1. Cross Curricular Skills
Assessment of
Cross Curricular Skills
Anne Marshall
CCEA Key Stage 3 Programme Manager
18 June 2009
‘Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.’
Samuel Johnson
I am Programme Manager for KS3 within CCEA Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
Within NI to set some context there are 270 post primary schools and over 900 primary schools. Many schools now have an MLD unit and there are ///special schools catering for PMLD pupils.
Major function within our unit to provide advice to DENI
i.e. why did the curriculum need to be revised in the first place?
Not working
Overcrowded
Underachievement of boys
‘long tail’ of school leavers with no qualifications
To reflect changes in society: different patterns of employment, pervasive influence of ICT

2. PROGRAMME Overview of Rationale Outline of Training Programme
Decisions on Comparability
Managing the Media
Towards Policy

3. Context: the messages underpinning the NI Curriculum
You may be familiar with the Big Picture of the Curriculum at Key Stage 3, and the key messages contained within it. These include:
At the heart of the Northern Ireland Curriculum lies an explicit emphasis on the development of skills and capabilities to encourage lifelong learning and to enable young people to operate effectively in society.
The NI Curriculum also embraces the principles of Assessment for Learning, in which the emphasis is on assessment as an ongoing process for the benefit of the pupil. The equivalence in Scotland Assessment is for Learning
The learning experiences also encourage challenging, skills-integrated, enquiry-based experiences for pupils.
Therefore, the assessment arrangements have been designed to support these principles.
3 Cornerstones of Curriculum training
AfL
TSPC
LLW

4. DE Circular 2007/11
“The revised curriculum… has literacy and numeracy at its core. The curriculum provides for a broad and balanced education and focuses on developing skills as well as teaching content through the wide spectrum of the curricular areas”
Circular Number 2007/11
LITERACY/NUMERACY
Context: Importance of the CCS
Wider context: Why these three things, why cross-curricular?
You may recognise this DE Circular issued to schools in March This circular drew on findings from the N. Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) 2006 report on Literacy and Numeracy and on a subsequent Public Accounts Committee hearing. This circular makes a specific link between Literacy and Numeracy and the cross-curricular skills.
Fundamentally ….. Literacy and Numeracy are still important; these are at the core of learning and essential for life and work.
The cross-curricular skills provide one way of ensuring this emphasis continues in all aspects of teaching and learning. The assessment outcomes of these CCSs will also be used to monitor standards in Literacy and Numeracy.
In addition to acquisition of skills in subject contexts, there is an emphasis on encouraging pupils to consolidate their skills by applying and transferring them across the entire curriculum and in meaningful real-life contexts.
The cross-curricular skills focus on those skills that will enable pupils to operate confidently, effectively and independently in life and at work.

5. Assessment Support Programme – message from Stage 1
The Education (NI) Order 2006
Article 8: Skills
‘The curriculum for a grant-aided school must ensure, wholly or mainly
through the teaching of the minimum content of areas of learning and
religious education, the acquisition and development by pupils of-
(1) the cross-curricular skills
(a) communication
(b) using mathematics
(c) using information and communications technology.
(2) any other skills specified under Article 8(1)(b).’
The relevant legislation for the acquisition and development of the CCSs …..
The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 has put in place the legislation which enables the revised curriculum and its supporting assessment arrangements.
The Education Order requires the teaching and learning in relation to skills to be embedded within and across the curriculum. It is the responsibility of all teachers to provide opportunities for pupils to develop and demonstrate the skills and capabilities (DEVELOPMENT)
The key thing is to embed the learning and teaching in order to create the environment for assessment.

6. Legislative Requirements: Assessment
The Education (NI) Order 2006
Article 9: Assessment
(1) The curriculum for every grant-aided school shall require each pupil in each key stage at the school to be assessed in each school year in accordance with such stage.
assessment arrangements as are specified in relation to that pupil and that key stage under paragraph (2).
(2) The Department may by order specify, in relation to –
(a) an area of learning;
(b) a cross-curricular skill; and
(c) any other skill specified under Article 8(1)(b),
such assessment arrangements as it considers appropriate for pupils in each key
Now let’s look at the legislation for the assessment arrangements.
Key messages from the legislation (now specified):
The Education Order requires the annual assessment of each pupil in:
Areas of Learning, including Learning for Life and Work;
Cross-curricular skills;
Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities (referred to as ‘any other skills’ in the legislation).
For additional background info:
The 06 Order is supplemented by three further pieces of legislation:
The Education (Pupil Records and Reporting) (Transitional) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007(43), which
explains the transitional assessment arrangements in place until the revised arrangements are fully rolled out.
The Education (Assessment Arrangements) (Foundation to Key Stage 3) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007(45),
which provides some additional detail about assessment arrangements (mainly for primary).
this specifies that — 5 (1) each pupil shall be assessed in each school year by the end
of the summer term by a teacher in:
- each of the areas of learning;
- the cross-curricular skills; and
- other skills.
The Education (Other Skills) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007(44), which defines the Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities.

7. DE Circular 2008/22 Levels of Progression
12.“Currently the Levels of Progression are in draft format and the Department will analyse advice, expected later in the autumn term, about how they relate to existing levels. Clearly principals and teachers need time to familiarise themselves with the Levels of Progression once they are finalised. Part of the advice expected from CCEA therefore is whether the intended timescale to introduce the Levels of Progression from the 9/10 school year is realistic and achievable in that context.”
Circular Number 2008/22
CURRICULUM, ASSESSMENT AND
REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS 2008/9
This circular was issued by DE on 30th September 2008
Link to PARENTS
And where to find the transitional arrangements
The purpose of this circular is to set out the arrangements for managing assessment and reporting in 2008/9
Two significant points to emerge from this slide:
Firstly, as we indicated in Stage 1, the Levels of Progression are in draft format. CCEA is carrying out a comparison of performance in the levels of progression for Communication and Using Mathematics, and the existing levels of attainment for English and Maths. Initial findings have been reported to DE
The circular references a possible change in timescale for implementation of the statutory requirement to determine and report levels for the CCS. CCEA Council will be in dialogue with DE in relation to the timescale.
Whatever the timescale, we would strongly encourage schools to engage with the assessment process at as early a stage as possible, to allow time for processes and standards to be fully developed and embedded.

8. Developments: Statutory Arrangements
Statutory Rules now in place:
Curriculum minimum content
Skills and Capabilities
General assessment arrangements
Transition reporting arrangements
On (2007: 43-46) or link from
Revised schedule for implementation
Annual Report statutory for all years from
Assessment of cross-curricular skills using levels of progression – not statutory until at least 2011
Phased Arrangement starting with Communication and Using Maths…. ICT to follow one year later
OPSI Office of Public Service Information

9. Changing Emphasis in the Statutory Requirements
KS3
From To
Detailed programmes of study and attainment targets
End of Key Stage assessment in English (Irish), Mathematics and Science:
- teacher assessment
use of assessment units (optional)
external tests
Levels of Attainment in English, Mathematics and Science
Annual Report
Minimum content (i.e. statements of requirement), including learning outcomes
Teacher assessment by end of each year (Years 8, 9, 10) in:
area of learning
cross-curricular skills
other skills (Thinking Skills and Personal
Capabilities)
Choice of assessment types integrated into teaching and learning
Data transferred to DE at end of KS
Levels of Progression in Communication, Using Mathematics and Using ICT
Transitional Legislation
To ensure all are clear on what the outworkings of this legislation are …. here is a summary where we’ve come from and where we’re going to.
The lefthand side shows the situation in your school as enabled by the old legislation.
The righthand side shows where you should be moving towards, as enabled by the new legislation.
Explanation of the changing emphasis:
The Curriculum:
Programmes of study to minimum content (show min content page)
Increased flexibility
Increased emphasis in skills referenced in the LO for each subject …. thus:
2. The Assessment
Assessment to reflect the change in emphasis in the curriculum
Annual assessment – tracking progression year on year Vs ‘big hit’ summative at end of the key stage
Assessment of the skills and capabilities – broader
Teacher based assessment remains but now giving more recognition to the professionalism of teachers in making the judgements
Choice in assessment types used – growing naturally out of teaching and learning
Levels for the cross-curricular skills only Vs in subjects (English, Maths and Science)
New currency – are a shift across not a mad leap
3. The Reporting
Will continue to share information on pupil achievements and progress using an Annual Report
NB: The legislation does not address approaches and strategies, therefore AFL is not statutory.

10. Legislative Requirements (Education Order, 2006)
‘each pupil in each key stage… to be assessed in each school year…’ in each cross-curricular skill, with reference to the levels of progression.
Proposal
Assessment evidence for each of the cross-curricular skills should be drawn from at least two areas of learning across the key stage.
In Using ICT, evidence should be drawn from at least two areas of learning each year.
Reminder of the legislative requirements… within the legislation there are two important implications for schools:
1. How this might be logistically organised in school;
2. How you ‘get to the level’.
We want to make this:
a. manageable; and
b. achievable for schools
…. in discussion with principals and DE, we have proposed that, as a MINIMUM, assessment evidence for each of the cross-curricular skills only needs to be drawn from two areas of learning across the key stage. For Using ICT, the evidence will be drawn from two Areas of Learning each year, as:
ICT has always had a cross-curricular dimension as a CC Theme;
assessment of ICT, through the IT Accreditation Scheme, has been on a cross-curricular basis;
there is no Area of Learning and no minimum content for ICT.
As with the flexible curriculum, you can go beyond this and have evidence from more than two areas of learning.

11. Making a summative judgement for a pupil
Assessment Support Programme
Stage 1 Training
Understand and audit the requirements for the CCS
Select departments for formal assessment
Map assessment opportunities in Yr 8/9/10
Identify and develop assessment opportunities
Carry out assessment activities as part of L&T
Whole school level
SMT/Curriculum team in consultation with departments
Departmental level
Stage 2 Training
Use evidence to make judgements
Discuss and agree standards in school
Departmental / Interdepartmental level
Making a summative judgement for a pupil
This flow chart represents the work to be carried out in schools in conjunction with the training programme for assessment. This is a recommended sequence of activities. Schools may be at different points along the continuum.
First click (Refer to first two boxes) During the Leading Assessment Change conferences, schools leaders were introduced to the statutory assessment requirements. As a result, they were encouraged to give consideration to identifying the Areas of Learning most appropriately placed for the formal assessment of the CCS.
Teachers were also involved in CASS Areas of Learning training, where they were encouraged to think about how and where the skills were being acquired and developed in their subjects.
(Refer to next three boxes) – Stage 1 training focused on engaging with the nature of the CCS and the Levels of Progression. Attention was also given to the process of creating assessment opportunities. From this, teachers were asked to identify appropriate assessment opportunities, embedded in the learning and teaching, and to consider how these could be developed to provide evidence for making judgements about the level at which a pupil is working.
(Next click) Stage 2 training builds on and reinforces the messages of Stage 1. We will be looking at pupil work in order to discuss standards in relation to the levels of progression. We will also be considering the nature of evidence required to make judgements, and reviewing some of the main messages from Stage 1 training about the importance of planning and designing/creating enabling assessment opportunities.
(Next click) – There will be an ongoing programme of training and support as we move towards statutory assessment, making summative decisions about levels, reporting to parents and moderation in the coming years.

12. The Cross-Curricular Skills
Acquisition
Development
Promoting
Demonstrating
Applying
Transferring
Assessment
Reporting
All teachers will be involved in the acquisition and development of the CCSs.
Assessment and Reporting:
- All subjects can contribute to the ongoing formative assessment of the CCSs, eg through feedback to pupils, peer and self assessment, on a day to day basis;
- Assessment should build on the acquisition and development that is taking place;
However, there will be a need for formal assessment of the cross-curricular skills using levels of progression. While all subjects are required to contribute to the acquisition and development of the CCSs, not all are expected to contribute to the formal assessment or reporting of these.
NB: You don’t have to teach the prior learning to assess pupils’ ability to demonstrate/apply it in the context of an activity within your subject. However, you need to make sure that this learning has taken place and know what the criteria are for that element. E.g. You do not need to be the person who taught pupils how to use PowerPoint in order to assess how they are using it, as long as you are clear about the criteria for assessment.

13. Acquisition
May be focussed in certain discrete subjects or may be across the curriculum
Coherent programme of learning for the pupil
What do pupils need to know and when
Where is the most natural place
How will they recognise it again
Co-ordinated/mapped
Method of communicating this

14. Development Responsibility of everybody Learning Outcomes
Build on existing good practice
Aiming to infuse and integrate skills into everyday business of the classroom
Recognition of where these skills can enable and enrich learning
Encourage transferability, application and connections

15. Assessment Probably fewer contributors
Link between development of skills and their assessment
It should:
sit comfortably within planned units of work;
be relevant to the subject;
facilitate Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

16. The Northern Ireland Curriculum
Cross Curricular Skills are embedded and infused throughout the Northern Ireland Curriculum
They are bedrock skills through which young people access knowledge. Shift in emphasis away from perceiving these as ‘subjects’ taught discretely (within English, Mathematics and ICT) towards skills that are developed across the curriculum and are therefore the responsibility of all teachers.
Communication
Using Mathematics
Using ICT
Specified in terms of Levels (1-7 in draft form)

17. Levels of Progression The Levels of Progression:
are for Communication, Using Mathematics and Using ICT.
will be used to make holistic summative judgements about pupil progress each year;
form the basis for reporting on the skills;
also provide a continuum of development and progression directly linked to the requirements;
are competence based - ‘Pupils can’ ;
are mapped to National Qualifications Framework (Functional/Key/Essential Skills);
are currently in draft format, until detailed legislation is in place.
First highlight: The levels of progression are currently in draft format!!
The Levels of Progression are for the CCS only. You will not be required to level the Areas of Learning or the TSPCs.
The levels are for making holistic summative judgements at the end of each year. It is expected that they will provide a point of reference for making a comment on the APPR.
The levels can also be used to support ongoing learning and teaching in terms of acquisition, development and assessment because they do actually track progression.
The levels are competence based.
The levels have been mapped to the NQF to ensure consistency as pupils move into KS4.
The levels that you see are in draft format because the legislation is not yet in place. We do not anticipate any significant changes.
However, there will be an opportunity for you to give feedback as part of a quality assurance process. This will be in the form of an online questionnaire and focus group feedback, in which you have the opportunity to comment on such things as clarity of language, cross-curricularity, appropriateness of range and progression etc in the levels. The QA process is designed to occur in Oct-Dec 2008, at the time of the Stage 2 training programme. This is designed to allow you some time to engage in detail with the levels of progression documents back in school as a result of the training you receive today. It is intended that final amendments would be made as a result, so that definitive versions are ready for use in June/September 2009, for the first year of statutory assessment with reference to levels of progression

18. Commonly asked questions
How are LoP different from LoA?
What is the link between UM , Numeracy and Maths and English and Communication and Literacy?
When should Maths assess UM?
When should English assess Communication?
How many pieces?
What is the coverage?
Can Tasks be designed to cover more than 1 Cross curricular skill?
What methods of departmental partnerships are most effective?
What is the view of the proposal ie 2 AoL per key stage?
How to reach consensus in making a judgement?
How can we trust other schools?
What about the feeder schools?
We are now going to concentrate on the documents that you will be using to make judgements about levels.
This is just an initial overview. We will be looking at these in more detail in your skills groups.

19. Developments: Tasks
Debate around Tasks – should these be generic no subject home specified
Associated rubric – specific criteria eg what would a Level 4 website contain?
Different Approach across the key stages
Compromise – 3 exemplar tasks

20. What are they for? The assessment tasks are intended to:
provide opportunities for pupils to demonstrate, apply and transfer their competence in the cross-curricular skills;
help teachers to make judgements about the level at which a pupil is working;
be integrated into planned work, so that tasks are carried out within meaningful contexts within the learning and teaching that provide a reason for pupils to apply their skills.

21. What they aren’t… Time-limited tests.
External bolt-ons completed in isolation of ongoing learning and teaching.
An end in themselves.
Tasks which deliver the prior learning as well as the opportunity to demonstrate learning.
Step-by step instructions (we need to assess what we really want to assess).

22. The tasks provided will be:
Generic - so that they can be contextualised;
Holistic - in that pupils may have to draw on different aspects of a skill;
Standardised - in that assessment criteria are based on the level descriptions and remain the same regardless of context.

23. Range of Evidence Methods of Assessment
Oral…Written….ICT/digital;
Practical/experiential;
Expressive/performance;
Process…Review…Product;
teacher observation of groups and individuals – both planned and incidental;
teacher interaction with groups and individuals;
observation/evidence of peer and self assessment.
Importance of stressing the practical experiential we do not want assessments to be solely exam based.

24. Communication

25. Levels of Progression: Format
Context Statements
Level Standard:
Pupils can…
Requirements
Progression in Requirements: colour-coded
All 3 Levels documents share a similar format.
On the left hand side you will find the requirements for the CCS. You may remember these from your subject specific guidance. They provide a definition of the skill.
The colour coding allows you to track the progression in the requirements.
If you read downwards, you will see the “Pupils can ……” statements that describe the standard at a particular level. These will be used to make the summative judgement.
In the Communication and Using Maths, there are also context statements. More detail will be provided in your Skills group.

26. Communication Three strands Talking and Listening Reading Writing
Two Questions
What am I looking for?
What does the standard look like?

27. Communication: Writing
What am I looking for?
Language and register matched to audience, purpose and form
What does the standard look like?

28. Communication: Reading
What am I looking for?
ability to decode / read common sight vocabulary (Levels 1 – 3)
picking up the literal (Levels 2- 3)
picking up on the implicit (Levels 4 &5)
analysing / evaluating / synthesising (Levels 6 & 7)
What does the standard look like?
difficulty of text
importance of question-setting

29. Communication: Talking and Listening
What am I looking for?
Contribution
Interaction (including listening)
Use of language
What does the standard look like?

30. Using Mathematics

31. Using Mathematics Focus on the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’.
Can pupils ‘do the maths’?
Can pupils ‘use the maths’?
Pupils demonstrate both their knowledge of the coverage/range and their ability to use and apply this as appropriate.
Role of the Maths teacher

32. Levelling a piece of work
Identify the requirements assessed by this sample
Identify the coverage/range assessed by this sample
Observe how the requirements and coverage/range progresses through the levels
Identify which level descriptors best match this evidence and annotate on the sample
Look for evidence of the requirements and Coverage/range in the sample
Ensure the context statement is also reflected in the sample
Assign a level to the sample
Samples emerging clear evidence that there is AfL happening – too often schools not clear what they were looking for nor the criteria they were using to make that judgement

33. Assessment Grids
Highlight the context statements that will impact on the level of the piece
Identify the range of levels appropriate to the activity
Identify the requirements and the coverage/range that are covered in the activity
Demonstrate how the requirements and coverage/range progress through the levels

34. Activity 2: Levelling Work

35. Activity 3: Nature of Evidence
What do we need to know about pupil work in order to decide/agree the level it has achieved?
Assessment evidence can be in a range of forms, including:
Written (pupil work, both process and product)
Annotation of pupil work
Observational (of practical and oral activities)
Planning documentation (e.g. activity outline, pre-agreed assessment grid, learning outcomes/success criteria for pupils)
Assessing teacher will have access to a broader range of evidence that ultimately inform judgements.

36. Activity 4: Creating Enabling Tasks
How can we ensure that assessment activities:
are accessible to pupils?
allow pupils to demonstrate achievement at a range of
levels?
encourage pupils to use their mathematics at an appropriate level?

37. Making Summative Judgements
‘Best fit’, holistic Communication/Using Mathematics level
Based on the pupil’s performance as a whole
Evidence likely to be drawn from a range of activities and tasks
Pupils demonstrate both their knowledge of the coverage/range and their ability to use and apply this as appropriate.

38. The Challenges for CCEA
Professional development – Subject purists
Dumbing Down vs falling standards - managing the media message
Link with Primary – lack of trust
Dependency Culture
Creating Enabling Tasks embedded in the learning and teaching – resisting a bank of tasks
Comparability
Clear messages
Not losing sight of why we are doing this.

39. The Challenges for Schools
Competing priorities – Post primary Education/Selection
Legislation Outcomes – vacuum of uncertainty
Target Setting
Mismatch – lack of alignment
Genuine discomfort ie the teacher who has literacy/numeracy fears
Cascading Training
Perceived Progression/Regression
Accountability
Equity of Workload

40. What’s Under Development?
Support Planned for Schools
Departmental support for planning meetings – requests processed through CCEA to
provide additional guidance on task development and task design
guidance on making a judgement
Exemplification Database of standards.
fully populated resource
ongoing examples of pupils’ work plus commentaries to illustrate performance at a level
Support through Online Forum in Moodle
Flow chart of the planning process ie what departments need to do
Preparation for moderation – clustering.
This is just an initial overview. We will be looking at these in more detail in your skills groups.

41. Guidance and Support Materials
NICurriculum: KS3: Assessment & Reporting
Training materials
Northern Ireland Curriculum: KS3: Regional Pilots
Case Studies on Planning for Assessment
6 Case Studies of Reporting
Exemplification Database
Task Writing Tool
Online Moderation
Online Moodle Support – Standards Discussion Forum
These are the guidance and support materials currently available from the NI Curriculum website.
The materials referred to today are be available on the website
Levels and tasks are currently available online.
You can also access the materials used in the school leaders conference (November 2007).
You can also access the case studies from the 15 Regional Pilot Schools on “Planning for Assessment”

43. Ni Curriculum Web Site

44. Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.’
Closing Thought
Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.’
Samuel Johnson