SALUSBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL ASSESSMENT POLICY Good assessment promotes excellence in teaching and learning by allowing children to identify success criteria and build on those criteria to improve their work. Definition: assessment refers to all those activities undertaken by teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. (Black and William, 1998) Aim: To achieve high standards/raise attainment by effective tracking of pupil progress Objectives: To plan/adapt learning according to the needs of the child/class To provide a positive learning ethos/environment in which children can enjoy learning, and reflect, improve and grow in confidence To provide effective oral/written feedback to children To develop peer and self-assessment. To use whole school/year group/class/individual targets to support learning Key Principles: For children, good assessment: accurately identifies their progress/highlights strengths/difficulties/ways forward raises expectation/celebrates achievement provides reliable/accessible information to support progress motivates/actively involves them in review/target setting checks cultural bias (and where possible removes it) For teachers, good assessment: uses clear/consistent criteria and is manageable/sustainable/useful meets statutory requirements to support quality teaching/learning informs future planning/determines ways forward yields reliable/valid information about pupil progress/achievement is a normal part of everyday teaching/learning, not an addition to it For parents, good assessment: highlights their child s success/progress identifies weaknesses/explains how these will be addressed provides opportunities to review/discuss their children s achievements ensures information about their child is detailed/specific/understandable.
The purpose of Assessment can be: Diagnostic: to identify strengths and weaknesses Formative: to inform planning and teaching Summative: to monitor performance and progress Evaluative: to ensure planning and delivery matches needs and abilities Statutory Assessment Requirements Foundation Stage Profile Year 1 Phonics Screening Test End of Key Stage 2 SATs School Assessment Foundation Stage In the Foundation Stage children are assessed through regular short observations and extended focussed observations, which are recorded in the pupil s Learning Journey folders. Staff track progress on a termly basis using the EYFS Development Matters guidance. At the end of Reception staff complete statutory Foundation Stage Profiles for each child. (See EYFS Policy) Testing Year 1 In the Summer term children in Year 1 complete the Phonics Screening Test, which is repeated in Year 2 for those children not achieving national expectations. KS1 SATs At the end of Year 2 all children complete the non-statutory SATs. These tests, along with ongoing teacher assessment provide National Curriculum levels for staff to use in their planning and target setting as children enter Year 3. Optional SATs Children in Years 3, 4 and 5 complete optional SATs papers in literacy and numeracy in the summer term. Data from the analysis of these test papers informs planning and sets measurable targets. KS2 SATs In accordance with national expectations, children complete SATs at the end of Year 6. Data from the analysis of these test papers informs planning/sets targets. Assessment for Learning Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. (Primary Framework 2007) Ways to use Afl in planning and teaching: Share clear learning objectives linked to focused activities with the children Include quality open-ended questions in planning/ask questions throughout lesson
Ask some questions with no hands up and give children response time Ask pupils to communicate thinking through drawings, artefacts, actions, role play, concept mapping Share success criteria with the children Find out what children know before starting a new unit Engage pupils in conversation about what makes good quality work Differentiate planning and teaching in response to pupils learning needs Make sure you have opportunities to observe Use mini plenaries focused around what the children have learned, how to extend that learning and how to connect it with what is learned next. Give feedback in a variety of ways e.g. pairs, groups and individually Encourage talk partners (involve all children) Write notes on plans to inform future planning and highlight classes/groups/ individuals that are not meeting learning objectives Ensure that records are useful for, and used to adjust next steps, short, medium and long term plans and to pass on to subsequent teachers The Benefits of AFL for Children: They are involved in their own learning/contribute to developing success criteria They use success criteria to identify successes/next steps in their own work and that of their peers They use self- assessment or peer discussions to identify success against the learning objective (introduce skills/ideas over time, modelling the process) They are active in own learning and understand what it means to get better Assessment of Learning Assessment of learning is assessment which summarises where learners are at a given point: it provides a snapshot of what has been learned in attainment and achievement. Salusbury School Key Messages Booklet This booklet includes a section on Short and Medium term assessment, and should be read in conjunction with this policy. The key messages include: Teachers monitor the progress of children in their class by the use of levelled curricular objectives: Ros Wilson for writing and APP for reading and for mathematics.
Consistent use of Ros Wilson and APP assessment frameworks is moderated regularly across and between year groups and phases. A different six children are chosen for detailed completion of grids for each of reading, writing and mathematics. For each subject children are selected across the attainment range for the class. Teachers should be able to identify the evidence which informed the completion of these assessments for each child. The information from the detailed assessment of six children is used to inform half-termly assessments of all children for the purposes of pupil tracking. Where appropriate data submitted for the purposes of pupil tracking is informed by tests. Half-termly Ros Wilson/APP assessment information is used to inform unit planning for English and mathematics in particular the selection of appropriate learning objectives for the unit overall and for groups of children working at different attainment levels. Just before, or at the start of, a new unit of work in English and mathematics teachers use some brief assess and review activities to check and fine tune their assessment of where children are prior to starting the unit. This information also informs planning. Teachers plan the first two or three days of each English or mathematics unit in detail and plan the rest in outline so that they can respond to children s learning as the unit unfolds. At the end of each unit in English and mathematics teachers use a brief assess and review activity to check for learning during the unit. In both English and mathematics teachers provide at least one opportunity per week for children to read and respond to detailed marking. This may take many forms including correcting work or a short extension task. This response to marking by the children is highly visible in books as it is done in green pen. Teacher marking is readable by the children and follows the agreed Salusbury expectations for joined up handwriting. Written feedback is always addressed to the child even for younger children who may not yet be ready to read it unaided. Differentiation strategies are evident in that some children are working with a higher level of challenge than others. There is evidence of children trying out ideas and taking risks in their work. This work may be less tidy than a finished piece of work.
When asked what they need to do to improve in English and mathematics children can give very specific answers e.g. use time connectives in my writing or subtract mentally a two digit number from a two digit number. Pupil progress is evident across a term. Looking back in books it is clear that children are engaging successfully with an increasing level of challenge. Children can explain how their teacher s marking is helping them to improve their work. Opportunities for self-assessment are evident e.g. two stars and a wish or traffic lights. In Summary Writing Fortnightly extended writing assessed and levelled using Ros Wilson s Big Writing in Years 1-6. Children produce one piece of extended writing in IPC on the alternate week to Literacy. Children s writing examples of fiction and non-fiction in the Profile Book are used to compile Portfolio of levelled exemplars for moderation and assessment purposes. Reading: In Years 1-6 staff assess six different pupils, per term, using APP. Mathematics: In Years 1-6 staff assess six different pupils per term using APP. Science: In Years 1-6 staff assess six different pupils, per term, using APP. Target Setting Staff base targets on learning objectives. They use their analysis of children s work, discussion with children, assessment information and test performance. They identify whole-school priorities and areas for improvement and agree whole-school literacy targets and numeracy targets each term. Class targets for each unit in Literacy and Numeracy are displayed in the classroom. The targets are current and specific to the piece of work that the children are working on. Marking ladder targets are used for Literacy units. IEP targets are displayed in the children s books and reviewed termly. Whole-school targets are layered in the following way: 1. Set whole-school Individual School Performance (ISP) target in literacy/numeracy based upon analysis of tests/work scrutiny/discussions with children. 2. Differentiate the ISP target for different year groups using child-friendly language 3. Assign pupil targets using the National Curriculum target statements 4. Link core group curricular targets to learning and teaching - Teachers identify subject specific knowledge related to the target - Professional development at staff meetings provides support - Teachers identify opportunities to teach the targets in their medium and short term plans and modify plans if necessary - Targets are shared with the children in class
5. Teachers/children work on their targets during literacy/numeracy lessons, and in focused group sessions: where appropriate they make links in other curricular areas; teachers use children s individual targets to inform their weekly planning 6. Teachers/children review progress against targets and the leadership team assesses whole-school progress in achieving the target on a termly basis. Tracking Tracking identifies patterns of progress for different children. Teachers add evidence from Development Matters, the Foundation Stage Profiles, APP, SATs and optional SATs onto the Pupil progress Tracker database and analyse it to monitor children s expected progress. This data identifies and monitors performance patterns and the performance of specific groups of pupils, comparing it with national and local data. Reporting to Parents All parents receive a termly letter outlining the term s work. Targets are set and shared with parents at parent meetings in the Autumn and Spring terms. The Foundation Stage team also lead an annual meeting to share information with parents about the Early Years curriculum and all parents will receive an accurate half-yearly summary of their child s progress and a full report in the Summer term including a separate KS1/KS2 result summary for children in Years 2 and 6. Management and Monitoring The assessment subject leader monitors, evaluates and supports staff in implementing assessment procedures through regular INSET and individual meetings. Subject leaders monitor planning and children s work samples termly to ensure consistency in assessment procedures and report their findings to the headteacher. Teachers discuss children s progress at termly pupil progress meetings with senior leaders. Informing Parents/Governors Assessment policy to be shared with parents on the school website. Governors to approve all policies and staff to review them regularly. Update 20/9/2012 (RON)