Assessing, Reporting and Tracking Progress post Levels
I first posted about my school's approach to assessment without levels in October 2014. Since then there have been tweaks and changes to the 'whole school' approach and I'm sure there are tweaks and changes still to come. This post describes the 'whole school' approach as it currently stands and my interpretation of what this may look like for the Maths Department.
From September we are going to be using Flight Paths, instead of levels, to track and report the progress of our KS3 students.
Each pupil will have a 'target' Flight Path, this will be based on their attainment at KS2 and is the Flight Path they should be on if they are making expected progress.This will allow us to assess whether students are are on or off track. We will also be able to report projected GCSE results based on which Flight Path students are currently on.
It is hugely important that 'target' Flight Paths aren't used as another tool with which to label our pupils and limit their learning experiences. Our KS3 pupils are taught in Mixed Attainment classes in Maths. For each unit of work they are given a Learning Journey. From September the Learning Journeys will show progress across all 5 Flight Paths. In every lesson all of our pupils have access to the full range of differentiated tasks, meaning that every pupil can access every stage on the Learning Journey.
From September we are going to be using Flight Paths, instead of levels, to track and report the progress of our KS3 students.
Each pupil will have a 'target' Flight Path, this will be based on their attainment at KS2 and is the Flight Path they should be on if they are making expected progress.This will allow us to assess whether students are are on or off track. We will also be able to report projected GCSE results based on which Flight Path students are currently on.
It is hugely important that 'target' Flight Paths aren't used as another tool with which to label our pupils and limit their learning experiences. Our KS3 pupils are taught in Mixed Attainment classes in Maths. For each unit of work they are given a Learning Journey. From September the Learning Journeys will show progress across all 5 Flight Paths. In every lesson all of our pupils have access to the full range of differentiated tasks, meaning that every pupil can access every stage on the Learning Journey.
Pupils will be given a short pre-teaching assessment at the start of each unit of work. This will enable them to identify their start point on the Learning Journey. (More information about how to use the Learning Journeys can be found using the link above-left.)
At the end of each unit of work pupils will be given an assessment task which will enable them to track the progress they have made against the Learning Journey. We have been using this form of assessment in our department since Sept 2014.
| From September 'level descriptors' will be removed from these Assessment Tasks and replaced with Flight Path descriptors. Each Assessment Task will also be updated to ensure that whichever Flight Path pupils are working on, they are given a range of types of question to allow them to develop fluency, reasoning and problem solving. The inspiration for this came from Alexander Cameron, who tweeted the image opposite, showing his Department's excellent approach to assessment. You can follow Alexander on twitter @AlexandeCameron. He has generously shared his resources via LinkBunch, you can find them using the link below. |  |
Below is an image of how I adapted Alexander Cameron's approach for our Assessment Tasks.
I had a discussion with a colleague, Ann Macdonald about fluency, problem solving and reasoning and how these relate to 'closed', 'open' and 'probing questions'. (You can follow Ann on Twitter @Mckintyre).
The 'fluency' questions are typically 'closed', the problem solving questions are typically 'open' and the reasoning questions are 'probing.' See image below.
The 'fluency' questions are typically 'closed', the problem solving questions are typically 'open' and the reasoning questions are 'probing.' See image below.
Ann and I decided that pupils would benefit from having the descriptors; fluency, problem solving and reasoning on their assessment task. (Teachers may benefit from also having the descriptors, open, closed and probing.) We have removed the Flight Path labels from the pupil versions of the assessment tasks as we want our pupils to focus on the mathematical skills described in the Learning Journey, rather than the Flight Path label. The complete Assessment Task for the 'Number Line - Place Value' Unit of Work can be found using the links below. Version one is the student version. Version two is the teacher version.
An important part of the Assessment Process is that pupils are given feedback which enables them to move on. We do this by correcting a mistake made by the pupils when completing the assessment task, or by modelling a solution to a problem which they did not complete. We then set a probing question on the Feedback Sheet, often using one of the sentence starters below, to allow pupils the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of our feedback.
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Other important elements which are built into each Assessment Task are the:-
'Heard the Word' tables which enable pupils to demonstrate their understanding of the Key Words / Symbols.
'My own Question and Answer' section which provides an additional insight into a pupil's depth of understanding.
The 'What I will do to act upon my 'Even Better If...' section on the Feedback sheet.
'Heard the Word' tables which enable pupils to demonstrate their understanding of the Key Words / Symbols.
'My own Question and Answer' section which provides an additional insight into a pupil's depth of understanding.
The 'What I will do to act upon my 'Even Better If...' section on the Feedback sheet.
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