Assessment for learning and e-assessment Jon Williamson, Managing Director i-nfer assessment ltd Dr Marian Sainsbury, Deputy Head of Assessment NFER

We need to trust teacher assessment

Why trust teacher assessment? Focus on raising standards Provides evidence of progress Moderating Teacher Assessment ....

Agenda The Changing Assessment Landscape What does this mean for a school? How can e-assessment support schools?

Personalisation and assessment The assessment landscape has changed Changes to NC testing Increasing emphasis on Teacher Assessment Increasing demand - utilise formative rather than summative assessment Government push for Personalising Learning Schools embracing Assessment for Learning Assessment should have an impact inside the classroom Looking at the policy context first. The launch of i-nfer plan coincides with a rapidly-changing landscape in assessment policy. The rigid structure of end of key stage testing is gradually giving way to a greater emphasis on progression, with thorough ongoing teacher assessment and the new single level tests. Alongside this, the practices of assessment for learning are taking hold in schools and have been given a central role in the government’s personalised learning agenda. There is now an overwhelming push for assessment to have an impact inside the classroom to support teaching and learning, alongside its established summative purposes. 5

Assessment for Learning AfL a central part of new personalisation policy (2020 Vision) and now the AfL Strategy (£150M of 3 years) Use of feedback from assessment to focus and enhance teaching and learning plan teaching based on progress data explain learning objectives questioning, discussion and feedback during teaching peer and self assessment review of learning

The Assessment for Learning Strategy (DCSF, 2008) Every child knows how they are doing and what they need to do to improve Every teacher is equipped to make well-founded judgements Every school has in place structured and systematic assessment systems Every parent knows how their child is doing ·         Every ·         Every teachers equipped to make well-founded judgements about pupil attainment, understands the progression required and can forward plan ·         Every school has in places structured and systematic assessment systems of making regular, useful, manageable and accurate assessments of pupils and for tracking their progress.

Three (interlinked) phases of assessment Day to day / close up Periodic / standing back Transitional

Making Good Progress (DCSF, 2007) Currently piloted in 10 local authorities Likely to replace current end-of-key-stage tests Single level tests to be taken when ready ‘When ready’ means based on sound teacher assessment

Assessment for Learning Strategy Making Good Progress Pilot Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP)

Assessing Pupils’ Progress Structured approach to teacher assessment Tracking pupils’ progress by level and sub-level Criteria structured by assessment focuses Under Development Out Now Reading, Writing and Mathematics, KS1- KS3 Science and ICT KS3 Speaking and Listening KS1-KS3 Foundation Subjects KS3 Science KS1 and KS2

Assessment for Learning Strategy Roll Out Year 1 (2008–2009) Supply tools to review AfL practice Introduce and train schools in APP Communicate the characteristics of NC levels Get senior leaders buy in Supply resources that will develop good assessment practice Identify strong schools Year 2 (2009-2010) Support to schools directly which have not managed to establish APP; Draw on expertise of schools demonstrating good AfL practice; To ensure that schools have an SMT member responsible for developing assessment systems; Ensure that children understand what they need to do to progress through NC levels. Year 3 (2010–2011) Develop usage of AfL to support planning and improve teaching and learning; Ensure all schools have a senior staff member responsible for a strong and integrated Assessment policy; Ensure parents understand NC levels, and how they can help their children make progress.

Agenda The Changing Assessment Landscape What does this mean for a school? How can e-assessment support schools?

Reading Maths Strategies Basic understanding Inference Assessment focuses Reading Strategies Basic understanding Inference Structure and presentation Language features Author’s intention Literary tradition Maths Numbers and the number system Fractions, decimals Number operations Properties of shape Measures Interpreting data …

APP assessment guidelines

The APP process

How to make a levelling judgement Making Assessment Focus Judgments look at the evidence in relation to the criteria and highlight those that have been met decide whether the higher or the lower level has been achieved Making an overall level judgement Check your AF judgements against the requirements for each level. Now finalise the overall level judgement by deciding whether the level is low, secure or high. Checking the overall Level Judgement Finally, check the overall judgement by comparing the evidence with the relevant standards files.

Potential APP issues Validity Reliability Manageability Impact

Agenda The Changing Assessment Landscape What does this mean for a school? How can e-assessment support schools?

Childspeak profiles Well done for completing the Reading Challenge. You are a Surface reader. Here are some of the things that the challenge showed about you as a reader: You understand the general plot of what you read and are beginning to notice what the characters are like. You work quickly through the questions, but you may not stop and think about your answers enough. Read the play again, or choose a different one, and discuss the characters with a friend explaining how you know what they are like. Look at some other plays and notice how they are different from stories.

The challenges Jon – where are the questions?

Reporting demonstration Jon – this needs to be a canned demo, of a few screen shots

Adam’s story

Agenda The Changing Assessment Landscape What does this mean for a school? How can e-assessment support schools?

i-nfer plan supports APP Teachers can use i-nfer plan levels to support their observations in the classroom Teachers can focus on Afs identified by plan Challenges are mapped to the curriculum APP i-nfer plan profiles suggest teaching and teaching groups Regular use of plan will provide evidence by AFs

See i-nfer plan at stand M27 www.i-nfer.co.uk See i-nfer plan at stand M27 Lightbox Education