Introduction
Many forms of assessment, such as end-of-unit/term/year tests, are inevitably
selective in what they assess. Although they can be valid and reliable measures
of the particular knowledge, skills and understanding selected as the focus
for assessment, and they have their place as a source of evidence, they
cannot do justice to the full range of achievement demonstrated by learners
across a period of time, such as a term or half-year, in the various classroom
activities and contexts they experience.
Periodic assessment is different in that it is based on the large body
of evidence generated as part of normal classroom activities throughout
the period under review. Rather than relying upon specially designed tasks,
it takes full account of the accumulating body of evidence of what learners
know and can do as shown in their ordinary ongoing classroom work. It is
an evidence base that includes not only the redrafted written piece, rehearsed
presentation or completed artefact produced towards the end of a sequence
of lessons, but also early sketches, notes from discussions, plans and oral
contributions. No single item provides a complete picture but a review of
such a range of work leads to fairer, more complete judgements of learners'
strengths and weaknesses.
This approach does not mean that teachers, or pupils, need to do more work.
It does mean that more of what learners ordinarily do and know in the classroom
is taken into account when teachers come to make a periodic assessment of
learners' progress at the end of term or half-year. For example, all teachers
are continually making small-scale judgements about learners' progress,
achievements or the support they require when, over a number of lessons,
they are reading or writing a lengthy text, planning and revising a design
brief, or researching a historical figure in books or online. Such knowledge
tends to be overlooked when only the final outcome, artefact or test is
assessed, but it can make a vital contribution to periodic assessment.
By widening the range of evidence, of different kinds and from different
sources and contexts, achievement can be recognised wherever and whenever
it occurs. Reviewing such a collection of evidence provides a detailed,
more inclusive picture of a learner's performance that is simply not available
from a narrower evidence base. This structured approach to assessment helps
teachers track learners' progress at regular intervals across a year or
key stage and use the resulting diagnostic information about their strengths
and weaknesses to set appropriate curricular targets and to inform their
own future teaching.
Principles for gathering effective assessment evidence
To ensure that periodic assessment yields a full, fair judgement of learners'
progress and achievement teachers will need to review a varied selection
of evidence of what learners know and can do. It is important to think about
the kinds of evidence that the planned activities are likely to generate
before teaching the sequence of work, and to check that they are likely
to result in an appropriate body of evidence from which to select for assessment.
As an assessment point approaches, teachers will need to make a selection
of material to consider in the review. It is important to remember that
periodic assessment is primarily a review of work that teachers have already
assessed or responded to in one way or another. It is not a case of marking
for the first time a collection of work that has accumulated over the term
or half-year.
In selecting work for this review, teachers will need to bear in mind the
criteria they will be using to make the assessment. There are three main
sources of good evidence for periodic assessment:
- learners' ongoing classroom work
- teachers' notes, observations, records and responses to work
- learners' comments on their own and others' work.
Valuable evidence of achievement is found in learners' ongoing work that:
- shows independence. Carefully supported or scaffolded
work is a perfectly appropriate strategy for helping learners acquire
new skills, but they should then be assessed on their ability to demonstrate,
with a reasonable degree of independence, what they have learnt
- involves choice. Learners should be assessed on work
that requires them to make significant choices about the content, structure
or presentation of the piece, rather than on work where these decisions
have all been made for them
- is done in different working contexts. Learners should
have the opportunity to be assessed on work done individually, in pairs
and in groups because these different contexts will reveal different aspects
of their skills and understanding
- is oral as well as written and practical. The written
medium has tended to dominate assessment but oral work is a rich source
of evidence of learners' understanding in all subjects
- reflects/demonstrates significant learning points.
Most units of work or sequences of activities result in learners producing
a major significant outcome, for example a substantial piece of written
work, oral presentation or artefact that is an obvious target for assessment.
But significant moments of learning are often more readily seen in the
preparatory work that led to the final outcome, such as early drafts,
sketches, notes, design briefs, plans or annotations. One or two brief
contributions to a group discussion may sometimes show greater understanding
than a lengthy written piece.
Valuable evidence of achievement is found in teachers' notes, observations,
digital images or responses that:
- capture snatches of pupil-talk that show insight/understanding (written)
- identify important moments in a group discussion or presentation (written
or digital camera)
- record significant moments in practical work (digital camera)
- initiate some kind of dialogue with the learner about their work (written
or oral feedback to learners).
Valuable evidence of achievement is seen in learners' comments on their
own and others' work that:
- capture the immediacy of what has been learnt that lesson
- involve learners using explicit criteria for assessment
- record their reflections on the sequence of work at different stages
- involve learners working together to make judgements about progress.
Gathering evidence in practice
Here are some suggestions of ways to gather evidence for periodic assessment
during the course of normal classroom activity.
Written evidence
- When observing a group discussion, jot down a few significant snatches
of what each learner says to capture moments when they show understanding
of the topic.
- At the end of a lesson where learners have been engaged in a sequence
of pair and then group work, ask them to write down three points about
their learning in the lesson.
- Do not set out the learning objectives at the start of the lesson, but
in the last 10 minutes of the lesson ask learners in pairs to write what
they think the objectives were.
Oral evidence
- In a class discussion following the introduction of a topic or stimulus
material, note some of the significant points raised by the class on the
interactive whiteboard. Save the notes for use in periodic assessment.
- Ask learners working in pairs reading and discussing a text to identify
evidence that shows the writer's attitude and to annotate the text accordingly.
The annotations provide a record of their work.
- When a group makes an oral presentation to the class, for example about
a design for a product, ask the other groups to complete an assessment
sheet for the presentation, with each group member focusing on a different
aspect of the task and using assessment criteria provided.
Visual evidence
- In a sequence of lessons involving making an artefact, use a digital
camera to record work in progress at significant moments on the way to
the final outcome. The shots can then be used at the end of the sequence
to help learners reflect on their progress.
Planning to ensure effective gathering of assessment evidence
When planning whole-school approaches for gathering evidence to inform
teaching and learning and help learners progress, it will be helpful to
consider the following questions.
The timetable for the assessment year
- How often - and when - are periodic assessments to be made for each
year group?
- How does the timing of these assessments relate to the school's arrangements
for reporting to parents?
- Is sufficient meeting time designated to enable departments to standardise
and moderate their teacher assessment judgements at each assessment point?
- Is sufficient meeting time designated to enable departments to review
their curriculum plans in the light of what is learnt from the assessments?
- If periodic assessment approaches are adopted, have existing assessment
arrangements been reviewed to ensure that any redundant assessment practices
are discontinued?
Curriculum plans
- Are there clearly identified and varied opportunities for assessment
throughout the sequence of planned work?
- Are the tasks set likely to yield appropriate evidence of what is to
be assessed?
- Are there criteria for what is to be assessed?
- Are assessment criteria made explicit to learners in any way?
- Are learners involved in assessing their own work and progress?
- How is the evidence to be gathered, recorded and retained?
- How is a selection of the available evidence for assessment to be made?
