Getting to Grips with Assessment

1
Getting to Grips with Assessment

• A series of leaflets for teachers and others
  interested in assessment
• Linda Sturman, NFER

23 April 2008
2
What is assessment?

• What does the word assessment make you think
  of?
• Tests?
• National tests (SATs)?
• Data?
• Teacher assessment?
• Assessment for learning?
• Observation?
• E-assessment?
• Assessment is all of these and more

3
Why does assessment matter?

• It underpins learning
• It highlights progress
• It informs future teaching

4
Some facts and a question

• Teachers assess every day
• (formally or informally)
• Assessment supports learning
• Teachers are good at helping pupils learn
• Therefore, teachers are good at assessment
• So
• Why did we need to develop these leaflets?

5
The answers

• Teachers told us they wanted information about
  assessment
• Schools Use of Data study
• Assessment policy development

6
More questions

• Target audience
• primary, secondary, generic
• England, UK, overseas
• Format
• Leaflets, booklet
• A3, A4, Z-fold
• Colour, black-and-white
• Online, hard copy
• Free, charge
• Support package, stand-alone

7
Decisions

• 10 leaflets (turned into 12)
• Start with primary schools in England
• (still relevant to other settings)
• A4
• Colour
• Starting points
• Stand-alone
• (assess need for support package)

8
Approach to development

• NFER experts
• (formative and summative assessment)
• Practitioners
• (teachers, local authorities)
• Grounded in practice
• Addressing needs
• Overview

9
Development plan
10
Visits to schools

• Shadowing/interviewing assessment coordinator in
  6 schools
• Themes
• Assessment policy
• Forms of assessment in use in the school
• Using KS2 data
• Supporting assessment
• Challenges
• Different audiences
• School self-evaluation

11
First teacher/LA panels

• Nine draft themes presented for discussion of
  important content
• Same themes used for both (slightly modified
  titles for LA panel)
• Comments on format invited

12
Teacher/LA panels

• Asked to consider questions such as
• What guidance would you give to a new teacher
  (new to teaching or to your school/LA)?
• What do you wish youd known when starting out?
• Whats the best advice youve been given since?
• What are the most common queries youre asked to
  address? How do you address them?
• What do you wish you knew now?

13
Next steps

• Confirm final themes (one dropped, others
  redistributed)
• Team draft, review and redraft
• Design process
• Second panel meeting (content and design)
• Redrafting and NFER expert review
• Finalisation and printing

14
Final themes

• Starting out in assessment
• Policy into practice
• Assessment for learning
• Self and peer assessment
• Interpreting information from different sources
• Moderation of assessment judgements
• Making the most of assessment data
• Assessment information and different audiences
• Understanding assessment information (a leaflet
  for parents)
• Understanding tests
• Glossary of key assessment terms
• Resources and useful weblinks

15
Starting out in assessment - key points

• Longest leaflet, describing
• what assessment is, methods of assessment, how
  assessments might be recorded
• Getting started school context, policy and
  staff
• Aims, objectives and success criteria
• Validity
• Good assessment practice and limitations of
  assessment
• When and what to assess
• Tracking progress
• Links to other helpful resources and relevant
  leaflets

16
Policy into practice - key points

• Creating a living policy
• Policy content
• Keeping it relevant
• Making it accessible
• Reviewing the policy
• When?
• What?
• Why?

17
Assessment for learning - key points

• What assessment for learning is
• Introducing and developing it
• What effective assessment for learning looks like
• The importance of communication
• Advice from practitioners
• Monitoring impact

18
Self and peer assessment - key points

• Why self and peer assessment matters
• Learning objectives and success criteria
• Introducing and developing
• Peer assessment
• Methods of introduction
• Rules for peer assessment
• Self assessment
• Transition from peer to self assessment
• What teachers say about peer and self assessment
• A culture of support

19
Interpreting information from different sources -
key points

• Complementary and contradictory info
• Why inconsistencies arise
• Drawing conclusions from assessment outcomes
• Valid conclusions
• Limitations
• Using inconsistencies constructively
• Advice from practitioners

20
Moderation of assessment judgements - key points

• Purpose and styles
• Levelling work
• Collaboration and shared understanding
• Examples and evidence
• Sharing good practice
• a wider perspective
• year group, key stage, subject
• Ideas to consider

21
Making the most of assessment data - key points

• Collecting and interpreting
• What data? What does it mean?
• Handling data
• Paper/electronic
• Staffing
• Advice from practitioners
• Using the data
• Different uses
• Timing
• Raising questions effecting change
• Advice from practitioners

22
Assessment information and different audiences -
key points (1)

• Sharing information
• Who? (parents/carers, governors, other
  stakeholders, SEF)
• Who needs what?
• Levels of understanding
• Effective presentation clarity
• Parents/carers
• How children are assessed
• Communication
• Honest and constructive
• Jargon
• Meetings, reports, newsletters

23
Assessment information and different audiences -
key points (2)

• Governors
• Shared understanding
• Wide view
• Context
• Critical friend
• School self-evaluation
• Aims
• Role of assessment information

24
Understanding assessment information (a leaflet
for parents) - key points

• What teachers assess
• FS, KS1, KS2
• Programme of study and attainment targets/levels
• Progress between levels
• How teachers assess
• Formative, summative
• Modes of assessment
• How progress is reported
• Understanding the information

25
Understanding tests - key points

• Types of test
• Why use tests?
• How tests are developed
• Selecting a test
• Test preparation
• Not always needed
• Familiarisation
• Surface learning, deep learning
• Amount of preparation
• Integrating test preparation
• Minimising stress, maximising learning

26
Glossary of key assessment terms

• Common assessment terms
• Cross-referenced
• Links to leaflets

27
Resources and useful weblinks

• Link to leaflet series
• General sources of information
• General links, e.g.
• AAIA, CIEA, NAA, ARG, etc
• Specific links
• Assessment for learning/self and peer assessment
• Moderating assessment information
• Making the most of data
• Assessment and SEFs
• Understanding tests
• Further glossaries

28
Uptake hard copies

• By mid-March
• 949 sets of hard copies ordered
• Six LAs bulk-ordered copies for their schools
  (801 leaflets)
• Remaining 148 sets to individuals, school and
  university staff, local authority teams,
  consultants
• New print run needed

29
Uptake free downloads

• Leaflets available at
• www.nfer.ac.uk/gripping-assessment-primary
• Tracking shows
• a peak in Oct (date of publication) for all
  leaflets
• Between 992 and 2787 downloads per leaflet in Oct
• Another peak in Feb (1052 2810 downloads)
• More hits on individual leaflets than on home
  page
• Suggests recommendations

30
Downloads by leaflet, Oct 2007 March 2008
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Downloads by leaflet
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Sample feedback

• LA wanted guidance for schools on assessment for
  and of learning
• Considering putting together own guidance
• Leaflet series encapsulated everything in a
  straightforward, easy to assimilate way
• Clarity and consistency of message perceived to
  be helpful
• Heads reported finding useful, especially leaflet
  for parents
• Experienced teacher wanted information to support
  change in role (from assessor to moderator)
• Found useful and informative

33
AEA-Europe conference

• Poster presentation
• Interest from many different countries,
  including
• England
• Scotland
• France
• Italy
• Teacher trainers
• Govt depts of education
• Curriculum organisations
• LAs/schools districts
• Teachers want to enhance their knowledge of
  assessment

• Catalonia
• Australia
• Ukraine
• the USA

• Denmark
• Norway
• Sweden
• Malta

34
Next steps

• We hope that
• You have found this as interesting as the
  delegates at AEA-Europe did
• The leaflets will continue to be downloaded and
  used to support teaching and learning
• You will have a look at the leaflets (if you
  haven't already done so)
• Well receive further feedback to inform future
  plans in this area

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And some more questions

• Should we produce a Getting to Grips with
  Assessment series for secondary schools?
• How have schools/teachers/others used the
  leaflets? How successful have leaflets been for
• new teachers?
• experienced teachers?
• others?
• What other ideas are there for using the
  leaflets?

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References and contact details

• National Foundation for Educational Research
  (2007). Getting to Grips with Assessment
  Primary. Slough NFER. www.nfer.ac.uk/gripping-as
  sessment-primary
• Kirkup, C., Sizmur, J., Sturman, L. and Lewis, K.
  (2005). Schools Use of Data in Teaching and
  Learning (DfES Research Report 671). London
  DfES. http//www.dfes.gov.uk
• Linda Sturman l.sturman_at_nfer.ac.uk 01753 637144
• Department for Research in Assessment and
  Measurement,
• The National Foundation for Educational
  Research,
• The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, SL1 2DQ, UK
• phone [phone] fax [phone]
  691632 www.nfer.ac.uk