© Crown copyright 2008 Assessing Pupils Progress Spring 2009

© Crown copyright 2008

Assessing Pupils’ Progress

Spring 2009


Aims

• To review the Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP) processes and materials

• To review the national standards in ICT and the progression through the NC levels

• To consider how APP will work in their department



A structured approach to periodic assessment enabling teachers to:

• make secure judgments of attainment within national curriculum levels

• track pupils’ progress over a key stage or longer• use diagnostic information about pupils’ strengths and

weaknesses to improve teaching, learning and rates of pupils’ progress


APP in the planning cycle

Plan for progression from learning

objectives (Secondary

Framework and planning tool kit)

Collect and feed back to pupils evidence of their progress during engaging day-to-day

teaching and learning. (AfL)

Make level-related assessment

using APP criteria

Adjust planning, teaching and learning (referring to secondary Framework)

Review a range of evidence for periodic assessment (APP)

[TERMLY]








APP materials

APP Handbook

Standards FileStandards FileStandards FileStandards FileStandards FileStandards Files

Assessment GridAssessment GridAssessment GridAssessment Guidelines

APP Guidance

In your Pack:

Teachers’Handbook

Guidance forSenior Leaders

Pupil APupil BPupil C

AssessmentGuidelines

A3 Summary


AF1 AF2 AF3

Planning, developing and evaluating

Handling data, sequencing instructions and modelling

Finding, using and communicating information

The Assessment Focuses


… and finally

• Standards have not changed• AF’s are consistent with attainment target level

descriptions• Guidelines developed by QCA• Best-fit model when using AF’s• Guidelines should be used in conjunction with the

Standards Files• Levelling should be done using a “body of work” rather

than on a single task

The Assessment Focuses


The Standards Files

Assessing Pupils’ Progress in ICT

APP Handbook

Standards FileStandards FileStandards FileStandards FileStandards FileStandards Files

Assessment GridAssessment GridAssessment GridAssessment Guidelines

APP Guidance

Pupil APupil BPupil CPupil DPupil E


The Standards Files

• The Standards Files:

– Exemplify national standards– Facilitate consistent and reliable judgements of a pupil’s level– Include:

• examples of pupils’ ongoing classroom work• commentary on the evidence at assessment focus (AF) level;• a teacher commentary that records both a profile of attainment

across the AFs and a National Curriculum level for the attainment target (AT).


The Standards Files

• The Standards Files are a reference point for teachers on the national standards, as applied to a context, designed to provide exemplification of work that has been levelled, using the assessment focuses.

• The Standards Files contain detailed annotation as they must stand alone for practitioners who are unfamiliar with the pupils and the context. The annotation is far more detailed than would be expected from a classroom teacher.

• The Standards Files are not suggested activities or new sample teaching units, although experienced teachers may recognise aspects of previous National Strategy resources.


Why are there gaps in the evidence

• The pupil has yet to reach this aspect in the scheme of work. For example, the Standards file level 4 does not contain any evidence of sequencing instructions because the pupil has not yet been taught this aspect.

• Some evidence is ephemeral. Although it may be difficult to capture, it often provides a classroom teacher with a great deal of information about pupils’ understanding. For example, the evidence may include:

–– pupil-annotated files–– recorded commentary–– pupil–teacher discussions–– peer-review and feedback–– oral presentations–– everyday manipulation of software, which indicates understanding of ICT techniques.

• Planning of the units of work has not provided opportunities for pupils to demonstrate their ICT capability.


Making APP assessments

• Stage 1: Making Assessment Focus judgementsUse the appropriate assessment guideline sheet to record criteria which have been met

• Stage 2: Making an overall level judgementUse the profile to judge the level and sub level

• Stage 3: Checking the overall level judgementCheck, standardise and moderate the judgement against the Standards Files

Teachers’Handbookpp17/18

Assessment Guidelines

booklet


Sub-levels

• The overall level is the highest level at which all or most of the assessment criteria for each strand are highlighted.

• Sub-levels: Low

SecureHigh

“Sub-levels reflect the professional nature of the judgements made by teachers considering a range of evidence over time”



• APP has the potential to enhance pupils’ progress by:

• increasing the consistency and reliability of teacher assessment; • supporting teachers in aligning their judgements systematically with

National Standards;• linking day-to-day and periodic approaches to assessment;• providing high-quality evidence to inform next steps in pupils’ learning

and reporting on pupils’ progress;• integrating assessment into planning for progression;• providing a National Curriculum attainment target level when needed,

from an informed, holistic evaluation of progress against APP assessment criteria.


… and finally

• The removal of National Tests at KS3 exerts reverse pressure on accurate Teacher Assessments

• Schools may have to re-consider data capture, and why and for what purposes, in the light of widespread APP adoption


The planning cycle and APP

Unit of work planned by combining objectives from a number of strands from the Framework for Secondary ICT

Unit designed to create engaging teaching and learning experiences

Unit designed to generate assessment

evidence related to Framework objectives

Evidence of pupils’ learning and attainment is generated by their work and captured in teacher records

Evidence of learning is evaluated using APP assessment criteria


APP and the planning cycle

• The diagram locates the APP process into the planning process. They are not separate processes.

• Linking planning and APP ensures that suitable evidence for assessment will arise naturally from the activities.

• Planning starts with the learning objectives of the ICT framework to ensure that the full programme of study is covered.

• Activities are planned that are engaging for learners as well as producing appropriate evidence

• Section 2 of the handbook clarifies the distinction between the learning objectives of the Frameworks and the assessment guidelines of APP.


Open-ended problem-solving?

Creating opportunities for progression

• How much ‘scaffolding’ should we give pupils?• When does scaffolding prevent pupils from making progress?• Do the activities we give pupils offer enough opportunity for

them to demonstrate higher levels?

100% ‘scaffolding’


Open ended activities

• How might you change the activities that you give pupils to incorporate a more open ended approach?

• What would this look like in your schemes of work?

• How do you support pupils in open-ended problem solving activities?


The APP process

(1)

Decide on outcomes to be assessed and

generate evidence from

day-to-day teaching

(2)

Review an appropriate

range of evidence

(3)

Select the appropriate Assessment Guidelines

sheet

(4)

Highlight assessment

criteria for which there is evidence

(5)

When appropriate, use the developing

profile of learning to decide upon a

sub-level

(6)

Moderate assessments

(7)

Make any necessary

adjustments to planning,

teaching and intervention


The APP Process

• How does this process differ, if at all, from your own current practice.

• Consider these questions:• When in the academic year do you determine the

level at which pupils are working? • What are the school reporting arrangements?• How do you currently secure robust teacher

assessment?


Approaches to implementation

• There is no single approach that will work well for all schools

• Consider the pattern of units, amount of discrete ICT, any setting/banding

• You will need to assess ALL pupils by the end of each year


Integrating into current practice

• How will you:

– Familiarise teachers with APP– Ensure appropriate evidence is generated– Determine which pupil outcomes to use– Ensure teachers assess reliably and securely

against the AFs– Moderate judgements– Adjust planning, teaching and interventions


Monitoring & Evaluation

• Are teachers making judgements based on good quality evidence?

• Are teacher judgements consistent and accurate?• Are APP judgements being recorded effectively?• Are teachers using APP assessments to inform their

teaching?• Are appropriate curricular targets being set?• Are pupils aware of their strengths and weaknesses

and what they need to improve?• Are parents receiving detailed feedback on their

children’s progress?


• Most schools are developing AfL as a whole-school priority.• Many schools have implemented APP in English and/or

Maths and will be reviewing their practice with the revised materials.

• Science and ICT APP materials are now available.• Foundation subject APP materials will be available in 2010.

Benefits:• Refer to the “APP guidance for Senior Leaders”

APP in a whole-school context


Timeline and recommended actions

Spring and Summer 2009• Senior Leaders support core subject leaders attendance at Subject

Leader Development meetings• Disseminate key messages and materials as part of departmental

and whole school planning• Access additional APP training and support from the local authority

as appropriate • Review progress in developing AfL and APP

Autumn 2009• Develop a CPD plan through to 2011 to secure full scale

implementation of APP as part of whole school development of AfL


Key messages for SLT

• How will APP be presented as a whole-school issue?• What is the impact of APP on school assessment policy?• Do we have sufficient resources for training?• How do we plan the time for planning, standardisation and

moderation?• Does our current tracking system provide the required flexibility

for recording APP judgements?• Do all teachers have access to the data?• Do we need to review the school calendar and reporting cycle?• How does this affect National Challenge or Gaining Ground

schools?


Key questions

• How will you introduce APP with the ICT teachers at your school?

• What will need to be in place to make it work effectively?

• What do you need to discuss with your senior leaders?


Standardisation & Moderation

• Standardisation: Activity to train teachers in the standards prior to assessments being made

• Moderation: Activity to check for consistency and align standards after some assessments have been made


• Any Questions?

Documents

© Crown copyright 2008 Assessing Pupils Progress Spring 2009