Teacher Assessment and moderation in mathematics – The latest information March 2016

Over the course of December, January, February and March, the details around teacher assessment and moderation have been unfolding and changing. We now have revised moderation guidance in writing. (STA website - 8 th March 2016) We are still awaiting exemplification materials for “at greater depth”.

The most recent (and significant) changes became known via the most recent webinar on 29 th February To view this for yourself, enter “EFA training STA updates” into a search engine Confirmation of this information was posted on the STA website on 8 th March – (“Clarification:KS1 and 2 Teacher Assessment and moderation Guidance”). A “schoolscom” will follow.

The situation now – KS1… Pupils carry out the tests during May. Teachers use these as part of the body of evidence to inform their TA judgements. TA judgements must be submitted by June 30 th. Schools selected for moderation will be notified on or shortly after 20 th May. They will then be contacted by moderators to arrange a date for the school visit The window for moderation is between 23 rd May and 30 th June

Just before the visit, teachers will need to provide a list of predicted teacher assessment judgements. The day before the visit, the school will be notified which pupils have been selected (10%). The procedure for moderation has now reverted to the same as last (and previous years). It will be a moderation visit – including a professional dialogue with the teachers (not a validation visit based on work seen in isolation)

There will be an opportunity to submit further evidence after the visit – and before data is submitted.

It is possible that you may not have carried out the tests when the moderation visit happens. You might want to consider the timing of your tests as they do provide extra, valuable evidence. Also, if children make “uncharacteristic errors” in tests, you have time to ensure there is extra, robust evidence in books. After the end of May, tests cannot be completed.

Moderation External moderation is statutory. It gives confidence that schools’ TA judgements …are accurate and consistent with national standards, as specified in the interim TA frameworks and the national exemplification materials. (ARA KS1 Section ) Current arrangements are only in place for 2015/16 cycle and are being reviewed by the DfE for the following year. Schools must have a clear internal moderation process, which scrutinises TA in advance of any external moderation activity. This may include: –senior management of the school scrutinising evidence provided for TA judgements against the interim TA frameworks and national exemplification –inter-school moderation where teachers have an opportunity to scrutinise the evidence for judgements against each of the ‘pupil can’ statements within the standard awarded from the interim TA framework, using the national exemplification materials to support their judgements, with teachers from other schools

KS1 exemplification materials Schools must use the exemplification materials to ensure a secure understanding of national standards, as a point of reference for teachers when making their own TA judgements, and to validate judgements across the school. (from the exemplification document) UPDATE: 8 th MARCH DOCUMENT STATES: “If teachers are confident in their judgements, they do not need to refer to the exemplification materials. The exemplification materials are there to help teachers make their judgements where they want additional guidance”

To meet a particular standard within the interim TA framework, a pupil must demonstrate attainment of all of the statements within that standard and all the statements in the preceding standard(s). UPDATE: 8 th March document states: “The evidence must show that the pupil demonstrates attainment of all the ‘pupil can’ statements within the standard they have been awarded.” “The teacher must be confident the pupil meets the ‘pupil can’ standards in the preceding standards but there is no requirement to produce specific evidence for them. It is likely that the pupil’s work for the standard they have been awarded will also evidence the ‘pupil can’ statements of the preceding standards.” “Schools are free to use their existing processes for teacher assessment and internal / external moderation.”

The judgement as to whether a pupil meets a statement is made across a collection of evidence and not on individual pieces. However, there needs to be sufficient evidence of consistent performance across several pieces of work, in order to demonstrate the pupil’s understanding and application of the statement.

When making their TA judgements, teachers must: be familiar with the interim TA frameworks and exemplification materials (now only for guidance if required – 8 th March) ensure that for each pupil they check and record whether there is sufficient evidence for each of the statements within the standard, starting with those for ‘working towards the expected standard’ and, where appropriate, moving on to the ‘expected standard’ and ‘greater depth’. (“schools can use their existing systems” – 8 th March.)

In the exemplification… The narrative accompanying the tasks is what gives us the evidence of understanding as it sets the context, explains the tasks and sometimes clarifies what has gone before. These are isolated pieces of work. Your books should be already “telling the story” and providing much of the context over sequences of lessons. You should be capturing the evidence as you go through how tasks are presented, clear marking, annotations etc.

In your books… Sequences of lessons should already be “telling the story”. Ensure that tasks are clarified Level of independence / support is clear Reasoning and explanations are being captured – “thought” bubbles, asking for explanations, show / explain to me how you worked it out, feedback comments in marking with some “checking” questions

Capture the evidence daily along the way… Marking, annotations, thought bubbles, clarity around the tasks, “explain how you know”…

Don’t lose evidence along the way on whiteboards…get it all in books! It’s part of the learning journey.

Strong evidence…. The work in my books shows sequences of lessons where I have applied, practised and consolidated the core “Autumn/SpringTerm” learning I am showing sufficient understanding at this time of the end-of-year “big ideas” The sequences of lessons in my book show clear learning journeys. My work shows conceptual understanding – and sufficient fluency and confidence with the learning to this point When I have carried out calculations, my use of appropriate mental skills and strategies is clarified in my work. My learning of mathematical concepts and skills is embedded in problem solving and related to appropriate contexts My work shows that I have rich opportunities to practise skills in varied ways that make me think Talk and discussion are a big part of my learning in mathematics. My reasoning and explanations are captured I use resources to support, explain and clarify my thinking

NB: Children in Year 2 will not be calculating over 100 but this is a good example of a teacher annotation to show the pupil’s mental strategy. Note how the teacher continues to probe understanding – and the pupil’s use of a visualisation alongside their explanation.

Quality teacher annotations give insight into a pupil’s mental fluency

Some thoughts…?? Consider carrying out tests early on in May – then any “uncharacteristic errors” can be dealt with in class work before final judgements Pupils who are absent…ensure there are no gaps in anyone’s learning.

At KS2… The test score will determine pupils outcomes and confirm if they are considered to be working at age- related expectations. Teachers are expected to determine a teacher assessment judgement also – against the Interim KS2 statements. (There is no external moderation for KS2 maths – but there is an expectation of internal moderation processes – as previously stated.)

Something to consider… As this is a new system, with new tests and new progress measures, robustly-evidenced TA judgments could be crucial and extremely useful to support conversations around progress and attainment. On the Hampshire Maths Moodle (under “new curriculum resources”) there are documents to support Year 6 teachers if they would find them useful.

Children working below the test standard Rochford Review - figures 1 and 2 outline how schools report children who do not take the tests Pre-key stage 1 standard: –Foundations for the expected standard Pre-key stage 2 standards: –Foundations –Early development –Growing development

Documents to support… On the Hampshire Maths Moodle Documents to clarify / unpick the KS1 statements Documents that can be used to help with the “checking and recording” Look in the file called “ARRA 1839 Standardisation and moderation”. (There are also documents to support Year 6 teachers with TA judgements – in “New Curriculum resources”)

Documents from Gov.uk Interim Teacher Assessment statements for KS1 and KS2 Pre-KS1 and Pre-key stage 2 teacher assessment statements Assessment and Reporting Arrangements for KS1 and 2 Exemplification materials for KS1 and KS2. The Rochford Review – figures 1 and 2 outline details for pupils who do not take the tests (it is not anticipated that the number of children not taking the tests will be different from previous years) Clarification: KS1 and KS2 teacher assessment and moderation guidance – STA website 8 th March 2016

May 2016 Final round of the standardisation events – places still available in all districts – bookable through the HTLC Learning zone. If these become full, please join the waiting list as extra places will then be created to meet demand. There have been two rounds of standardisation events thus far, during which teachers have been supported in preparation for making and evidencing robust judgements against the statements, as well as considering approaches to the tests.