Assessment
without levels
8th October 2014
New National Curriculum
(Narrative and number)
To develop accurate teacher assessment without
levels
What are the questions
we need to ask as a
Network in Redbridge?
How do we accurately monitor attainment and
progress without levels?
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How will we know if a child is below, above or
exceeding ARE?
What does ARE look like in year 3 in reading and
what does it look like if I am an able child?
How does the teacher demonstrate progress for all
children without NC levels?
How will the changes we make to assessment
systems in school impact on practice?
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What will daily, weekly, half termly assessment
information look like?
How does the teacher measure next steps learning
and use this at pupil progress meetings and formal
appraisal target setting meetings to evidence the
impact of their teaching?
How do we link our new assessment systems to the
new curriculum?
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What does the new curriculum ask each teacher to
deliver in each year group?
What must we include in the systems and
procedures we produce to ensure they always
matches the requirements of the NC as well as
other areas of our curriculum?
How will the systems that senior leaders use, ensure
that teachers continue to be fully accountable for
children's achievement?
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What tracking system will provide each school with accurate
measurements so they can confidently reports summative
data?
Can we agree as a network which system is best or how we
can obtain parity across schools so we are all measuring the
same things in the same way?
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Time for members of schools to talk to each other
about any other questions they would like the network
to answer as part of its work.
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As now, inspectors will use a range of evidence to make judgements,
including by looking at test results, pupils’ work and pupils’ own perceptions
of their learning. Inspectors will not expect to see a particular assessment
system in place and will recognise that schools are still working towards full
implementation of their preferred approach.
However, inspectors will:
spend more time looking at the range of pupils’ work to consider what
progress they are making in different areas of the curriculum
talk to leaders about schools’ use of formative and summative
assessment and how this improves teaching and raises achievement
evaluate how well pupils are doing against relevant age-related
expectations as set out by the school and the national curriculum
(where this applies)
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Assessment principles: school curriculum, DfE, April 2014:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessment-principles-school-curriculum.
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Schools win funds to develop and share new ways of assessing pupils:
www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-win-funds-to-develop-and-share-new-ways-of-assessingpupils.
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National curriculum and assessment: information for schools, DfE, March 2014:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-and-assessment-information-forschools.
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Assessment Commission Report, NAHT, February 2014, www.naht.org.uk/welcome/news-andmedia/key-topics/assessment/assessment-commission-resources/.
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Case study One - Assessment without levels, www.ascl.org.uk/utilities/documentsummary.139FCCAF-54DA-416D-B67D2FA2149B6BA7.html.
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Case study Two - Assessment without levels http://www.ascl.org.uk/utilities/documentsummary.8A5E3F46-2082-416E-928E83DAA69E3AB0.html.
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Schools are likely to use a combination of relevant
national curriculum expectations and performance
descriptors where they apply (see below), and
expectations set by the school for other (continued in
the footnote below) subjects and age groups through
the chosen assessment system.
For the end of each key stage, the government will set
the expected standards in reading, writing, mathematics
and science. In between, it is for schools to determine
where pupils must be in relation to that standard.
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For Key Stage 1, the DfE will provide performance
descriptors for expected national standards in
mathematics, reading and writing. It will provide a single
descriptor of the expected standard for science.
For Key Stage 2, the DfE will provide performance
descriptors for expected standards in writing. For
science, reading and mathematics, it will provide a single
descriptor of the expected standard. The DfE will publish
the draft performance descriptors in autumn 2014. At
both key stages, tests will be reported against scaled
scores rather than levels.
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We know the questions we wish to ask
We know what Ofsted want
I would like to share with you what Tim Oates, Chair of
the expert panel, which advised the government on
the new curriculum for 4 years, says about assessment.
This may provide us with further thoughts and
questions on the work ahead of us.
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Chair of the expert panel which informed the
review of the NC from 2010 to 2014
Group Director of Assessment Research and
Development at Cambridge University
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5vrBXFpm0
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Fewer things done in greater detail!
Question Kleptomaniacs!
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Read copies of the underpinning principles of
assessment in schools
Read copies of the design check list – understand the
notes that the NAHT commission highlight
Use these to support the work of the network
View the May 2014 schools who received funding from
the DFE for the work they achieved with coming up
with innovative ways to assess progress and
achievement
Inform this is the work that Redbridge needs to do for
its schools.
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Know and understand the key ideas, skills and concepts
in each year group and in specific areas of the
curriculum
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Know and understand what expected and exceeding
outcomes are in each year group
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Challenge all children so there are no limits to
achievement – learning is not capped
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Use matrices to support next steps learning so that
depth and breath is achieved.
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Develop banks of challenging key questions to enable
them to accurately assess achievement.
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Formatively assess, diagnose next steps and
summarise learning.
for teachers?
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There is a key formative assessment document that sets
out key areas of key skills, knowledge and understanding
for each year group.
A document that is easy to use and enables the teacher to
secure breadth and depth learning, identifying gaps.
A document that enables teachers to set challenging
learning from the start of each lesson that is achievable as
a result of accurate next steps assessment information.
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for our children?
Learning opportunities will not be capped for any child.
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Children will become more proactive as challenges are
set and they no longer see themselves as a particular
level child – work is always a challenge, it doesn’t come
if you are the most able, it comes all the time!
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Deeper and more meaningful learning is achieved.
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for our school leaders?
Network members are knowledgeable about the
systems and procedures that are most effective for
assessment without levels in schools.
Network members are providing a professional arena
to support their own and other schools, via the work of
the group on how to secure high quality assessment
for next steps learning for every child.
There is a key document in place that enables every
school leader to show: how well pupils are doing against
relevant age-related expectations as set out by the school and the
national curriculum (Ofsted 2014)
Learning without limits
http://thewroxham.org.uk/