1. Putting the learner at the heart of assessment
Sue Horner, Director of Curriculum
Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency
12 November 2009
Scottish Qualifications Authority
BETT, Thursday 15 January 2009

2. The archaeological dig – Year 1

3. The changing picture in England
reduction in external testing
development of teacher assessment systems
need to integrate curriculum and assessment
professionalising assessment in schools

4. Government objectives
Every child knows how they are doing, and understand what they need to do to improve
Every teacher is equipped to make effective judgements about learners’ attainment and how to plan to improve it
Every school has systems for making regular, useful and accurate assessments
Every parent knows how their child is doing, what they need to do to improve, and how they can support the child and their teachers

5. “The research indicates that improving learning through assessment depends on five, deceptively simple, key factors:
the provision of effective feedback to pupils
the active involvement of pupils in their own 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 assess themselves and understand how to improve.”
Assessment for learning: beyond the black box, Assessment Reform Group (University of Cambridge School of Education), 1999

6. Working towards good assessment
BETT, Thursday 15 January 2009 6

7. QCDA’s Principles for assessment
the learner is at the heart of assessment
assessment needs to provide a view of the whole learner
assessment is integral to teaching and learning
assessment includes reliable judgements about how learners are doing, related, where appropriate, to national standards 7

8. Current priorities
Increasing the focus on pupil progress rather than achievement linked to age-related expectations
Raising the status of teacher assessment
Expanding the assessment repertoire
a wider range of assessment evidence
learners’ involvement in their assessment
Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS)
more accessible and relevant information for parents 8

9. Developing a framework for teacher assessment
To help schools and teachers
make decisions about
what, when and how to assess
recognise and make use
of a range of evidence
use the information effectively
for maximum impact
use assessment techniques efficiently
- reducing specific/separate assessment activities

10. Ownership by teachers Making a difference Involvement of
Evaluation of impact:
- progress of pupils
- enhancement of curriculum
- improvements in pedagogy
Ownership
by teachers
Involvement of
parents and learners
Continuing development and responsiveness
to changing local and national priorities 10

11. 11

12. Assessment overview Day to day
Learning objectives made explicit and shared with students
Students engaged in their learning and given immediate feedback
In class adjustment of lessons to take account of students’ needs
Periodic
Broader view of progress across subject for teacher and learner
Use of national standards in the classroom
Improvements to medium-term curriculum planning
Transitional
Formal recognition of students' achievement
Reported to parents/carers and next teacher(s)
Uses external texts or tasks

13. Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP)
Tools to support periodic assessment judgements 13

14. Assessing Pupils’ Progress

15. Features of APP assessments
Independence and choice – pupils demonstrating what they know and can do
Wide range of evidence – could be drawn from work across the curriculum and beyond school
Use of assessment guidelines which unpack National Curriculum level descriptions
Standards files - annotated evidence of pupils’ learning 15

16. APP further support 16

17. Changing assessment systems
BETT, Thursday 15 January 2009 17

18. Challenges Five challenges from QCDA’s Articulating assessment pilot
establishing
coherence
gaining
involvement
building
consistency
securing
manageability
achieving
impact 18

19. Establishing coherence
Hazelwick School, West Sussex
Connecting curriculum, teaching and assessment
assessment moved them towards a more active and participatory approach to science in year 7
focused on developing an individual learner's science skills rather than the coverage of subject content
this led to fairly significant changes in work schemes and teachers’ planning 19

20. Gaining involvement St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Warwickshire
Leading whole-school change
assessment development to improve the standard of children’s writing
involving children in their writing targets
parents to support their child at home in achieving these targets.
the success of the project so far is rooted in the effectiveness of a working party that represents all stakeholders, supported by the school leadership team.
a vision statement provided a shared understanding of what the school set out to achieve 20

21. Ensuring consistency Swinton Fitzwilliam Primary School, Rotherham
Improving the consistency of assessment
assessment for learning as a basis to improve standards
planning for, developing and assessing learners’ personal learning and thinking skills (PLTS)
enhance assessment practice within the classroom using video and audio technology
ensure that evidence-gathering was manageable and useful, happened at the point of learning and involved the learners themselves
all school staff contributed through discussion, trialling methods and feedback 21

22. Securing manageability
Durrington High School, West Sussex
Capturing assessment evidence
‘learning conversations’ are an integral part of weekly catch-up meetings
learners are encouraged to take responsibility for the collection of evidence
started to use digital video cameras, still cameras and audio recordings as well as paper-based notes to record progress 22

23. Achieving impact Easebourne Primary School, West Sussex
Broadening the assessment dialogue
opportunities for pupils to self-, peer- and group-assess
the staff came to the view that assessment based on skills that could be transferred across all subjects would be both far more manageable and have a greater impact on the children’s learning.
based their approach on the four Rs: resilience, reflection, relationships and resourcefulness
used a version of Apgar to capture the progress individual children made in developing the four Rs on a residential trip
'It quickly became clear that the use of Apgar and its creation of a new dialogue between everyone at Easebourne (children, teachers, parents, carers and governors) was going to revolutionise the way we think about learning.' 23

24. Working towards a new assessment landscape
BETT, Thursday 15 January 2009 24

25. Assessment for pupils and teachers
I build my knowledge of my pupils into my planning and teaching
I know my pupils’ strengths and areas for development
I understand national standards in detail
I recognise learning and achievement in the classroom
My pupils make faster progress than they used to
My teacher gives me feedback which helps me progress day by day
I know how I am progressing and what to focus on next…
I do different tasks to show what I can do
When I move class my new teacher understands where I am and what I need to do next
… and my family knows it so they help me too
I know that my colleagues share the same expectations
I am supported by my school systems and by assessment experts

26. Making the most of current opportunities
Ensuring consistency of standards
Keeping assessment relevant, up-to-date and responsive to developments in curriculum and pedagogy
Expanding the repertoire of types of assessment
Putting the learner at the heart of assessment 26