Assessing RE AREIAC Alan Brine HMI National Adviser for RE 17 November 2011

Add presentation title to master slide | 2 What did we find out? Secondary Assessment: Good or betterInadequate RE26%21% History57%4% Geog47%7% PE70%4% Citz41%16%

Add presentation title to master slide | 3 What did we find out? Primary Assessment: Good or betterInadequate RE19%33% History50%0% Geog51%20% PE32%10% Citz39%0%

Add presentation title to master slide | 4 Issues common across the subjects  Difference in effectiveness of assessment between Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 3  continuous levelling and sub-levelling having no discernable positive impact on students’ progress.  assessment tasks too narrowly focused and bolted on to learning rather than integral to it  weaknesses in subject leadership in some primary schools hampering effective and accurate assessment practice  in primary schools pupils showed that they had little knowledge of how well they were doing and what they needed to do to improve. Targets more often linked to literacy or presentation rather than anything subject specific.

Add presentation title to master slide | 5 Best practice in secondary  Effective use of exemplification material and well-embedded moderation procedures  The expansion of levels into clear criteria that students understood and could use for peer and self-assessment  Clear and continuous feedback to students so that they understood their strengths and how to improve.  Regular tracking of students’ progress and appropriate interventions with data used well to inform lesson planning.  Teachers making good use of targeted and open ended questions to assess students’ understanding during lessons.  Learning checks linked to lesson objectives and questions sufficiently probing to fully challenge the higher attaining students.

Add presentation title to master slide | 6 Best practice in primary  The planning for each topic clearly identifies overarching differentiated outcomes – used to record pupil progress  Clear skills ‘ladders’ used and shared with pupils  Assessment information impacting on the planning for the following topic to reshape the learning  A variety of assessment activities identified including self and peer assessment, responding to teachers’ written comments on post-its  Variety of monitoring by the subject leader and senior managers including book trawls, marking checks, planning checks, pupil voice as well as direct observations of teaching and learning  The use of school portfolios of pupils’ work to help teachers moderate standards and provide accurate end of key stage assessments.

Add presentation title to master slide | 7 Have levels had their day?  Rumours coming out of NC review  Pupils only able to define their progress in terms of their level but stuck at a level for too long  Anxiety that some of better RE practice in secondary suffers from mechanistic or over-elaborate use of levels:  Sub-levelling  Teaching focusing on hitting levels rather than the purpose of the learning  Tasks heavily over-levelled  Simply not working effectively as a basis for assessment in primary

Add presentation title to master slide | 8 Why is RE so much worse?  Lack of CPD espc in primary  Lack of clear well-publicised exemplification materials  Deep problems with the NSNF levels  Ambiguity around relationship of enquiry and reflection – what are we trying to assess?  Weaknesses at medium term planning level