SQA School Coordinator Events: June 2014 Making Good Assessment Decisions 3 to 18

Dr John AllanSQA

George SinclairEducation Scotland

BGE to Senior Phase: Joint SQA Education Scotland work

Joint team meetings and planning around•Making good assessment decision 3 to 18 resource•Joint engagements•Tackling bureaucracy•Communications messages

Making good assessment decisions 3 to 18

• Publication of annotated exemplars of achievement at 4th level

• Publication of case studies/exemplification of approaches to curriculum moderation and qualification verification

• Publication of updated MGADs resource material

Joint engagementsEducation Scotland attendance and participation in:•Higher Education events•SQA Coordinator events•College events•Advanced Higher events•Education Authority Forums

Tackling bureaucracy

• Commitment to this agenda• Events with EIS Joint Education Scotland workshop on moderation and verification Joint involvement in plenary sessions

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Tackling Bureaucracy

• ‘Assessment judgements, particularly within broad general education but also in the senior phase of CfE, should be based on evidence drawn mainly from day-to-day teaching and learning’

• ‘Take practical steps to develop staff confidence in delivering verification procedures for new qualifications and streamlining these procedures if necessary’

Assessment resources

Assessment Resources (continued)• Assessment Overviews• Course Specifications and Unit Specifications• Course Assessment Specifications• UASPs• Specimen QPs/Past papers/Coursework

Assessment Tasks • Verification feedback• Understanding Standards materials

Planning

  

Planning for assessment as part

 of learning.

 This is:Grouping togetherrelated Experiences and Outcomes or Course requirements and planning a range of assessment approaches.  

 This is notExcessive planning based upon assessing, recording and reporting at the level of individual Experiences and Outcomes.  

Using naturally occuring evidence

 

Carrying out assessment as part of 

learning.

 This is:In partnership with the learner using a range of assessment approaches which allow you to track the progress of each learner. 

 This is not:Over reliance on tests or assessments which are unrelated to the planned learning.

Making judgements

 

Making professional judgements.

 This is:Assessment judgements, should be based on evidence drawn from day-to-day learning and teaching, where possible. 

 This is not:Producing large folios of assessment evidence, unrelated to the planned learning.

Internal/local QA

 Local quality assurance and 

moderation, within and across 

establishments. 

 This is:Agreeing assessment decisions at a local level is achieved through professional dialogue.  

 This is not:An over bureaucratic, tick box exercise or one which leads to excessive paperwork.

Setting National Standards

 

National quality assurance. Setting and agreeing 

national standards 

 This is:Using and sharing materials through Glow/NAR. Making use of SQA guidance and Assessment Support Materials. Taking part in SQA verification activities. 

 This is not:Gathering excessive evidence which hinders the understanding and application of standards at national and local levels

Evaluation

 

Evaluating by reflecting on the process and 

outcomes 

 This is:At all levels in an establishment, evaluation of learning and teaching focuses on improving the outcomes for learners. 

 This is not:Unnecessary auditing and accountability which distract from high quality learning and teaching. 

Workshop questions/task

• Reflect on and discuss current assessment and QA practice in your own school/department/local authority

• Identify possible next steps for your school/department/local authority