Assessment, Standardisation and Moderation Ensuring consistency in teacher assessment 2015 –

Timeline guidance Actions and Responsibilities Timescale Send the names of the Leaders of Assessment for each cluster to CSC before Friday October 23 rd Contact: Clusters to identify a ‘Cluster Leader’ for Assessment in KS2 & also in KS3 Headteachers within clusters. Cluster Leaders of Assessment to attend CSC information session led by CSC Assessment lead. Between November 16th - 27th Cluster ‘Leaders of Assessment’ Leaders of Assessment ensure that all schools within the cluster are aware of the standardisation and moderation requirements and the resources available. End of Autumn Term Leaders of Assessment Schools in the Cluster

Schools to prepare for the cluster moderation and verification. In Fphase the work of 1 pupil at O5 and 1 pupil at O6, LLC, MD & PSD. Then the same for KS2 1 pupil at Level 4 and 1 pupil at Level 5 in KS2. Similarly, 1 pupil at Level 5 and 1 pupil at Level 6 in KS3 in all core areas of subjects in line with statutory requirements. Autumn – Summer termAll teaching staff in schools Headteachers/Leaders of Assessment to arrange and facilitate a meeting within the cluster of schools to moderate learner profiles ( pupils’ books and any other evidence) and collectively agree or if there is insufficient evidence, disagree the levels awarded for all pupils. April 11th – May 21stHeadteachers Leaders of Assessment Schools in the cluster Challenge Advisers External Verifiers Schools to be ready participate and provide evidence for the national external verification programme for Key Stage 2 and 3. Schools can be targeted or randomly selected. Post May 27 th Schools External Verifiers

There was an underspend last year with external verification so WG agreed it could be spent on revising and adding to guidance materials used by schools. Emphasis on cluster meetings for this year is that pupils’ books are used as the main focus for moderation. External verification 20% sample this year, to focus on English, Welsh 1 st and 2 nd Language, it is also being proposed to verify cluster meetings… In CSC the aim is to try and get as many Challenge Advisers as possible to attend Fphase/KS2/3 cluster meetings. Request for these dates was before 23 rd October.

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Aims of this session: Provide guidance on the expectation of the moderation process; Provide an agreed and secure understanding of assessment processes, best-fit judgements, using exemplification materials to support and add value to this process; Provide guidance on what is expected of a learner profile; Recruit interested parties to engage in cross moderation.

In-house STANDARDISATION  Involves a process of using samples of the work of the same learner or of different learners to enable teachers to reach agreement on levels of attainment through a shared understanding of the characteristics of a level to ensure consistency in those judgements. In-house MODERATION  The next stage where a best-fit teacher assessment judgement made in relation to an individual learner at the end of a key phase/ stage is evaluated by teachers and school leaders. This process needs to take place within the school prior to cluster moderation activites.

 Materials collected for standardisation purposes, to support teachers’ understanding of the national curriculum level descriptions.  Individual pieces of work produced by a number of different learners. Learner Profile A range of work – this means the pupil’s books and any other additional information that can be used for exemplification purposes to assist judgements to be made at the end of a key stage, through moderation. NO NEED TO MAKE SPECIAL PHOTOCOPIED FILES!

 Ensuring consistency and reliability of teacher assessment depends on a common understanding of standards both within and between schools.  National Curriculum outcomes and levels are designed for ‘best fit’ judgements and it is the interpretation of what equates to ‘best fit’ that leads to inconsistencies.

As stated in the guidance, Making the most of assessment 7 – 14 ‘all schools should ensure that their understanding of what equates to best-fit is secure. This should be discussed by all school teaching staff, within clusters and at Consortia/ Local Authority level’. The guidance states: A clear understanding of where the boundaries lie between levels is required The use of a percentage or proportion of statements as a guide as to whether or not a learner has achieved a particular level is inappropriate A learner who receives a particular level should be able to show mainly characteristics of the level in question to be recorded as working at that level.

 Learners working at the lower end of a level show mainly characteristics of that level across a range of work but may show some aspects of a lower level in some aspects of the work.  A learner securely within a level demonstrates the characteristics of that level across a range of work.  A learner at the top end clearly demonstrates characteristics of that level across a range of their work with some examples of the characteristics of the next level.

Learner Profile  A learner profile is a collection of evidence from an individual learner containing pupil generated evidence, teacher annotation materials and other information, (including context and a description of how the level descriptors are linked to the range of work), that demonstrates a “best-fit level”.  To alleviate workload, a learner’s exercise books SHOULD BE USED....

The commentary on the profile should:  explain how the best-fit judgement was arrived at for each of the Areas of Learning/ Attainment Targets;  explain why the evidence reflects a specific outcome/ level and not another outcome/level by referring to outcome/ level descriptors;  refer to the characteristics of adjacent outcomes/ levels;  convey an understanding of the outcome/ level descriptors and agreed best-fit judgements.

A range of tasks produced over a period of time A range of contexts Oracy Reading Writing Avoid similar tasks Sufficient to enable another teacher to make a best-fit judgement

A range of tasks produced over a period of time A range of contexts – classwork, tests, investigations Reasoning Number skills Measuring skills Geometry skills Data skills Algebra – KS2/3 Sufficient to enable another teacher to make a best-fit judgement Problem solving; Communicating; & Reasoning Ensure work is balanced and has a range of investigations.

A range of tasks/opportunities captured over a period of time Well-being Range/ skills Sufficient to enable another teacher to make a best-fit judgement A range of contexts Most of the evidence here relies heavily on observation – consider the best ways to capture…

A range of tasks produced over a period of time Plan Develop Reflect Sufficient to enable another teacher to make a best-fit judgement A range of contexts Ensure work given does not limit what pupils can achieve

Subject Portfolios Theses portfolios exemplify agreed standards in terms of the best-fit judgements. They set a benchmark for teacher assessment using a range of work from pupils and help schools in both the standardisation and moderation process. They support a consistent approach to assessment and compiling individual learner profiles in preparation for moderation They should be used as exemplars and not as a template

YOUR ROLE AS CLUSTER ASSESSMENT LEADER  Provide training for all schools within your cluster using CSC guidance document and exemplar materials;  Use the exemplar profiles to support a common approach to best-fit judgements;  Confirm what constitutes a best-fit judgement – using support materials provided by WG, WJEC, the four regional Consortia,  Lead the cluster meetings and keep an audit trail of the cluster moderation process, using exemplars provided in the guidance document;  Inform CSC of the dates of your cluster training and moderation meetings. Please send all your cluster information to:

All schools within the cluster will be required to bring learner profiles (pupils’ books and any additional information as required to support level awarded ) to the moderation meeting. One at the expected level and one at the higher level (primary schools Outcomes 5 & 6/ Level 4 and 5 and high schools Level 5 and 6). If a primary school has awarded a pupil a Level 6 they should bring the full Learner Profile at that level to the meeting. Copies of the National Curriculum documents should be available for reference. In cluster moderation meetings at least 2 members of staff from different schools should moderate each profile. The aim is to try and have a Challenge Adviser in as many meetings as possible this academic year. They will be writing a report on the effectiveness of the meeting. The Cluster Moderation meeting

 Go through the evidence, checking the level descriptors highlighted.  Review the judgements to obtain the best-fit level.  Check the sufficiency of evidence, is the judgement secure?  Each moderator should provide feedback on their findings as evidence that the exercise has been completed (a simple pro-forma is available for this purpose).  A copy of all the profomas used at the cluster meetings should be sent to the CSC administrative assistant who will acknowledge receipt of delivery  Individual schools should use the moderators’ comments to help them improve their assessment procedures and outcomes.  Finally, the cluster should meet again before the end of the summer term to discuss the findings and plan improvements for the new academic year.