St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
APP: Assessing Pupils’ Progress
By April 2011, APP will be our main assessment strategy for all children for Reading, Writing, Maths, Science and Speaking & Listening. You
should not need to use any additional tracking grids.
Assessment tasks (e.g. PM Benchmarking Tests, writing assessment tasks, Optional QCA Tests) will be used to provide evidence for APP,
alongside ongoing work in lessons.
Identifying evidence (for 4 children)
 Choose 4 children for each subject to reflect the normal range of ability within your class, e.g. Higher ability, Middle ability, Lower
ability and one extreme (high or low). These will be the children that you identify evidence for to support the moderation process.
 Use small numbered green stickers to identify work in books where evidence is shown (while marking or review at end of half term);
write corresponding number from sticker on APP grid in relevant AF (one piece of work, with one sticker, could provide evidence for
many criteria). The sticker only needs to have a number on – you do not need to write any extra information on the sticker.
 Keep a list on the back of the grid of where evidence can be found (e.g. for reading: Literacy book – 1, 4, 7; Guided reading record – 2,
3, 6; Reading folder – 5). See example sheet below.
 You can change the children during the year if they are no longer representative of that ability group.
 For other children, simply tick on APP grid when you have evidence (you do not need to write where the evidence is) and highlight
statement when ticked three times. See example sheet below.
Ongoing
Choose evidence where child worked
independently, e.g. cannot assess
written method of subtraction in lesson
where that has just been taught or
connectives if that was highly modelled
in shared writing.
Only highlight criteria where you can be
sure that the child can apply skill
independently, in different contexts
(e.g. problem solving) and consistently
(not just once). Plan occasional
opportunities to assess specific foci (not
every lesson).
Choose assessment grid for each child:
Level 1/2
Level 2/3
Level 3/4
Level 4/5
Level 5/6 (from KS3 website)
Tick statements for most children; write number of
sticker for the 4 children.
Highlight statements when you have at least three
pieces of evidence.
Use different coloured highlighting each term to show
progress:
Terms 1 & 2: green
Terms 3 & 4: yellow
Terms 5 & 6: pink
3x year
At the end of Terms 2, 4 and 6, use the assessment
grids to decide on an overall level:

Low, if there is highlighting above and below the
line or the evidence is thin

Secure, if across the AFs, the criteria for the
level are mostly highlighted

High, if across the AFs, all criteria for the level
highlighted (also a few in level above)
See also flowcharts and additional guidance on
following pages.
Types of evidence:
 Children’s work (independent, in different contexts – not just after skill has been taught) in books or photocopy of whiteboard activity
 Cross curricular maths or writing (e.g. science, geography)
 Notes from guided reading sessions
 Observational / anecdotal evidence (e.g. mental/oral starter, guided reading, discussion with child) – record on sticker at back of book
or other record keeping system
 Independent maths investigation or independent writing
 Running records and observations from PM Benchmarking Tests
 Annotations on weekly planning sheets
 Assessment tasks / tests
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
Planning:
 Plan opportunities to assess what the children can do independently, consistently and in a range of contexts, e.g. problem solving,
open ended tasks, big writes. You could sometimes do this in guided sessions.
 Plan probing questions in mental/oral starters and guided reading that will provide anecdotal evidence.
 Use APP to identify next steps for individual children and set tiny tickable targets.
 Use APP to group children by need for guided sessions to teach a specific skill.
 Use APP to identify areas of weakness and then refer to Primary Strategy for relevant objectives to teach.
Moderation:
 Some staff meetings in Terms 2, 4 and 6 will be used for moderation of APP judgements.
 Moderation in staff meetings will take place within phases and between different phases to ensure that levels are
consistent across the whole school.
 Overall level judgements should be compared with the standards files (available on the Primary Strategy website).
 The literacy leader will occasionally ask for photocopies of children’s work that provides evidence for particular levels.
These will build up to create a school standardisation file.
 You may want to discuss APP sheets in your phase planning meetings, e.g. discussing children you are concerned about,
AFs where you are finding it difficult to collect evidence, planning opportunities for assessment, sharing strategies for
using APP.
Timeline/expectations:
 We will be quickly ‘scaling up’ the subjects used and the number of children.
 By April 2011, each child will have a grid highlighted for each subject.
 You will only need to identify evidence (using green stickers) for 4 children for each subject.
 Teachers who have been using APP for more than a year report that the process very quickly becomes easier and less
time-consuming as they become familiar with the assessment criteria.
Maths
Writing
April 2010 (Term 5)
 APP grid for all
areas for 3 or 6
children with
evidence identified


Reading
APP grid highlighted
for all children
Evidence identified
for 3 or 6 children
September 2010 (Term 1)
 APP grid highlighted for
all children (Using &
Applying and Number &
Calculating only)
 APP grid for all areas for
4 children with evidence
identified
 Evidence identified for 4
children
January 2011 (Term 3)

APP grid highlighted for 4
children with evidence
identified

APP grid highlighted for 4
children

Speaking
&
Listening

Science


APP grid highlighted for
all children
Evidence identified for 4
children
Evidence identified for 4
children
April 2011 (Term 5)


APP grid highlighted for 4
children

Evidence identified for 4
children


You can, of course, start using grids for all children earlier than this.
Transition:
 At the end of each year, APP grids should be passed to each child’s next teacher.
APP grid highlighted for
all children
Evidence identified for 4
children
APP grid highlighted for
all children
Evidence identified for 4
children
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
Mathematics: Making a level judgement
Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils' mathematics into attainment target level
judgements.
Step 1 Making AF judgements in Ma2 Number
Begin with the assessment guidelines for Ma2 Number.
Look at the criteria within each AF. Decide which level describes the pupil best.
Record the level for each AF in the appropriate box.
Record 'insufficient evidence' (IE) if you do not know enough about this aspect of the pupil's mathematics
to make a judgement. This has implications for planning.
If you feel the pupil is operating below the level, check the criteria on the assessment guidelines for the
level below.
Step 2 Making an overall level judgement for Ma2 Number
Now make your level decision for Ma2 Number.
 Your assessment focus judgements give an impression of the best-fit level for Ma2.
 Read the complete level descriptions for both levels to confirm your impression of the best fit
level for Ma2.
Decide whether the level is Low, Secure or High. Do this by thinking about what the pupil demonstrates.
 How much of the level?
 How consistently?
 How independently?
 In what range of contexts?
Tick the relevant Low, Secure or High box for the level.
Step 3 Repeat the process for Ma3, Ma4 and then Ma1
For the Ma1 judgement, consider how the pupil uses and applies the mathematics of Ma2, Ma3 and
Ma4.
Step 4 Making an overall level judgement for mathematics
If you require an overall level judgement for mathematics, review your judgements for each of Ma2, Ma3,
Ma4 and Ma1.
Now use the information overleaf to obtain an overall level.
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
Obtaining an overall level for Mathematics using APP
1) Identify the levels for each attainment target (MA1, MA2, MA3 and MA4).
2) Use the grid below to convert the levels into a points score for each attainment target.
Low Level 1
7
Secure Level 1
9
High Level 1
11
Low Level 2
13
Secure Level 2
15
High Level 2
17
Low Level 3
19
Secure Level 3
21
High Level 3
23
Low Level 4
25
Secure Level 4
27
High Level 4
29
Low Level 5
31
Secure Level 5
33
High Level 5
35
Low Level 6
37
Secure Level 6
39
High Level 6
41
3) Each attainment target has a weighting which can be seen from the table below:
Attainment Target
MA1 – Using and Applying Mathematics
MA2 – Number and Algebra
MA3 – Shape, Space and Measures
MA4 – Handling Data
Weighting
2
5
2
1
4) Multiply the points score by the weighting and add together, e.g.
AT
MA1
MA2
MA3
MA4
Level
High Level 2
Secure Level 3
High Level 2
Low Level 3
Points Score
17
21
17
19
Weighting Points Score x Weighting
2
34
5
105
2
34
1
19
Total
192
5) Divide the total by 10 and identify the closest level from the points score table.
192 ÷ 10 = 19.2 => Closest to 19 => Low Level 3 as an overall level
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
Writing : Making a level judgement
Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils' writing into level judgements.
Step 1: Making assessment focus judgements
For each AF, starting with AF5:
 look at the evidence in relation to all the criteria for both the higher and lower levels at
this borderline and highlight those that have been met
 make a best-fit judgement whether the higher or the lower level has been achieved and
tick the appropriate level-related box
 if there is some evidence for an AF but not enough to make a judgement at the lower
level, tick the BL (Below Level) box
 if there is no evidence for a particular AF, tick the IE (Insufficient Evidence) box.
If you have ticked BL for more than one AF out of AFs 1 to 6, check whether you should be
using the assessment guidelines for the next lowest level borderline.
If you have ticked all, or almost all, the criteria for the higher level, check whether you should be
using the assessment guidelines for the next highest level borderline.
Step 2: Making an overall level judgement
Check your AF judgements against the requirements for each level.
For level 1: ticks at level 1 for three out of AF5, AF6, AF1 and AF2 and either AF7 or AF8, plus
some highlighting of level 1 criteria for handwriting.
For level 2: ticks at level 2 for three out of AF5, AF6, AF1 and AF2 and either AF7 or AF8.
For all other levels: ticks at the target level for any four AFs out of AFs 1 to 6.
If you have ticked IE for more than two AFs, there may be insufficient evidence to make an
overall level judgement, in which case IE should be awarded.
Now finalise the overall level judgement by deciding whether the level is low, secure or high.
 Low – meets the minimum requirements for the level.
 Secure – meets the minimum requirements for the level with some additional
highlighting of criteria at the level in most other AFs.
 High – the criteria for the level are highlighted across all, or almost all, the AFs, with
some criteria in the level above likely to be highlighted as well.
Your decision should take account of how fully and consistently the criteria have been met and
how far the pupil demonstrates independence and choice across a range of evidence. Where
evidence for AF7 and AF8 is significantly better/worse than the evidence for other AFs, it is
likely to influence your judgement of low, secure or high.
Step 3: Checking the overall level judgement
Finally, check the overall judgement by comparing the evidence with the relevant standards
files.
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
Reading : Making a level judgement
Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils' reading into level judgements.
Step 1: Making assessment focus judgements
For each AF, starting with AF1 for levels 1, 2 and 3 and AF2 for all other levels:

look at the evidence in relation to all the criteria for both the higher and lower levels at this
borderline and highlight those that have been met

make a best-fit judgement on whether the higher or the lower level has been achieved and tick
the appropriate level-related box

if there is some evidence for an AF but not enough to make a judgement at the lower level, tick
the BL (Below Level) box

if there is no evidence for a particular AF, tick the IE (Insufficient Evidence) box.
If you have ticked BL for more than one AF, check whether you should be using the assessment
guidelines for the next lowest level borderline.
If you have ticked all, or almost all, the criteria for the higher level, check whether you should be using
the assessment guidelines for the next highest level borderline.
Step 2: Making an overall level judgement
Check your AF judgements against the requirements for each level.
For level 1: ticks at level 1 for AF1 and AF2 and some highlighting at level 1 for AF3.
For level 2: ticks at level 2 for AF1 and AF2 and some highlighting at level 2 for AF3.
For level 3: ticks at level 3 for AF2, AF3 and one other AF out of AFs 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
AF1 is not assessed separately beyond level 3.
For level 4: ticks at level 4 for AF2 and AF3 and at least one other AF.
For level 5: ticks at level 5 for any four AFs provided there is level 4 for AF3.
For all other levels: ticks for any four AFs at the target level.
If you have ticked IE for more than two AFs, there may be insufficient evidence to make an overall level
judgement, in which case IE should be awarded.
Now finalise the overall level judgement by deciding whether the level is low, secure or high.
Low – meets the minimum requirements for the level.
Secure – meets the minimum requirements for the level with some additional highlighting of criteria at
the level in most other AFs.
High – the criteria for the level are highlighted across all, or almost all, the AFs, with some criteria in the
level above likely to be highlighted as well.
Your decision should take account of how fully and consistently the criteria have been met and how far
the pupil demonstrates independence and choice across a range of evidence.
Step 3: Checking the overall level judgement
Finally, check the overall judgement by comparing the evidence with the relevant standards files.
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
APP MODERATION
1. Look with your colleague at one of their APP sheets and evidence.
2. Use the questions below to focus the discussion on the child’s attainment and the evidence for
the judgement.
3. Check the attached sheet to decide if you agree with the level judgement, based on the evidence
you have seen.
APP moderation questions

What would you judge this child’s attainment to be?

Are there any aspects you would find it helpful to discuss?

In which attainment targets and/or assessment focuses are you confident in your judgement?

Are there areas you feel you haven’t enough evidence for?

What are you working on now to further secure the level?

How does your judgement compare to any recent test results and can you substantiate your
overall teacher assessment if it varies from this?

Are they working at age related expectations? How does this child compare to others in your
class?
For each attainment target ask…

Tell me about your evidence. Can you give me an example? (Use numbers on APP sheet to
refer to evidence in books).

What was the context of this task? How much support was given to the child? How recently had
you taught this skill?

Have you seen the child use this in other contexts? Can you give me an example?

Is this something they have comfortably achieved, possibly some time ago or are they just
beginning to grasp it now?

Could they use their understanding without you or your TA going through it with them? Is there
evidence of independence and choice?
St.Peter’s
Church of England
Primary School
How APP supports Assessment for Learning (AfL) – from Strategy website
Learning and teaching
Effective learning and teaching helps children develop as motivated, skilled and confident independent learners who:





are clear about what they are trying to learn (and why) and how they can demonstrate success
are able to judge the quality and standard of their work and see how they can improve it
work confidently with others, contributing to and learning from whole-class and group dialogue and paired discussion
are developing a language for learning, i.e. are increasingly able to articulate and discuss how they learn and what helps
their learning
use feedback to improve their work.
Teachers who successfully develop children as independent learners:





have a shared understanding of AfL and how it impacts on learning and on standards
have a good understanding of the progression in the key concepts and skills in the curriculum area they are teaching
which they share and explore with pupils
move from ‘planning for teaching’ (activity driven) to ‘planning for learning’ (outcome driven) for all pupils of all abilities
provide opportunities for pupils to learn through thoughtfully facilitated and supported questioning and dialogue
(whole-class, group or paired discussion)
provide feedback which identifies pupils’ next steps with opportunities to respond to feedback.
AfL takes place at the point of learning, for example, at a point of interaction between teacher and pupil, between pupils, or
during a moment of personal reflection. AfL is not, in itself, a collection of teaching strategies.
What this looks like in lessons as practice develops is explored in the ‘Reviewing learning and teaching in lessons (AfL focus)’.
APP supports AfL in a number of ways:
 APP helps teachers to develop and refine their understanding of progression in mathematics, reading and writing, which
is essential to developing AfL.
 APP supports planning for learning, helping teachers identify key questions to ask and providing opportunities for
focused structured dialogue.
 APP goes beyond ‘sub-levelling’ by providing a profile of attainment. This profile of attainment provides valuable
information which can support a dialogue to help pupils take the next steps in their learning.
 APP helps derive appropriately challenging longer-term curricular targets for groups or individuals and help pupils see
what they are aiming for and what they need to do to get there.
 By carefully tracking individual pupil progress against the assessment focuses, APP helps teachers identify where
individuals or groups of children are not making the progress they should. Teachers can then reflect upon the
effectiveness of different areas of teaching or approaches to teaching and on apparent barriers to learning. This informs
planning for learning, targeted intervention and the development of different teaching approaches and strategies. Wellfocused planning and thoughtful preparation will enable and support AfL.