Assessment should be a powerful tool for learning, not merely a political solution to perceived problems over standards and accountability [ATL, Doing our level best] Assessment 1

Assessment ! What is it?

Assessment 1 Learning outcomes You should be able to : distinguish between formative & summative assessment understand the differences between Norm referenced, Criteria referenced & Ipsative assesment understand what is meant by Assessment for Learning

Assessment 1 Audience participation And now a quick test

Assessment 1 Purposes of assessment Diagnosis - pupils' strengths and weaknesses to monitor progress Guidance- decision making Selection- placing pupils in the most appropriate situation (set, group) Prediction- potential of the pupils for future achievement Evaluation - effectiveness of the learning and teaching Accountability - the quality of the teaching and effectiveness of the school

Assessment 1 Purposes of assessment Professor Wynne Harlen summarised the purposes of teacher assessment in the National Curriculum To be diagnostic - by indicating particular difficulties so that remedial action may be taken To provide the teacher with feedback about the children's achievements so as to guide decisions about the next steps to be taken To provide information about the overall achievement of individual children at the end of each key stage To provide information about the achievement of groups of children for reporting on the performance of the school

Assessment 1 Modes of assessment terminalcontinuous formalinformal externalinternal summative formative norm-referenced ipsative criterion-referenced

Assessment 1 Definitions Summative - where the assessment is designed to measure attainment at the end of a particular stage Formative - where the assessment is designed to provide information about the progress of a pupil at a particular point in time

Assessment 1 More definitions Norm referenced : Criteria referenced : Ipsative : pupil performance is compared to that of their peers pupil performance is compared to a set of predetermined criteria present pupil performance is compared to past performance

Assessment 1 Audience participation 3 volunteers please

Assessment 1 Assessment for Learning Research indicates that improving learning through assessment depends upon 5 deceptively simple, key factors : the provision of effective feedback to pupils the active involvement of pupils in their 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 asses themselves and understand how to improve [Beyond the Black Box (1999)]

Assessment 1 Questioning The only point of asking questions is to raise issues about which the teacher needs information or about which pupils need to think. So : frame worthwhile questions which explore issues critical to pupils understanding extend wait-time to allow longer, better developed answers (rather than quick, expected answers) the aim is thoughtful improvement, rather than getting it right first time allow pupils to discuss their thinking in pairs/ small groups so that a respondent is speaking on behalf of others expect all pupils to contribute answers; sometimes the teacher may decide on no hands up in order to draw all pupils into thinking rather than those whose hands go up first [B&NES Briefing on AfL 2006]

Assessment 1 Feedback To be effective, feedback should cause thinking to take place about learning. Pupils ignore comments when marks are also given Things to think about : Written tasks should, like oral questions, encourage pupils to develop and show understanding of key features of what they have learned Opportunities for pupils to follow up comments should be planned as a apart of the overall learning process And ………..

Assessment 1 Less emphasis should be placed on : grading and marking (more on formative comments) quantity of work & presentation (more on the quality of the learning) comparing pupils work with one another (more on developing the individuals own progress) [B&NESBriefing on AfL 2006]

Assessment 1 Peer & Self Assessment [B&NESBriefing on AfL 2006] Criteria for evaluating learning should be made transparent to pupils so that they have a clear over-view both of the aims of their work and of what it means to complete it successfully. Skills of peer-assessment aid self-assessment

Assessment 1 Sharing Lesson Objectives [B&NESBiefing on AfL 2006] Research shows that pupils are more motivated and task-orientated if they know the learning intentions and are also able to make better decisions about how to undertake the task. So be clear about : WALTs WILFs Success Criteria Well know weve achieved this because.. The Big Picture How the lesson fits into the overall topic

Assessment 1 Effective Assessment [Beyond the Black Box(1999)] This happens when teachers : decide how and when to assess pupils attainment at the the same time as they plan the work are proficient in using a range of assessment techniques in the classroom prepare and make use of manageable systems for recording the progress of individual pupils

Assessment 1 Learning outcomes You should be able to : distinguish between formative & summative assessment understand what is meant by diagnostic assessment understand the differences between Norm referenced, Criteria referenced & Ipsative assessment understand what is meant by Assessment for Learning

Assessment 1 References Black, P. and William, D (2001) Inside the black box; raising standards through classroom assessment. Kings College, London. Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., William, D. (2002) Working inside the black box; assessment for learning in the classroom. Kings College, London Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., William, D. (2002) Assessment for learning; putting it into practice. Open University Press Assessment Reform Group (1999) Assessment for learning; beyond the black box. University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education

Assessment 1 References Pedagogy & Practice: Unit 12_ Assessment for Learning (on Moodle) Assessment for Learning (AfL) : Whole school training materials school-training-materials?current_search=97905 Assessment for Learning Toolkit The Assessment for Learning Strategy QIA 5 : Assessment for Learning

Assessment 1 References Assessment Reform Group (2002) Assessment for learning; 10 principles NCinAction: Assessing pupils work QIA Skills for life improvement programme AfL – Impact of National Strategy support h ttp:// assessment-for-learning-impact-of-national-strategy-support Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment

Assessment 1 The End