Cambridge Primary
Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary
Global Perspectives
Purposes for assessment
Whenever we decide to assess learners, we need to be clear about why we are doing so. Why we assess
learners (our selected purposes) will influence how and when we choose to do this. Here are two purposes
for assessing Primary learners.
1. Assessment to give information about current learning and to inform next steps
This type of assessment should happen every day during classroom activities. Each Cambridge
Primary Global Perspectives Challenge provides opportunities to identify progress, give feedback and
discuss next steps with learners. Whenever learners demonstrate their current learning, you can use
this information to give them feedback and to inform your next steps for them and the class.
The aim of this type of assessment is to uncover what a learner, or group of learners, currently knows,
understands, or can or cannot do. This allows you, as the teacher, to give timely and specific feedback
to help them improve. It will also inform next steps (for example, it will help you to decide whether to
spend more time on a learning objective, to go back to prior learning or to move on).
When this is the main purpose of an assessment, it is important to retain details rather than summarise
information as a single grade. For example, if a learner is to improve, it is much more useful to say,
‘remember to explain the viewpoint of the author of the source’ than to say ‘you did not evaluate your
source’ or ‘you did that at a Grade B level’.
These informal, regular assessments are very important because you can make ongoing changes to
maximise progress during the learning process, rather than waiting until the end of a period of study.
Using assessments in this way can be called Assessment for Learning (AfL), formative assessment or
using assessment formatively. You can find information and advice on this process in Section 6 of the
Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives Teacher Guide.
2. Assessment to summarise achievement over a period of learning to give a grade
This type of assessment happens towards the end of a period of study (for example, a term, semester
or stage). It aims to provide a summary that describes how well a learner has mastered the skills
described in the learning objectives they have been working to achieve over that period.
The summary is often a grade which describes a level of performance. Common examples of grades
include bronze / silver / gold; working towards expected standard / at expected standard / above
expected standard; and letters or numbers.
The grade given can be used to compare a learner’s overall performance in different subjects or to
compare the performance of learners in different classes, stages or schools. Assessments used in this
way can be called summative assessments.
Cambridge Primary Checkpoint Global Perspectives is intended for the final year of primary education,
Stage 6, and learners achieve either bronze, silver or gold.
This document provides guidance on ways to assess Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives in Stage
1 to 6 with the exception of the Cambridge Primary Checkpoint Global Perspectives, which is covered
in the Checkpoint Instructions available at primary.cambridgeinternational.org/global-perspectives0838.
Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives, version 1.0
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Activities that can be used for assessing Global Perspectives
It is a common misconception that different activities are used for different types of assessment. Often the
same activities can provide information which you can use for your intended assessment purpose (i.e. to
give information on current learning and to inform next steps, or to summarise achievement over a period of
learning).
When deciding what activities and tasks to use to assess your learners in Cambridge Primary Global
Perspectives, consider the following points:

Your learners will show what they know, understand and can do in different ways. Some
assessments can be based on what learners write or say in response to questions (for example, in
group discussions). In Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives, some of the most relevant evidence
is found in what learners demonstrate through their participation in, and completion of, the
Challenges.

Give your learners the opportunity to perform tasks that reflect their age and attainment. The
Challenges include suggestions of age-appropriate activities, although you can substitute these with
other activities. Opportunities for assessing Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives should be
focused on development of skills, for example:
o
identify the author(s) of a source, begin to draw conclusions about accuracy and determine
relevance to their research
o
record, share with the class, and reflect on how their perspective might have changed about
the issue they are exploring
o
search a range of different sources, and begin to analyse and evaluate possible causes and
consequences of the issue they are researching
o
select and reference sources and begin to include graphical or numerical data.

Learners should explore a wide range of topics. Within these topics, they should produce outputs
that show evidence of the development, and eventual mastery, of the Cambridge Primary Global
Perspectives skills. You can choose how many of these skills or Challenges you wish to assess.

A single piece of work or activity can cover more than one learning objective, but it is unlikely to
cover all the learning objectives for Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives. You should aim to build
a more comprehensive representation of learners’ skills by looking at learners’ work and interactions
in a range of contexts and through a range of activities.

Seek to identify whether a learner can consistently achieve a learning objective over a period of time
rather than focusing on a single piece of work or instance.

Involve learners in identifying their progress and next steps. In Cambridge Primary Global
Perspectives, you can use a portfolio of skills, topics, or Challenges to record the process a learner
goes through to improve, as well as to identify how their skills come together in their work. In this
way, learners identify their own progress and next steps.
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Recording achievement
We strongly recommend that you agree an approach within your school which means that records are
simple, quick and easy to keep and maintain. Extensive, frequent record keeping can easily distract you
from more important classroom activities.
The learning objectives in the curriculum framework provide a structure against which learners’ skills
development can be checked. One possible approach for checking progress against the learning objectives
is:
Working towards the learning
objective
At standard of learning objective
Above standard of learning
objective
Learners can apply some, but
not all, of the skills described in
the learning objective in limited
contexts only.
Learners can apply the skills
described in the learning
objective in some contexts,
especially familiar and simple
contexts.
Learners can apply the skills
described in the learning
objective in a wide range of
contexts, including unfamiliar
and complex contexts.
Learners may demonstrate some
of the skills described in the
learning objectives for a lower
stage.
Learners may start to
demonstrate some of the skills
described in the learning
objectives for a higher stage.
A possible method for recording progress based on this approach is described below.
Example 1
Have a look at this description of a Stage 3 learner.
Stage 3 Challenge: Can we share planet Earth?
Nina and her classmates are interested in finding out what types of living things are using the school
grounds as a habitat. The school is in a busy city with lots of traffic and high-rise buildings, but the grounds
have many trees, planted gardens with flowers and a small pond. The class discussed what living things
they had previously seen in the school grounds, and the positives and negatives about having a school as a
habitat. Nina and her group then discussed ways they could encourage more living things to live in the
school grounds while protecting the existing habitats.
Nina and her group decided that conducting a biodiversity investigation would be a good way of finding out
what lived in the school grounds. Nina worked well with her group, listening carefully to what they said and
responded with questions that probed for further clarification or information. Her group agreed to create an
investigation chart using the categories ‘Birds’, ‘Insects’ and ‘Animals’ to measure how many of each they
could count in their investigation.
She was pleased that the investigation chart was designed to record the information in a clear way but
found that when she tried to use the chart during the investigation, the results that did not reflect what she
had seen during the investigation. Nina commented after the investigation was complete that the chart
needed more categories to show other living things that they saw, like trees and other plants. She realised
that she could have used the groups of animals she learned about in her science lessons as smaller
categories (fish, reptiles, mammals, birds, amphibians and insects).
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After, Nina and her group prepared a short presentation of their findings to the rest of the class. They
outlined the aims of their investigation and recreated the simple chart used to record the results. Nina
explained that their findings did not reflect what they saw in the school grounds. Her group were able to
explain that they needed to change the design of the investigation chart to achieve more accurate results.
Here is an example with learning objectives from the Stage 3 Challenge ‘Can we share planet Earth?’. It
records whether this learner is working towards, at, or above the standard of each learning objective.
Communication
34Cm.01 Present information about a given issue clearly and with an appropriate
structure.
Research
34Rs.03 Conduct investigations, using interviews or questionnaires, making
observations and taking appropriate measurements.
34Rs.04 Select, organise and record information from sources and findings from
primary research in simple charts or diagrams.
Working towards /
At / Above
At expected standard
Working towards /
At / Above
Working towards
expected standard
At expected standard
Example 2
Have a look at this description of a Stage 5 learner.
Stage 5 Challenge: How much water do we use?
Pete and his group were given the task of identifying which fruit and vegetables used the most water in the
growing process. They started by looking at various websites to get an understanding of the issue on a
global scale, then looked at the main crops grown in their country and then narrowed their research down to
the foods that were grown near the local market. They made a list of the crops that used the most water
and a list of those that used the least water.
Pete’s group then researched rainfall in the local area and compared it to the water needed to grow a crop
in their local area. The group discovered that all the crops grown locally exceeded the total rainfall of the
area and needed additional irrigation, putting strain on local water resources. They used their data to make
suggestions about which crops could be grown in the local area that would only use rain and not use water
from the ground.
Pete wrote his own report summarising the findings and making suggestions for alternative crops. He used
his own experience of his area to determine which crops should be planted, as well as some of the
consequences to not addressing the problem with water shortfall.
His group was able to look at their evidence to see how global, local and personal issues are linked, but did
not identify any different perspectives on the topic. Pete commented that they could have also researched
about climate change and ways of changing the way we eat to be more ‘water wise’. Their group went on to
produce a board game based on ‘Snakes and Ladders’ where players had a crop to grow over a year and
moved up the board quickly if there was enough rainfall, or went backwards if there was not enough rain, or
if too much ground water was used.
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Here is an example with learning objectives from the Stage 5 Challenge ‘How much water do we use?’. It
records whether this learner is working towards, at, or above the standard of each learning objective.
Research
Working towards /
At / Above
56Rs.02 Identify sources and locate relevant information and answers to
questions within them.
Working towards
expected standard
Communication
Working towards /
At / Above
56Cm.01 Present information clearly with an appropriate structure and with
some reference to sources where appropriate.
At expected standard
Example 3
Have a look at this description of a Stage 6 learner.
Stage 6 Challenge: How can sport be more accessible?
Rahima and her group are interested in exploring what things people do as leisure activities to keep fit and
healthy. They started their project by asking these questions: ‘Can we increase participation in healthy
leisure activities in the school?’ ‘Why is important to consider leisure activities alongside sports?’
The group made a list of possible healthy leisure activities. Each member of the group chose one activity to
research. Rahima chose yoga and found several websites about yoga, including some designed for
children. She discovered that some of these could be used as a programme to follow.
Rahima and her group collected their research together and used it to make a questionnaire. They
interviewed other learners in the school to find out which activity they would like to try as a lunchtime club.
They planned their interviews to make sure they talked to a wide selection of the school, including equal
numbers of boys and girls and a wide variety of ages. The most popular option was a yoga club.
Rahima’s group then decided to interview people who already attend local yoga sessions to find out their
reasons for doing so. They found the main reasons given were that it focuses the mind and body, gives a
sense of wellbeing and develops balance and strength.
The group presented their thoughts with the class on how a lunchtime yoga club might encourage students
to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Rahima produced a simple report, interpreting the interview data and other
sources. She hopes the information could be presented to school leaders to get the yoga club started. She
was not sure if participation would be maintained in the long term and was not able to offer any ways of
encouraging ongoing participation.
At the end of the project, Rahima identified that working as a team meant that they had been able to
consider a variety of healthy activities. However, she thought that the others’ contribution was less
important than hers because she had researched the option that was most popular in the questionnaire.
Here is an example with learning objectives from the Stage 6 Challenge ‘How can sport be more
accessible?’. It records whether this learner is working towards, at, or above the standard of each learning
objective.
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Collaboration
56Cl.02 The team plans and divides tasks fairly to achieve a shared outcome,
considering the skills of team members and the time available, and manages
disagreements.
Research
56Rs.03 Conduct investigations, using interviews or questionnaires to test a
prediction or begin to answer a research question.
Reflection
56Rf.02 Identify benefits and challenges of working together to achieve a shared
outcome.
Working towards /
At / Above
At expected standard
Working towards /
At / Above
Above expected
standard
Working towards /
At / Above
Working towards
expected standard
Giving feedback to learners
Your records can be used to give feedback to learners. For example, you can discuss with a learner their
progress towards learning objectives and what they need to do to improve further. This is particularly
important if your purpose for assessment is to give information about current learning and next steps.
You can find more information on giving feedback in Section 6 of the Cambridge Primary Global
Perspectives Teacher Guide.
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Reporting results
This section applies to anyone who is responsible for deciding the reporting strategy for their school or
subject.
Consider these different styles of reports and their accompanying strengths and weaknesses.
Report 1: a summary statement for the subject
Global Perspectives
At expected standard.
Report 1 is simple to understand and makes it easy to compare a learner’s attainment between subjects. It
is likely that this style of report will require limited record keeping by teachers. However, there is not
enough information to indicate how an individual learner might make progress.
Report 2: a summary statement for the subject and a comment
Global
Perspectives
At expected
standard.
Clearly articulates individual perspective;
can listen well to others and collaborate in
groups. Demonstrates an emerging
awareness of national and global
perspectives. Aim to reference all written
reports with a system that includes the title,
author and date.
Report 2 is similar to Report 1 but the additional comment lets teachers give some feedback on how to
progress further.
Report 3: a summary statement for each curriculum strand
Global Perspectives
At expected standard.
Analysis
Working towards expected standard.
Collaboration
At expected standard.
Communication
At expected standard.
Evaluation
Working towards expected standard.
Reflection
Above expected standard
Research
At expected standard.
Report 3 is still simple to understand but might require more time for teachers to complete than Reports 1
or 2. It allows learners, and their parents, to identify strengths and areas for improvement within a subject
as well as compare between subjects.
Report 4: a summary statement for every learning objective (excerpt)
Reflection
56Rf.01 Discuss the impact of personal contribution
on teamwork.
Above expected standard.
56Rf.02 Identify benefits and challenges of working
together to achieve a shared outcome.
Working towards expected
standard.
56Rf.03 Discuss ways that personal ideas may have
been influenced by new information or the ideas of
others.
At expected standard.
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Reflection
56Rf.04 Identify skills learned or improved during an
activity.
Above expected standard.
Report 4 is a much more detailed and extensive document as it lists every learning objective. This level of
detail can be confusing for non-specialists to understand (e.g. parents) but can help identify particular
areas of strength and areas for improvement.
You can choose to use different styles of reports at different times of the year. For example, you could use
Report 2 at the end of Terms 1 and 2. Then you could have a fuller report in the style of Report 3 at the end
of the school year.
Whichever type of report you choose to use, it is important that it provides value to learners and parents. It
is also important that it does not take too much time for teachers to produce. Teachers can also get value
from monitoring the progress of a class by identifying areas that their current class needs more time on,
and ways to improve their teaching for future classes.
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Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Global Perspectives, version 1.0
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