An overview of assessing pupils progress

Nothing new?

APP is a structured approach to periodically assessing mathematics and reading and writing so teachers can:

track pupils' progress through Key Stage 2

use diagnostic information about pupils' strengths and weaknesses.

Using APP materials teachers can make level judgements for each of the following National Curriculum attainment targets (ATs):

reading writing using and applying mathematics number shape, space and measures handling data.

Based on the assessment focuses (AFs) that underpin National Curriculum assessment, the APP approach improves the quality and reliability of teacher assessment. It has proved to be robust, manageable and effective in practice.

The materials are made up of two elements: assessment guidelines - sheets for assessing

pupils' work in relation to National Curriculum levels

standards files - exemplars of pupils' performance at National Curriculum levels of attainment.

APP involves 'stepping back' periodically to review pupils' ongoing work and relate their progress to National Curriculum levels.

As well as these APP materials, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Primary National Strategy (PNS) are currently developing a range of further materials to support teacher assessment throughout Key Stage 1 and for speaking and listening.

Making judgements: the process

Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils' mathematics into

level judgements.

You will need: evidence of the pupil's mathematics that shows most

independence, for example from work in other subjects as well as in mathematics lessons

other evidence about the pupil as a mathematician, e.g. notes on plans, the pupil's own thoughts, your own recollections of classroom interactions, oral answers given during mental starters

a copy of the assessment guidelines for the level borderline that is your starting point.

Standards files

Purpose exemplify standards by giving guidance accurate

assessments acting as a resource and reference point for

teachers:– on assessing pupils' work – on diagnosing pupils' strengths and weaknesses – for training and professional development purposes.

Each standards file includes:

examples of pupils' ongoing classroom work which have been assessed

commentary on the evidence at assessment focus (AF) level

the assessment guidelines sheet that records both a profile of attainment across the AFs and a National Curriculum level for the attainment target (AT).

Teacher's notesestablishes a starting point uses diagrams, as modelled in question finds four of six possible solutions and repeats one solution.

Next stepsdevelop a more systematic approach and organised way of recording compare results, discuss which are the same or different and find all possibilities.

What the teacher knows about Paulo's attainment in Ma1

Paulo suggests suitable ways of starting a problem and sometimes selects and uses appropriate apparatus to support his work. In problems when he is finding 'How many ways...?' he needs to be more systematic in his approach.

He discusses his methods and strategies, using mathematical vocabulary. He sometimes uses pictures, diagrams and symbols to explain, and this helps him to visualise a solution. He increasingly chooses to make recordings and jottings when working independently.

Paulo explains his thinking: for example, he identifies and explains the first steps needed to solve the 'Sail away' 1 problem.

In this logic problem, he soon loses sight of the mathematics and offers other practical solutions such as 'One man could swim back to the island.'

His explanations are becoming more detailed, though he sometimes needs prompting to be more specific. Paulo looks for patterns in numbers. For example, when working with addition sequences, he identifies how much is added each time and uses the rule to find missing numbers and to extend the sequence

Summarising Paulo's attainment in Ma1

Paulo's attainment in Ma1 is best described as working at secure level 2. He sometimes needs support to break into a problem but he then selects the mathematics to solve it. He discusses his work using some mathematical language and he sometimes represents solutions using simple diagrams. He explains why an answer is correct with increasing independence; however, he needs to try different approaches and organise his work more systematically.

Using the standards files

There are different ways of using the standards files: to ensure that teachers' judgements are in line

with national standards before making assessments

as a reference when assessing your own pupils to support moderation activity to clarify what it means to make progress to exemplify the APP approach.

standardisation training in school could use the materials in the

following ways.

Each teacher assesses one pupil, and agrees the level judgement with a colleague by comparing and contrasting the pupil's work with that of a standards file pupil at that level.

Teachers assess the work of one standards file pupil, using a training version of the standards files with the references to level judgements removed, and then compare their judgements with those in the full standards file.

Teachers copy one or two collections of work from their own pupils, without any annotation or commentary, and ask colleagues to identify pupils in the standards files to which each is closest in performance.

Using two standards files at the same level (e.g. low 3 and secure 3) with all the annotations but without the assessment summaries or assessment guidelines sheets, groups discuss and agree which is low and which is secure.

To clarify progress, look through all standards files that cover one identified AT to track the evidence for a particular AF or group of AFs.

When assessing your own pupils you should use the standards files for reference:

as a benchmark when making periodic assessments to compare the performance of your pupils at a

particular level with exemplars that have been assessed against national standards

to check what constitutes sufficient evidence of attainment in an AF at a specific level

comparing two collections of work in the same AT, one on either side of a level borderline

to check what progression in a particular AF looks like.

Supporting in-school moderation

Moderation activity generally involves a group of teachers reviewing a sample of class teachers' initial assessments, reconciling any disagreements and agreeing a final judgement.

Disagreement can be resolved by recourse to the question: How does the pupil under discussion compare with pupil X or Y from the standards files?

Discussion could be focused on:

attainment at a particular level in different year groups, or in a particular AF at different levels

the range of potential evidence in using and applying mathematics or reading, for example how much evidence of attainment for a particular AF is required to support a judgement

differences between evidence gathered from oral work and from writing

whether it is harder to find evidence for some AFs than others

identifying the next steps in teaching and learning for a particular pupil or groups of pupils.