1. Assessment at St John’s
October 2015

2. Statement from DfE, June 2013
As part of our reforms to the national curriculum, the current system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment and progress will be removed. It will not be replaced. We believe this system is complicated and difficult to understand, especially for parents. It also encourages teachers to focus on a pupil’s current level, rather than consider more broadly what the pupil can actually do. Prescribing a single detailed approach to assessment does not fit with the curriculum freedoms we are giving schools.

3. 2016
New tests for the new curriculum (standardised scores rather than levels)
KS2 writing remains a teacher assessment
KS1 remains as teacher assessment informed by tests (including a new Grammar test)

4. New test specifications – KS1
KS1 maths – paper 1 (arithmetic); paper 2 (mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning)
KS1 reading – 2 papers, second one harder than first. Teachers use judgement when to withdraw child from test. Majority of marks on comprehension, up to 30% on inference, a few on language for effect
KS1 EGPAS – paper 1 (short written task – focus on grammar and punc.); paper 2 (questions on grammar, punc. and vocab.); paper 3 (spelling)

5. New test specifications – KS2
KS2 maths – paper 1 (arithmetic); papers 2 & 3 (mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning)
KS2 reading – 1 paper % on comprehension, % on inference, 10-25% on language for effect, up to 10% on themes and conventions
KS2 EGPAS – paper 1 (questions on grammar and punc.); paper 2 (spelling)

6. What about in-between the Key Stage assessment points?
No national system
No levels
Schools have the freedom to develop their own approach to assessing progress
However
Ofsted will be looking to see robust evidence that pupils are making good progress in learning

7. So why remove levels? Good Practice:
A very broad tool, to be used periodically as a check on standards
Detailed level descriptions useful to help teachers consider gaps in pupils’ learning and plan next steps
Less good practice:
Levelling every single piece of work
Labelling children (“I’m a 3c”)
Using level descriptors as children’s targets or as success criteria
Differentiating lessons according to fixed pupil groups, based on their levels

8. What do we believe about good practice assessment?
Summative Assessment = an evaluation of what children have learnt at a given point in time
Formative Assessment = an ongoing process which is integral to teaching and learning

9. Good quality assessment at St John’s
Rich open-ended tasks
No ceilings – children allowed to thrive
Investigation, problem-solving, choice
Collaborative group work, dialogue
Integral to teaching and learning

10. Formative Assessment should:
What good assessment looks like. 10 principles from the Assessment Review Group.
Formative Assessment should:
be sensitive and constructive
foster learners’ motivation
promote understanding of learning goals and criteria
be part of effective planning
develop learners’ capacity for self assessment
help learners know how to improve
recognise all educational achievement
be central to classroom practice
be a key professional skill for teachers
focus on how students learn

11. An Opportunity for St John’s
Revitalise assessment practice in our school
Trial assessment packages and processes. (Learning Ladders)
Analyse what is working? What needs changing?
Good quality formative assessment, true to the 10 principles
Freedom to develop approaches that are right for our pupils

12. EYFS New Baseline for 2015: Focus on PSE, C&L, Maths and Literacy
The Baseline is bases on assessments of children engaged in play
When this cohort of children reach Year 6 their progress will be judged from the baseline, this will be their starting point
Children will still be assessed against the Early Learning Goals for all seven areas of learning at the end of the Reception Year

13. What we do in KS1 and 2. Targeted questioning
Reviewed, as a staff, how children are assessed daily in all lessons through a variety of formative assessments, for example:
Targeted questioning
AFL – checking understanding and adapting lessons accordingly
Pupil self-assessment (green pen work)
Peer assessment
DIRT (Dedicated improvement reflection time) – responding to teachers marking
Plenaries – have you met WALT through the WILF – next steps
This process hasn’t changed - We were already doing all of the above.

14. What this all means.
These assessments help to formulate a judgement of what step, replacing ‘levels’, the child is at and this is periodically recorded on the new target sheets in the front of books by children and staff.
(reading, writing, maths & EGPaS).

15. Beginning, progressing, embedded
A code is used to ascertain the depth of understanding – a series of lines crossing the statement box eventually making a union flag giving 4 opportunities to demonstrate understanding.
A colour code to indicate when the learning took place is also being developed - Autumn = pink, Spring = orange, Summer = green.

16. The statements (targets) are taken directly from the National Curriculum 2014, therefore building in the greater expectation for deeper knowledge and understanding.

17. Collaborative working as a staff
All this daily ongoing build-up of knowledge is what teachers then use to formulate a summative assessment every half term, when they decide whether or not the children are entering, developing or secure in a subject.
Teachers have agreed what each stage looks like and use this agreement to ensure parity between year groups.
More of this moderation will take place over this year to make sure the judgements being made are secure and in line with each other. This moderation will also take place across Ripley schools in Spring.

18. STANDARDS
Some children will not yet be working within their age related stage, due to the increase in expectation in the new curriculum (Y3 are working on the new curriculum for the first time this year).
With this in mind children’s entry points for the year (baseline) have been placed on a grid and their expected end point agreed as well.
This should ensure “catch up” over a period of time.

19. Progress Expectation
In an ideal world children will start each year as secure in the previous year’s expectations, then progress to entering in Autumn, developing in Spring and secure in Summer.
This would represent 3 full steps of progress and would mean that the child is secure in the knowledge and understanding in that year group and subject.
Some children may well make more progress than this and move to secure plus (mastery).

20. Typical Y3 child – expected progress
Y2 S EC
Y3ENT/ Y3ENT+
Y3DEV / Y3DEV+
Y3SEC
Y3SEC+
SUM 2
AUTUMN
SPRING
SUMMER

21. Children who are not yet at age related expectations (ARE), the expectation would be that they would make 4, 5 or 6 full steps of progress in order to catch up, but be detrimental to deepening knowledge and understanding.

22. Y3 child needing to catch up…. 5 steps of progress.
Y1 SEC
Y2 ENT/ENT+
Y2DEV / DEV+
Y2 SEC
Y3ENT / Y3ENT+
Y3DEV / Y3DEV+
Y3SEC
Y3SEC+
SUM Y2
AUT 2
SPR 1
SUM 1

23. How we monitor
Progress towards these expectations is monitored every half term.
Pupil Progress Review Meetings (PPRM)
Children are also tracked towards an end of Key Stage target as well as end of term and year targets.

24. QUESTIONS
Post it notes are available for any questions you may have. We will address these in a letter we plan to send to all parents about tonight's meeting.