Developing policy, principles and
practice in primary school
science assessment
Professor Derek Bell
Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) Project
Cluster meeting 23 October 2013
Newton Park Campus, Bath Spa University
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The report…
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Why the report?
 Opportunity of the curriculum review to
take a fresh look and to consider a
principled approach to assessment,
taking into account:
• importance of formative use of
assessment in helping learning
• need to re-establish an inquiry-based
pedagogy
• promote progression in learning
• improve value of summative use of
assessment
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Principles: in relation to function
Assessment should:
 ultimately improve pupils’ learning
 be aligned with the full range of learning
objectives of the whole school curriculum
 be an integral part of teaching that enables
pupils to understand the purpose of their
activities and to improve the quality of their
work
 combine qualitative and quantitative data of
different kinds, from a variety of individual
and group learning activities including pupils’
self-assessment, to inform decisions about
pupils’ learning and achievements
 be understood as providing data about pupils’
learning outcomes in the form of
approximations and samples, subject to
unavoidable variations.
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Principles: methods and procedures
Assessment should:
• promote the active engagement of pupils in
their learning and its assessment, enabling
and motivating them to show what they know
and can do
• include explicit processes to ensure that
information is valid, reflecting all important
learning goals, and is as reliable as necessary
for its purpose
• meet standards that reflect a broad
consensus on quality at all levels from
classroom practice to national policy
• be realistic and manageable for pupils and
teachers, with transparent time demands and
requiring no more collection of pupils’ work
than is a normal part of teaching and
learning.
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The flow of assessment data
National Performance
• Sample testing of groups of pupils
Individual pupil assessment
and records
• Summative judgements of
progress of pupils at each
key stage
• Annual reporting to
parents
• On-going formative
assessment
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Flow of information
Class and school records
• School ‘Annual Report’: the end
of Upper Key Stage 2
• Internal school evaluation: at the
end of each key stage
Feedback
to
schools
Feedback
in schools
Planning for assessment: making a
start
 What do we want pupils to learn –
know, understand and be able to do?
 How can we assess these objectives?
• Purpose of assessment
• Conducting assessment
• Recording and reporting of
attainment and progress
• Making summative judgements
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Planning for accountability?
 Do not confuse the two:
• Assessment = individual children?
• Accountability = school?
 What are the accountability
benchmarks?
 What data is need to provide the
information?
 How is that data tracked to show
trends?
 How can unintended consequences be
avoided?
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Key points
 Plan assessment as integral part of
the curriculum
 Be clear about the purpose of the
assessment – is it true to the
fundamental principles?
 Don’t let statutory summative
assessment ‘tail’ subvert the
formative use of assessment as a
key element of high quality teaching
and learning
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Two issues to be addressed…
 What do indicators of progress look
like?
 How can we provide summative
assessment information that meets
statutory requirements?
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Some references:
Developing policy, principles and practice in primary
school science assessment:
http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files
/files/Developing_policy_principles_and_practice_in
_primary_school_science_assessment_Nuffield_Fou
ndation_v_FINAL.pdf
Assessment & Inquiry-based science education:
issues in policy and practice:
http://www.interacademies.net/File.aspx?id=21245
Contact details: derek@campanulaconsulting.co.uk
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