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Assessment and Working Scientifically

at KS3

Alex HolmesASE 2015

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• “If you believe you can develop yourself, then you're open to accurate information about your current abilities, even it it's unflattering. What's more, if you're oriented toward learning, you need accurate information about your current abilities in order to learn effectively” 

(Dweck, 2006, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success)

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• Examine assessment models for demonstrating measurable progress.

• Draw on research, classroom practice and a flexible assessment model

• Examine resources from Smart Science that make a significant difference to assessment and working scientifically.

Aims of this workshop

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• National Curriculum reforms meant that levels used to report children’s attainment and progress were removed in September 2014.

• “By removing levels we will allow teachers greater flexibility in the way that they plan and assess pupils’ learning.”

(DfE, 2014)

DfE current assessment challenges

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We will not endorse any particular approach. But we do expect every school to be able to show what their pupils know, understand and can do through continuous assessment and summative tests.

(Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted, Jan 2014)

The view from Ofsted …

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Assessment is a critical part of how a school manages the new curriculum:• How is the school’s assessment model

linked to the programmes of study and schemes of work in the new curriculum?

Ofsted inspection framework

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In evaluating the accuracy of assessment, inspectors will usually consider how well:• Assessment is used to modify teaching so that

pupils achieve the expected standards.• Assessment identifies what pupils know,

understand and can do through regular testing • Teachers make consistent judgements.

Ofsted - Accuracy

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• Pupils have the knowledge, understanding and skills as set out by the assessment system

• Pupils are set aspirational targets and meet or exceed these expected standards

• Assessment is used to ensure that all pupils make the progress

Ofsted - Progress

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Ofsted - Tracking and monitoring

• Schools must be able to demonstrate what involvement pupils have in their own assessment cycle and their own understanding of their learning journey

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Please introduce yourself to your neighbour. In pairs, discuss your current assessment practices• What is your assessment for?• Who does it, and to whom?• When does it happen?• Make a list of 5 examples of activities where

assessment takes place across your subject.

Discussion activity

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• “A wealth of research – a poverty of practice.” (Black and Wiliam, 1998)

• Shift from teaching to learning• Confusion of terms of assessment

• Formative• Summative

The state of assessment

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The word assess comes from the Latin verb assidere meaning to sit by or near to. The Latin noun assessor is one who sits by to give advice.

Thus it is something we do with and for pupils and not to pupils

Green, 1998

What is Assessment?

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Formative: assessment for learning, focusing on future achievement “… often means no more than that the assessment is carried out frequently and is planned at the same time as teaching.” (Black and Wiliam, 1999)

Summative: assessment of learning i.e. what has been learnt in the past “… is carried out at intervals when achievement has to be summarised and reported.” (Harlen, 1998)

Formative or summative?

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• If summative assessment measures learning accurately, pupils who excel in achieving the goals can be rewarded

• As teachers, we also get feedback about our teaching i.e. if a significant number of pupils do not improve, we can revise our teaching methods.

Summative assessment

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How do you prioritise improvements to learning and assessment?Monitoring progress Small group intervention

Initial assessment

Teacher specialismClassroom assistant

Regular feedback

Planning for literacy Formative assessment

Summative assessment Planning for numeracy

Quality resourcesPlanning

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• Distributed practice : encourages mastery and memory.

• Overlearning: keep pupils learning so that familiarity becomes knowledge

• Interleaving:  revisit content in different contexts.

• Testing frequently: using memory improves memory.

Theories of learning from cognitive science

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• Assessment sheets find out where a pupil is starting from.  

• The end of unit test reflects where the pupil is heading.

• The end of year test consolidates all learning and encourages pupils to revisit topics. 

SS – the thinking behind the doing

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Skills and Knowledge Assessment Model

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• The progress escalator builds on the old National Curriculum levels for setting targets and recording progress.

Progress escalator & NC level equivalent

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• Learning (levels 3 and 4): recall and describe

• Mastering (levels 5 and 6): apply knowledge

• Expanding (levels 7 and 8): synthesise knowledge.

Attainment bands and progress escalators

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• Projected estimate to equivalent GCSE grade.

• DfE recommendation of 3 levels of progress from KS2 to KS4.

GCSE grade ‘flight path’

KS2 level

3 levels Progress

Grade

4 levels Progress

Grade 1 F E

2 E D

3 D C

4 C B

5 B+ A+

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• Help teachers determine whether pupils are making adequate progress or meeting expected targets.

• Test content not limited to mirroring scheme of work, so less teaching to the test and more application of ideas as determined by Bloom’s taxonomy.

Smart Science testing

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– Remember– Understand– Apply– Analyze– Evaluate– Create

• Revised by Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001

Bloom’s Taxonomy

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Skills and Knowledge Assessment Model

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• Focus on developing science skills common to all GCSE specifications

• Recognising the key words and adjusting answers

What about working scientifically?

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• What is ‘science’ in the real world?• What do scientists do?• How does school science compare

with ‘real’ science?

Share ideas with your neighbour

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• Key science skills - identifying evidence, testing, evaluating and communicating conclusions.

• Not dependent on pre-existing scientific knowledge, but not applicable without content.

• Uses science knowledge applied to different situations

Promoting working scientifically

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• Thinking scientifically• Using investigative approaches• Working critically with evidence• Using maths in science• Communicating in science

Five strands of working scientifically

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• Asking questions and defining problems• Developing and using models.• Planning and carrying out investigations.• Analysing and interpreting data.• Constructing explanations• Engaging in argument from evidence.• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating

information.

Reflections of ‘real science’

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Key skills coveredCommunication Thinking

Literacy Data processingMathematics Reasoning

Working with others EnquirySelf-evaluation Creative thinkingProblem solving Evaluation

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• Develop key skills prior to KS4.

• Encourage pupils to think and work scientifically.

• Evaluate both pupil learning and skill acquisition.

• Track and monitor individual pupils accurately.

• Set targets that build on previous achievement as well as aiming for the next level up.

In summary, Smart Science aims to

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Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House LLC, 2006.

Ofsted (2011). The Impact of the ‘Assessing Pupils’ Progress’ Initiative. Manchester: Ofsted [online].

Lehrer, R. and Schauble, L. 2007. Scientific thinking and science literacy. In W. Damon & R. Lerner (Eds.) Handbook of Child Psychology, 6th Edition (pp. 153-196). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Elena Silva (2008) "Measuring skills for the 21st century." Education Sector Reports 11 (2008).

Department for Education (2013). The National Curriculum in England: Framework Document. London: DfE [online].

Anderson, L.W. Krathwohl, D.R et al 2001 "A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives, abridged edition. " NY: Longman (2001).Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998) Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Granada Learning, 1998.

Willingham, Daniel T. "Strategies That Make Learning Last." Strategies 72.2 (2014): 10-15.

Green, J. M. (1998, February). Constructing the way forward for all pupils. A speech delivered at “Innovations for Effective Schools” OECD/New Zealand joint follow-up conference, New Zealand.

Harlen, W. (1998) Classroom assessment: A dimension of purposes and procedures. In K. Carr (Ed.), SAMEpapers (pp. 75–87). Hamilton, New Zealand: Centre for SMT Ed. Res.