The Curriculum for Wales embodies the premise that a highly effective curriculum recognises that curriculum, pedagogy and assessment cannot exist independently of each other. It follows therefore that school curriculum design must be considered with pedagogy and assessment as integral to it.
Effective assessment practice is crucial to the learning process, enabling every learner to make progress. The purpose of assessment in the Curriculum for Wales framework is, fundamentally, to support progression towards the four purposes. Schools and settings will need to ensure that practitioners develop a shared understanding of what progression looks like, across the setting, in order to inform planning for learning. Schools should give themselves permission to stop any assessment practices that do not contribute to this or that do not directly enhance the learning experience or wellbeing of their learners.
With appropriate support and challenge, learners will not only make progress, but will also learn to recognise their individual achievements and identify their next steps in learning independently. The Curriculum for Wales places the focus of assessment in schools on formative assessment, taking place while the learning is happening, and considering the whole child – their knowledge, skills, experiences, attitudes, values and wellbeing.
Schools now have the autonomy to design a curriculum for their context and their learners’ individual needs whilst fully including the learners in the process. Professor Louise Hayward described the reform as, 'moving the school culture from measuring to feeding'. Learning experiences, therefore, should focus on 'growth', ensuring that there is scope for breadth and depth of learning that allows learners to make progress at their own pace in order to reach their true potential.
The Six Principles of Assessment
Importantly assessment should not:
be used to make one-off judgements at a set age or point in time
be used for the purposes of external accountability
lead to matrices for assessing the four purposes or statements of what matters
be limited to ‘data’ – learning itself is the evidence.
When planning the journey to reform, the emphasis for schools is on starting from the four purposes and exploring what they mean for all learners in every aspect of the design, and taking time to develop thinking about each aspect at every stage. It is vital that schools take the time to understand the six principles underpinning the policy on assessment. This means schools should not:
move too quickly towards implementation
use superficial approaches or evidence four purposes coverage
retrofit current practice to meet the demands of the Curriculum for Wales
attempt to match up every description of learning to existing plans and then plan content to fit perceived gaps
invest in ‘off the shelf’ ready-made curriculum and assessment offers
view curriculum design as a ‘once and done’ event
assess directly to descriptions of learning.
The emphasis is now on formative assessment – assessment that moves learning on takes priority over assessment that judges attainment.
"Formative practice, is a reflective partnership between the teacher and the learner that guides and informs the pedagogy that moves learners forward ... in understanding and using the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to improve their own learning... maximised when teachers see learning through the eyes of the students, and when students see learning through the eyes of themselves as teachers".
(Hattie and Yates 2014)
The LNF is no longer statutory under the Curriculum for Wales. Learner progress will be assessed across the curriculum , not just literacy and numeracy.
Schools will develop and implement assessment arrangements in relation to their curriculum that assess:
the progress made by learners,
the next steps in their progression, and
the teaching and learning needed to make that progress.
There are no end of foundation phase, key stage 2 or key stage 3 levels or outcomes. Instead, schools will make their own assessment arrangements for learners to be assessed throughout the year for the continuum of learning from 3-16.
Reporting to parents should be a worthwhile process if we are going to take the time to do it. Schools will need to consider how their reporting arrangements contribute to formative assessment and ongoing learning, involving parents in the process so that they can be involved in supporting learner progression. Schools may choose to communicate through more than one report or on more than one occasion during the year if they wish to give a more current and inclusive feel to the process.
Developing a shared understanding of progression within and across schools.
Schools will no longer meet to agree levels. They will meet to develop an understanding of what progression looks like within and across schools, including expectations around the pace at which learners, including learners with ALN may progress.
Transition arrangements will need to ensure a continuous flow of learning along the continuum to support learner progress towards the four purposes. There should be a focus on effective communication between practitioners, learners and their parents/carers, supporting all learners as they move between different groups, different classes, different years and different settings.
Schools will need to think about the inter-related nature of learning, teaching and assessment when designing their curriculum and planning for its delivery. This will mean collaborating to consider how their design will meet learners’ individual needs over time as they make progress towards the four purposes. Practitioners should have the autonomy to use a wide range of effective and appropriate pedagogy, including those that support the social and emotional aspects of learning which are so important at all times but particularly at this time. The teaching approaches selected should encourage learners to take increasing responsibility for their own learning, understanding where they are, where they need to go and how to get there, including their views when creating the curriculum and in planning their learning experiences. ERW's Principles for Excellence online professional learning programme explores this further.
Think about the following questions in relation to where you are currently on the journey to reform:
a) as an individual
b) as a school.
What is your understanding of the interconnected relationship between learning, teaching and assessment?
How do you plan opportunities for learning based on learners’ individual strengths, needs and aspirations? How well do you consider their social and emotional needs? What barriers to learning currently exist and how are these managed?
What are your professional learning needs in relation to learning, teaching and assessment? How can these currently be best met?
How and when are you assessing learners and what is the impact of your assessment practice on learning and progression towards the four purposes?
How do you ensure that all learners know what they are learning and why? How well do they understand their own progress, where they need to go next and what they need to do to get there?
How do you know that your learners are developing confidence and independence in progression towards the four purposes?
How do you support effective and regular communication with parents and carers to support learner progress? How does this happen with families who do not have digital access?
How well do you collaborate with other schools to develop learning, teaching and assessment? And with other professionals to develop learning, teaching and assessment for learners with ALN?
It is inevitable that curriculum reform means change but we sometimes don’t spend enough time thinking about how to manage change. Here are some things to have in mind before undertaking any significant change to assessment within your school environment. It may be that additional questions will need to be asked as we develop 'blended' approaches to learning.
manageable
purposeful
impactful
integral to learning
positive
for the learner
To what extent is assessment in your school or classroom:
Cyclical
Organic
Related to success
Qualitative
Reflective
Readiness driven
Related to engagement
Linear
Pre-planned
Related to failure
Quantitative
Summative
Age driven
Related to content or schemes
In this task you are encouraged to compare your assessment practices with the list of effective practices in the right-hand column of the table. Make a visual representation by drawing up a five-point scale for each practice. If you are completing this task in a group or as a school each participant could rank where they think the school sits on the scale from 0-5 e.g. with 0 representing a fully compliant model to 5 representing a model which fully informs learning. You may then wish to discuss which practices need improvement and plan next steps.
All assessment should inform teaching and learning. The Curriculum for Wales allows schools to stop any practices that are not contributing to this.
Any transition to a new curriculum requires leadership and professional learning.
Consider the list opposite.
Who is responsible for each of these elements in school and how do they align with the professional standards for leaders, teachers and teaching assistants? Do other members of the school community, such as governors, have a role?
What part do the learners have to play in developing these elements?
Are there any points to be added to the list?
Developing a learning culture
Four purposes
Formative assessment
Skilful questioning
Active engagement
Challenge
Reflective planning
Understanding of progression
Transition
Self-regulation
Resilience
Independence
Visible learning
Whole school context
Innovating and risk- taking
Next steps and support
Consolidation
Individual needs
Understanding groups
Inclusion and equity
Essence – how and why
Ethos and environment
Feedback
Shared understanding of progression
Breadth and depth
Purposeful Learning experiences
Time
Wellbeing
Principles of progression
Curriculum design
Knowledge, skills and experience
Integral skills