Feedback and responses (including marking) • How clear is the feedback? • How do children interpret the feedback? Strategies: • Prompt an exchange – ‘I’ll tell you one good thing about your work and then I want you to tell me another’ • Feedback ‘sandwiches’ – ‘I liked your description of….. because….’ • or ‘ That is a powerful persuasive sentence, next time you could also try….to be really convincing’ • Ask a question about the work – ‘why did you decide to use pastel crayons for this section of the picture?’

21. Follow-up • Children should be clear about what is expected – do you want them to practise certain spellings, how/when/where will this be done? • Encourage children to reflect on their work and if targets are set, refer to them in subsequent marking/feedback • SMART targets

22. Making assessment effective Making assessments valid e.g. purposeful real –life assessments such as using coins to give change in numeracy Making assessments more reliable e.g. establishing criteria and sharing them. Everyone knows what is expected Making assessments manageable e.g. using other adults in the classroom, involving the children

23. Making recording effective You need to be able to remember: What’s been learned How it’s been learned When it’s been learned Plan for recording – use a proforma Develop a ‘shorthand’ Use your records!

24. Year/Class _____ Subject_________

25. Monitoring or tracking records

26. Monitoring records

28. Assessment records James chose a book independently and Was keen to show me the tractor pictures 12.10.06 James identified the letter ‘J’ today on his name card 13.10.06 James joined in the Hungry Crocodile song this morning and took a turn with the puppet 13.10.06 James played with the dressing up box this afternoon interacting with Ali being a scary monster 15.10.06

29. Assessment records

30. Using your assessment records Review alongside your evaluation of the lesson Look for progress or lack of progress Look for problems or issues Analyse why mistakes were made Consider what the children’s learning says about your teaching Plan the next steps for individuals, groups or the whole class

31. Assessing Pupil Progress • APP is a process of structured periodic assessment for mathematics, reading and writing.  • It supports teachers by promoting a broad curriculum and by developing teachers’ skills in assessing standards of attainment and the progress children have made. • It involves 'stepping back' periodically to review pupils' ongoing work and relate their progress to National Curriculum levels, and provides information to help teachers plan for the next steps in children's learning • It enables teachers to track pupils’ progress from Yr 1 to the end of Yr 6

32. Reporting • Parents’ consultation evenings • End of Year reports • End of Key Stage reporting to LA

33. Reading • Jaques,K & Hyland,R (2007) Professional Studies Primary and Early years Exeter:Learning Matters Chapter 4 • Hayes,D (2004) Foundations of Primary Teaching London: David Fulton Chapter 7 • Clarke,S (2005) Unlocking Formative Assessment Abingdon:Hodder Murray

34. www.aaia.org.uk/publications/aaiapubs.asp for the following publications: • Self Assessment • Pupils Learning from Teacher’s Responses