Assessment at St
Benedict’s
Assessment of progress without levels
Background to the
changes
The national picture
Key changes – primary schools
• a new primary national curriculum
• a new early years baseline test for 2016
• a new grammar, punctuation and spelling test at KS1
[year 2]
• new assessments at KS2 [year 6]
• disappearance of levels
• current years 2 and 6 are following the old NC
The first year group to have
the full experience...
• new reception test: September 2016
• new key stage 1 [including phonics test]
completed in July 2019
• new key stage 2 completed in July 2023
• GCSEs taken in summer 2028
Key stage 2 to key stage 3
• from September 2016 we will have the
results of the new tests in year 6
• we are liaising with primary schools
• we are building on the new primary
curriculum
• there will be some changes to the way
schools have been teaching
• new methods of assessment
Current year 7 and 8 students will take new
GCSEs in all subjects in either 2018 or 2019
The new curriculum
Background to assessment
OfSTED national concerns at KS3
• not building enough on the gains from primary
schools, with too much repetition
• not challenging the most able
• failure to narrow the gap for disadvantaged
pupils
• a curriculum lacking challenge
Tim Oates’ definition: year by year
• having a secure understanding of most of the year’s
curriculum (age-related expectation) and retaining
most of it
• having a deep understanding of all, or nearly all, of the
year’s curriculum and an ability to apply in a variety of
contexts (above age-related expectation)
• concentrating on teaching key concepts: fewer things in
more depth with secure understanding
• emphasising teaching at an appropriate pace so proper
understanding takes place
• assessing to see whether a particular concept has been
understood
• consolidating, intervening, and using effective support
for those who need it
• differentiating for the most able
New national curriculum
• we have more freedom to concentrate on what is really
important in each subject
• we can look at the big ideas in each subject
• we are having a fresh look at how we assess how well
students are making progress in their learning
• departments can reconsider the balance between:
• formative assessment (modifying teaching and learning to
bring about improvement)
• summative assessment (evaluating learning)
Formative assessment
• watching students
• asking questions that are worth asking: to explore
issues critical to the development of understanding
• classroom discussion
• peer and self-evaluation
• descriptive comments on work
• use of summative assessment
The removal of levels
and the implications for
assessment
Removal of levels
• up to now your children have been assessed
using levels in all subjects
• we are confident in our application of levels
• it is now felt that levels have been ‘misused’
and put to a purpose for which they were
never intended
• this has created a flawed methodology used by
schools, local authorities, Ofsted and in
performance tables
Assessment
Curriculum
Curriculum
Assessment
Moving away from levels
 a greater focus on whether pupils have a secure
understanding
 emphasising high-quality questioning
 assessment should become diagnostic and not just
concerned with national measures:
o about what they can or can’t do
o what is needed to close any gaps in understanding
o whether a concept could be introduced in a different way
o whether any work produced gives evidence that a student can
apply learning in a range of different contexts and settings
A fresh look at assessment
What is its purpose?
What will be in our curriculum to be assessed?
What are the big ideas in each subject?
How much testing and when?
How can we set a baseline against which progress can
be measured?
How do we show progress when we do not know
what the end result will look like?
What should the balance be between formative and
summative assessment?
Bloom’s taxonomy
Examples from English
• remembering: who are the main characters?
• understanding: explain how x felt when..
• applying: how would you have handled the situation
when...?
• analysing: compare [character x] with [character y]
• evaluating: do you believe x should have acted the
way he did?
• creating: imagine you are x...
Setting appropriate
targets
What information do we have?
• we still have to show the progress students make
from key stage 2 to key stage 4 [GCSE]
• for English and maths we will continue to use the key
stage 2 test and primary teacher assessment
information
• other departments will also use whatever key stage 2
information is available
• they may use their own curriculum tests to judge
students against ‘age-related expectations’ in their
subject
• we also use a ‘developed ability’ baseline test called
MidYIS (middle years information system)
MidYIS
• run by the centre for evaluation and monitoring at
Durham University
• 2,000 schools use MidYIS
• measures students’ underlying learning potential
rather than achievement based on the curriculum
• allows us to identify potential high attainers, as well
those struggling with an element of the test who
may require additional support
MidYIS tests
Each test gives a score with a national average of 100:
1. vocabulary: measures the understanding of words and
phrases
2. maths: assesses logical thinking, manipulating numbers,
numerical concepts without being geared to a particular
maths syllabus
3. non-verbal: measures the ability to recognise shapes and
match pictures, and assesses spatial and visual awareness
4. skills: is made up of tasks such as proof reading, speed and
accuracy
Banding system
Students will be put into one of four bands in each
subject relative to age-related expectations:
• mastering
• securing
• developing
• emerging
We have still used entry data to do this...
Banding system
• we have planned carefully within subjects
• we are confident the system will show how
students can make progress in what is important
• the bands are sub-divided (+ and -) in order to
introduce some flexibility and to help highlight
those who are either:
• progressing beyond expectations
• falling below expectations
• we will still report to parents every term
Example: English
Prior attainment
English KS2 level
MidYIS vocabulary
English band
Student A
U
5.42
126
Mastering -
Student B
M
5.21
114
Securing +
Student C
M
4.38
101
Developing +
Student D
L
3.57
90
Emerging +
Examples
History: baseline assessment
Skill: Chronology
(Level E– S)
Question 4: Put these 10 dates into the correct chronological
order: Make a list starting with the earliest first:
a) 315 AD
f) 1999 AD
b) 44 BC
g) 3 BC
c) 1871 BC
h) 100BC
d) 1779 AD
i) 2BC
e) 3 AD
j) 970 AD
Being able to put the AD dates in
chronological order, but unable to
put the BC dates in order (or vice
versa) would put a child in the
‘developing’ level
Skill: Chronology
(Level E – M)
Question 5: Work out the centuries for the following dates:
a) 1066 AD
f) 899 AD
b) 1215 AD
g) 902 AD
c) 210 AD
h) 110 BC
d) 1485 AD
i) 44 BC
e) 1745 AD
j) 55 AD
Being able to identify BC and AD
would put a child in the
‘emerging’ level
Being able to put both BC and AD
dates in chronological order would
show a child was ‘secure’ in this
historical skill
Being able to do all of the above,
and then to identify the correct
century for the dates given would
show a child’s ‘mastery’ of the
concept of time in history.
Geography: year 7 example
Lesson
objective
1.1 Earth’s
story: it begins
with a bang
To find out how
the Earth was
formed and how
life began.
Performance Band
Emerging
Developing
Securing
Learning outcomes
Mastering





1.3 Earth’s
story: the
timescale
To understand
the Earth’s
history – the
geological
timescale.


appreciate that, for over 2 billion
years, cells in the ocean were the
only life on Earth
know when the first life moved
onto land
describe how mass extinctions
have killed off many species in the
Earth’s history
know when and where the first
kind of human evolved
understand what fossils are and
what they can tell us
describe the geological timescale
using the terms ‘eon’, ‘era’ and
‘period’
understand that several geological
periods ended with a mass
extinction, or change in climate
Assessment
• this geography assessment might
include:
• an on-line self-assessment
• an end of unit assessment:
• either an extended project
• or an examination-style question
PE at key stage 3: ‘striking’ games
Mastering: year 7
Mastering: year 8
Mastering: year 9
- plays effectively in a game situation
- demonstrates a good level of skill when under
pressure; might make an unforced error occasionally
- ability to place a shot
- moves smoothly around the court
- developing a sound understanding of tactics, scoring
and laws of play
- able to exert influence on a game
- good range of skills evident even under pressure
- starting to anticipate opponents’ shots etc
- shows some ability to disguise a shot
- makes few unforced errors
- beginning to help team mates tactically
- developing a good understanding of rules
- can control and has significant influence on a game
- can demonstrate a clear range of skills with disguise
- moves very smoothly and can anticipate their
opponents’ movements and actions
-has a clear understanding of rules and tactics
Finally...
We will...
• plan carefully within each subject for each year group to
ensure as many as possible reach and exceed the
expected standard
• show all students how they can make progress in what is
important in a subject, whatever their starting point
• assess their overall standard in each subject once a term
• report to parents every term
• ensure that your child has the best possible opportunity
to make progress and succeed
Progression
Baseline/KS2 Y7 curriculum Y8 curriculum Y9 curriculum
Y10 and 11 GCSE
Grade 9 [A*]
Grade 8 [A*/A]
Grade 7 [A]
Grade 6 [B]
Mastering
Securing
Developing
Emerging
9M+
Grade 5 [C+]
9M-
Grade 4 [C-]
8M+
9S+
Grade 3 [D]
8M-
9S-
Grade 1/2 [E/F/G]
7M+
8S+
9D+
7M-
8S-
9D-
7S+
8D+
9E+
7S-
8D-
9E-
7D+
8E+
7D-
8E-
7E+
7E-
Reporting example: end of year 9
End of
year 8
End of
year 9
Progress measure
Effort grade
English
D+
S-
Good
5
Mathematics
S-
S+
Good
4
Science
S+
S+
Expected
4
MFL
E-
D-
Exceptional
5
History
D+
D+
Expected
4
Geography
S-
D+
Below expected
3
ICT
D-
D-
Expected
4
PE
D+
D+
Expected
4
Technology
D+
M-
Exceptional
5
Music
S+
D-
Well below
expected
2
Art
M-
M-
Expected
4
Drama
S+
S+
Expected
4
Homework
Attitude
Behaviour
A
B
H
Organization