briefing for governors primaryassessment and accountability reforms

BRIEFING FOR GOVERNORSPRIMARYASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY REFORMS

OFSTED AND ASSESSMENT

Note for inspectors: use of assessment information during inspections in 2014/15Information about how inspection in 2014/15 and beyond will take account of the removal of national curriculum levels.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/note-for-inspectors-use-of-assessment-information-during-inspections-201415



PRIMARY ASSESSMENT

The same for every subject:

‘By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study’.

All tests and assessments will reflect the content of the new curriculum.

Wandsworth Children's Services

A CASE FOR CHANGE – THE AIMS

• to ‘give as many pupils as possible the knowledge and skills to flourish in the later phases of education’

• to‘set high expectations so that all children can reach their potential and are well prepared for secondary school’

• to ‘raise current threshold expectations’.• that ‘No child should be allowed to fall

behind’• to ‘celebrate the progress that pupils make

in schools with more challenging intakes’

ASSESSMENT – PRE SCHOOL AND RECEPTION

• The existing statutory two-year-old progress check undertaken in early years settings will continue.

• A new reception baseline assessment will be piloted from September 2015 becoming compulsory from 2016.

• The reception baseline will be the only measure used to assess progress for children who start reception in September 2016 and beyond.

• From September 2016 there will be no requirement to complete an EYFS profile for children. The EYFS framework will remain statutory.


ASSESSMENT – KEY STAGE 1

• There will be end of KS1 externally-set test in grammar, punctuation and spelling.

• Scaled scores will be provided for externally set tests, with 100 being the expected outcome.



• No change proposed to the Year 1 phonics check.

• Judgements will continue to be made using teacher assessment.

• There will be end of KS1 externally-set (but internally-marked) tests in mathematics and reading.


• In autumn 2014, new performance descriptors will be introduced to inform statutory teacher assessments at the end of key stage 1. For mathematics, reading, writing and speaking and listening, teachers will assess pupils as meeting one of several performance descriptors.

• For science, there will be a single performance descriptor of the new expected standard.



• At the end of key stage 2 pupils will continue to sit externally-set and marked tests in mathematics, reading, and grammar, punctuation and spelling.

• Teacher assessment in mathematics, reading, writing and science will give a broader picture of children’s attainment.

• New performance descriptors will be introduced to inform the statutory teacher assessments at the end of key stage 2.

• For writing, teachers will assess pupils as meeting one of several performance descriptors.



• For science, reading, and mathematics, there will be a single performance descriptor of the new expected standard.

• A sample of pupils will continue to sit tests in science to give a picture of national performance. (Not reported to parents).

• The results of the tests in reading; mathematics; and, grammar, punctuation and spelling will be reported to pupils and parents as scaled scores. (A scaled score is a score where 100 will represent the new expected standard for that stage)

• Parents will be provided with their child’s score alongside the average for their school, the local area and nationally. (Not decile rankings).


LOW ATTAINING PUPILS

There will be a small minority of pupils for whom assessment arrangements under the national curriculum will not be appropriate. These pupils will have their attainment assessed by teachers.

• P-scales will be retained for reporting teachers’ judgements. The content of the P-scales will remain unchanged.

LOW ATTAINING PUPILS

Where pupils are working above the P-scales but below the level of the test, we will provide further information to enable teachers to assess attainment at the end of the relevant key stage in the context of the new national curriculum.

Schools will remain accountable through robust inspection which looks at teacher assessments of low attaining pupils and whether pupils are making the appropriate progress.

External moderation of P-scale teacher assessment as part of our further work on moderation.

FLOOR STANDARDS

• Schools will only meet the progress standard if pupils make sufficient progress in all of reading, writing and mathematics.

• Schools are expected to aim to have 85% of their pupils at this new higher standard for the end of key stage 2 by 2016.

An all-through primary school will be above the floor standard if: • pupils make sufficient progress at key stage 2 from their starting point

in the reception baseline; or, • 85% or more of pupils meet the new expected standard at the end of

key stage 2 (similar to a level 4b under the current system). A junior or middle school will be above the floor standard if: • pupils make sufficient progress at key stage 2 from their starting point

at key stage 1; or, • 85% or more of pupils meet the new expected standard at the end of

key stage 2 (similar to a level 4b under the current system).

Arrangements for measuring the progress of pupils in infant or first schools from their starting point in the reception baseline is still being considered.

PUBLISHING INFORMATION ON SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Schools will be required to publish a suite of indicators of performance on their website in a standard format: •the average progress made by pupils in reading, writing and mathematics; •the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2; •the average score of pupils in their end of key stage 2 assessments; and, •the percentage of pupils who achieve a high score in all areas at the end of key stage 2.

PUBLISHING INFORMATION ON SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

For the purpose of comparisons between schools across the country:

•a phonics check near the end of year 1; •a teacher assessment at the end of key stage 1 in mathematics; reading; and, writing, informed by pupils’ scores in externally-set but internally-marked tests (writing will be partly informed by the grammar, punctuation and spelling test); and teacher assessment of speaking and listening and science; •national tests at the end of key stage 2 in: mathematics; reading; grammar, punctuation and spelling; and a teacher assessment of mathematics, reading, writing, and science.

HILTINGBURY LEARNING LADDERS

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Hiltingbury-Learning-Ladders-6436817/

NAHT COMMISSION REPORT ON ASSESSMENT

DON’T PANIC….

“There will be a mixed economy in most schools as they see

current pupils through the final years of the old system and

engage with the new curriculum. Schools are advised to evolve

new structures, rather than try to cope with a barren landscape

devoid of the old.”

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

• Schools should review their assessment practice against the principles and checklist set out in the report.

• All schools should have clear assessment principles and practices to which all staff are committed and which are implemented.

• Assessment should be part of all school development plans and should be reviewed regularly.

• Pupils should be assessed against objective agreed criteria rather than ranked against each other.

• Pupil progress and achievement should be communicated in terms of descriptive profiles rather than condensed to numerical summaries (although schools may wish to use numerical data for internal purposes).


• Schools will find it useful to be using consistent criteria for assessment.

• Schools should work in collaboration, for example in clusters, to ensure a consistent approach to assessment.

• External moderation is an essential element in producing teacher assessment that is reliable and comparable over time, and all schools should take part in such moderation.

• Schools should identify a trained assessment lead, who will work with other local leads and nationally accredited assessment experts on moderation activities.


• Ofsted should articulate clearly how inspectors will take account of assessment practice in making judgements.

• The Ofsted school inspection framework should explore whether schools have effective assessment systems in place and consider how effectively schools are using pupil assessment information and data to improve learning in the classroom and at key points of transition between key stages and schools.

• The Department for Education should make a clear and unambiguous statement on the teacher assessment data that schools will be required to report to parents and submit to the Department for Education.


• Conclusions about trends in performance may not be robust when schools are held accountable as we change from one assessment system to another.

• The importance of CPD in ITT, for NQTs and more experienced teachers.

• A number of pilot studies should be undertaken to look at the use of information technology (IT) to support and broaden understanding and application of assessment practice.

• The use by schools of suitably modified National Curriculum levels as an interim measure in 2014 should be supported by the government.


• Schools should be asked to publish their principles of assessment from September 2014, rather than being required to publish a detailed assessment framework, which instead should be published by 2016.

• A system wide review of assessment should be undertaken

PRIMARY SCHOOL CASE STUDY

UNDERPINNING PRINCIPLES FOR ASSESSMENT

DESIGN CHECKLIST(A POTENTIAL STARTING POINT FOR A POLICY)

Science Assessment

1. Teachers use formative assessment through the year…

2. Information…is used to provide a narrative annual report to parents and is passed to next teacher or school

3. At the end of KS1, LKS2 and UKS2 teachers judge whether each pupil ‘has achieved’ or ‘not yet achieved’ in ‘science knowledge and understanding’ and ‘working scientifically’…

4. At end of each KS, individual pupil records are aggregated for each class, school or particular groups

5. Each year proportion of Y6 children achieving LO’s in UKS2 reported to parents and governors – not collected centrally

6. At a national level – sample testing of Y6 pupils only…

Assessing science – Where are we now?

The developing national picture•Science as a core subject, alongside English and Maths•Teacher assessment – statutory at end of KS1 and KS2 until at least 2016•Biennial sample tests to continue in Y6

Sample testing update November 2013

From Summer 2014•10,000 children across English schools•Five children selected by external administrator who visits schools•Each child completes three short test booklets; one for each programme of study with Sc1 / working scientifically fully integrated•Data is not used for league tables or fed back to schools•Collected at national level•Example questions will be shared, from first selection used, on completion of first sample.

Assessing science:In the new curriculum?

The programmes of study describe a sequence of knowledge and concepts. While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage.

Insecure, superficial understanding will not allow genuine progression: pupils may struggle at key points of transition (such as between primary and secondary school), build up serious misconceptions, and/or have significant difficulties in understanding higher-order content.

ASSESSING ART AND DESIGN

The NSEAD is supportive of the removal of 'levels' but is aware that a vacuum has emerged in its place. In consultation with the art, craft and design education community and experts in assessment and progression we have prepared A Framework for Progression, Planning for Learning, Assessment, Recording and Reporting as a guide for teachers working at Key Stages 1-3 and including reference to the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 4.http://www.nsead.org/curriculum-resources/assessment_and_progression.aspx

ASSESSING COMPUTING

Primary Computing Assessment Guidance•http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/data/uploads/CASPrimaryComputing.pdf (Pages 22-26)

Progression in Computer Science (Omit reference to levels)•http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/data/uploads/ComputingCurric.pdf (Pages 21-28)

ASSESSING D&T

Download the full document at:

http://dandtfordandt.wordpress.com/resources/nuffield-primary-dt-resources/

ASSESSING GEOGRAPHY

Creating a pathway through the new Geography National Curriculum:www.primarynationalcurriculum2014.wikispaces.com/geography

Geographical Associationhttp://www.geography.org.uk/eyprimary

Creating a pathway through the new Geography National Curriculum.

10 steps to move you forward!

Key to presentation

Steps to be carried out by the Subject Leader.

Steps to be carried out by the class teacher.

ASSESSING HISTORY

• Teachers need to remember to design their assessment so that they gain information on the historical skills and concepts demonstrated by children as well as historical factual knowledge.

• Assessment needs to be related to historical objectives (do not make the mistake of assessing literacy objectives).

ASSESSING HISTORY

• Try not just to over assess one aspect of history, e.g chronological assessment for understanding of a range of skills and concepts.• Ensure you assess a whole range of outcomes from children in order to give them an opportunity to show their understanding in different ways, do not just assess a written product.

http://historync.wordpress.com/assessment-1/assessment-of-progression/

ASSESSING MUSIC

Martin Fautley, Reader in Education at Birmingham City University, has written extensively about AfL in music and his work can also be found at www.teachingmusic.org.uk

Incorporated Society of Musicians Expert, user friendly guidance for music educators, classroom teachers and hubs to get to grips with assessment and progression in the new curriculum.

ASSESSING P.E.

www.primarynationalcurriculum2014.wikispaces.com/PE

PE Skills assessment document – levels can be removed

ASSESSING LANGUAGES

• Making and Marking Progress – http://www.linksintolanguages.ac.uk/resources/2557

• An AFL tool, based on the Languages Ladder, using ordinary classroom activities as assessment opportunities for observing pupils’ progress against the KS2 Framework objectives.

• Asset Languages – www.assetlanguages.org.uk/ This is a commercial tool which can still be purchased for a relatively small amount and has pre-planned graded tests in it, in all 4 skills. The tests are adaptable – they may include vocabulary that you have not covered with your class so you are at liberty to change them to suit.

http://primarynationalcurriculum2014.wikispaces.com/home

SUPPORT FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

• ‘Assessment Ladders’ in English and mathematics, drawing on the content of the National Curriculum and the performance descriptors.

• Briefing for headteachers and senior leaders this Friday

• Event for assessment leaders in late June (date to be confirmed)

• English and mathematics subject leader events (2nd July and 17th June).

• Curriculum cluster group meetings.• Ongoing events for class teachers from the

autumn term – what do age related expectations look like in each year group with the new curriculum?