1. Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP) in English Workshop: Introducing APP February 1 2008

2. Aims of APP To strengthen current practice in assessment by improving the accuracy of assessment of reading and writing To improve the quality of learning and teaching by introducing an approach to assessment that is diagnostic and one that encourages teaching matched to need To support the work of subject leaders and teachers through quality materials that have been tested in action

3. The final evaluation... The introduction of MPP should not be expected to lead to speedy improvements in pupil achievement, as teachers will first of all need to internalise new concepts and new ways of doing things.

4. APP programme All materials available on CD Rom or DCFS website The Assessment Guidelines The Standards Files Optional Assessment Tasks

5. The basic approach Gather together written and oral evidence of a pupil’s attainment for reading and/or writing Assess the work using the assessment guidelines Take account of the additional evidence from the marked optional assessment task(s) if these have been included Decide the pupil’s overall levels for reading and writing using the assessment guidelines

6. Assessing ongoing work Consider a portfolio of evidence, in order to: identify strengths and weaknesses in relation to individual assessment focuses provide more accurate overall NC level for reading and writing support target setting through more precise diagnostic information address a range of evidence over a period of time

7. Assessing on going work: writing The pupil’s folder: 1. Consider which pieces show what the pupil can do independently – give more weight to this evidence 2. You may find there is a spread of 3 levels. Try to narrow the levels down. 1. Now work through the flow chart assessing ongoing work: writing

8. The optional tasks Can be used when additional evidence of attainment is needed Enable pupils to demonstrate their competence with an independent task Can be used at any time, but most likely to be used towards the end of an assessment period 12 reading and 12 writing tasks – all resource material provided

9. Using the tasks effectively Select tasks that fit into the programme of work that pupils are following and that matches the level of attainment for the group Two lessons are needed for each task Marking is done using the flow chart guidance. Once complete, teachers will have a level as well as a profile of attainment against each AF Teacher booklets are provided

10. Standards files Content and format: 16 collections of pupils’ ongoing work cover levels 3 – 6 for Reading and Writing each collection has a range of work each collection assessed and annotated Purpose: reference point for teachers resource for training resource for moderation

11. Standards files Each collection is supported by four kinds of annotation or commentary: Each piece is presented with annotation which refers to the criteria for a particular AF at a particular level; At the end of each piece is a commentary summarising what has been demonstrated across the AFs; at the end of each collection, a summary considers all the evidence and concludes with a level judgement; at the end of each collection an assessment guidelines sheet shows why the collection is assessed as being either ‘low’ or ‘secure’ at a particular level.

12. Our goal – using APP to raise standards APP can raise standards by Regular tracking of pupil progress Identifying curricular targets Identifying areas of the curriculum where teaching needs strengthening Improving teachers’ understanding of the assessment focuses Raising expectations Providing clearer feedback to pupils Making assessment more consistent across a department

13. Five Steps Establishing the APP approach requires five steps: 1 Support from senior leaders 2 A planned process of implementation that is manageable and will yield assessment information in line with whole-school policy and procedures 3 Provide initial briefing for teachers 4 Provide training and support for teachers during the first assessments 5 Use the assessments to improve teaching and learning