Education Scotland

Transforming lives through learning

Sheila Quigley

Development Officer

Assessment, Qualifications, Quality assurance & Moderation

sheila.quigley@educationscotland.gov.uk

JUNE 19th – 21st 2013

Education Scotland

Transforming lives through learning

Aims for the session:

put assessment in its Scottish context

share how Education Scotland is

building capacity and assessment expertise

Transforming lives through learning

The Scottish Context Curriculum for Excellence

The overall aspirations of CfE are to:

• raise attainment and educational outcomes for all children and young people

• close the gap between the highest achieving young people and those at risk of missing out

• prepare our young people for an ever changing future, with the confidence, knowledge and skills to compete in global markets

Transforming lives through learning

Experiences and Outcomes

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Assessment – 3 Key Messages

Transforming lives through learning

1. Assessment is integral to learning and teaching

• assessment is part of learning and is on-going daily in the classroom

• learners understand their learning and are involved in dialogue about it

• at times, more formal or structured assessment is used to test understanding, skill development or attitudes

• the profiling process and the production of a profile are part of a child understanding their own learning

• involves all stakeholders

Transforming lives through learning

2. Assessment builds capacity in practitioners to make professional judgements underpinned by professional dialogue

•it is about staff discussing –

planning of learning

pedagogy

a range of assessment evidence e.g. learning logs and/or more

structured or formal evidence).

• it is robust in assessing learning and the range of learning

• moderation is integral to assessment

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3. Assessment is holistic and informative

• it reflects and captures a range of understanding, skills and attitudes

• it can range across contexts for learning including learning out of school

• it should include learners’ ability to work in, and with, higher order thinking skills

• it informs future learning

Transforming lives through learning

What are the Challenges?

1. These approaches to assessment require dialogue between :• staff and learners• staff to plan and reflect together• staff and senior staff to plan, reflect, identify support • authorities and schools

2. A cultural change in the ‘role of the teacher’ and the ‘role of the learner’, as well as the model of leadership is required.

3. The development of the assessment literacy of all involved – assessment for growth rather than measurement.

Transforming lives through learning

Building the Curriculum 5

Education Scotland:

provides advice, support and CPD relating to assessment working closely with national bodies to develop capacity in the teaching profession

leads and facilitates professional development to help teachers develop a shared understanding…including through quality assurance and moderation of the broad general education

(2010, p.53)

Transforming lives through learning

The National Assessment Resource (NAR)

supports assessment approaches and enhances expertise in all aspects of assessment and the variety of approaches which can be employed (by both using and developing NAR) for learners aged 3-18.

supports moderation by providing exemplification and materials that inform discussions about standards and expectations as well as emerging models of moderation.

develops capacity to make professional judgements about progress and achievement

Transforming lives through learning

What does NAR currently provide?

quality marked and quality assured examples of a wide range of assessment approaches and evidence

Literacy and numeracy materials developed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) materials

practitioner resources quality assured at school or local authority level

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Transforming lives through learning

Transforming lives through learning

Transforming lives through learning

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How are practitioners using NAR?

• as an opportunity to reflect on effective practice in learning, teaching and assessment, drawing on the work published on NAR

• as an opportunity for school/cluster and local authority staff to review processes such as profiling, reporting, transition and moderation, drawing on the exemplification on NAR

• as a vehicle for practitioners to fulfill their role in relation to assessment outlined in BtC5

Transforming lives through learning

Transforming lives through learning

Taking a closer look at the National Assessment Resource, a professional learning resource

developed in collaboration with partners, Education Authorities, Education Scotland staff and practitioners

provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on effective practice in learning, teaching and assessment, drawing on the work published on the National Assessment Resource (NAR) with useful links to exemplars

materials that enable staff to ‘dip in’ to aspects of the learning, teaching and assessment process where they wish to reflect on their practice.

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Transforming lives through learning

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Reflective questions and Action points

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How can leadership teams build capacity in staff to use the resource effectively?

Leadership team reflective questions

Transforming lives through learning

“…the most successful education systems do more than seek to

attain particular standards of competence and to achieve change

through prescription. They invest in developing their teachers as

reflective, accomplished and enquiring professionals who have

the capacity to engage fully with the complexities of education

and to be key actors in shaping and leading educational

change”.

(Teaching Scotland’s Future, 2011, p.4)