Our assessment policy is based on the following :

• Belief that effort can generate success
• Belief in one’s ability to improve and learn
• A recognition of the importance of challenge
• An emphasis on personal definition of success when presented with challenge
• Self evaluation and the development of self instruction strategies

We believe that assessment should primarily help pupils in the learning process, providing evidence to guide both teacher and pupil on how to improve. This is the basis of AfL (Assessment For Learning, also known as Formative Assessment). We recognise there is a need and a place for Summative Assessment (identifying the standards which pupils have reached). However, the principles involved in AfL will help students to become more independent learners. Therefore they will be better equipped to achieve at a higher level and to become life long learners. From September 2006 Stokesley School adopted the principles of Assessment for Learning across all subjects and all key stages.

Assessment for Learning is a teaching and learning strategy involving formative assessment processes which ensure students are more focused upon:

• What they are trying to learn and why
• What they are trying to achieve and what they need to do in order to be successful.
• What they have learned and how they may improve their own work.

AfL allows staff and students to continuously review work as it progresses rather than at the end of a piece of work when it is too late to make improvements and mistakes have been made. For students AfL processes allow them to correct any mistakes as they occur and continuously improve their performance. Via AfL teachers can see when and where problems are occurring and plan to address these issues as work progresses tailoring their teaching to the areas where most input is required.

Click on each of the Key characteristics of assessment for learning to discover more about AfL practices in the classroom: 

• Sharing learning goals

Schemes of Learning and individual lessons have learning objectives. These objectives can be shared with students so that they can understand what they will be learning in the lesson, topic or unit of work. Learning objectives can be designed so that students can recognise the difference between what they have to do (task) from what they will learn. To involve pupils fully in their learning teachers may:

• explain the reasons for the lesson or activity in terms of  the learning objectives 
• share specific assessment criteria with pupils 
• help pupils to understand what they have done well and what they need to develop.
• show examples of other pupils' responses to the task to help pupils understand how to use the assessment criteria to assess their own learning.
• Effective questioning

Questioning can be used as a tool for assessment for learning. Teachers can:

• use questions to find out what pupils know, understand and can do
• analyse pupils' responses and their questions in order to find out what they know, understand and can do 
• use questions to find out what pupils' specific misconceptions are in order to target teaching more effectively 
• use pupils' questions to assess understanding.
• Student Self and Peer Assessment

Research has shown that pupils will achieve more if they are fully engaged in their own learning process. This means that if pupils can actively assess their own work they can evaluate their understanding, gaps in their own knowledge and identify areas they need to work on. Students can self and peer assess using assessment criteria and the process is designed to focus upon positive constructive feedback.
Peer assessment – Students assessing each others work
Peer assessment is effective because pupils can clarify their own ideas and understanding while marking other pupils' work. Looking at different responses can also help pupils understand the different approaches they can take to a task.  The discussion which arises between pupils also helps both parties to develop their understanding. Pupils are not permitted to make personal or negative comments during peer assessment.
Self-assessment – Students assessing their own work
Self-assessment is an important tool for both pupils and teachers. Once pupils understand how to assess their current knowledge and the gaps in it, they will have a clearer idea of how they can help themselves progress. Teachers and pupils can set personalised targets relating to specific goals. The pupils will then be able to guide their own learning, with the teacher providing help where necessary or appropriate. Pupils can be:

• encouraged to reflect on their own work 
• be supported to discover areas of difficulty
• be given time to work difficulties out
• Effective teacher feedback

Teachers recognise that feedback is an essential element in helping pupils improve. When using assessment for learning strategies, teachers can give constructive feedback relative to the learning objectives in order to help the pupil improve within a specific activity or with a particular skill. Teachers may not use numerical marks, grades or levels during formative assessment processes. There is a shift away from teachers telling pupils what they have done wrong to teachers encouraging pupils to see for themselves what they need to do to improve. Therefore, every pupil can make achievements by building on their previous performance.

This information has been modified from extracts which can be found at www.qca.org.uk

Gone are the routine awarding of marks and grades that many of us had got used to. In their place we have developed a ‘comment – only approach’ where the emphasis is on providing helpful comments to pupils on how they can improve their work. Increasingly we are asking pupils to respond to these comments by enacting the advice given and by providing us with their own evaluative comments about how they are doing. In many subjects pupils are also being encouraged to assess each others’ work, identifying those aspects which they think are particularly good, (explaining their reasons why), before going on to suggest ways in which they believe the work can be further improved. The pupils end up learning from each other in a way which they both understand. We find that most pupils tend to be very honest with their comments for both paired and self assessment.

As a school we have recognised that it is not possible for us to quality mark all work. Instead we believe that we should quality assess selected pieces of work across the year, providing personalised helpful comments on how to improve. This does not mean assessment is not taking place in between times. A wealth of teaching and learning activities, questioning and paired and self assessment strategies ensures otherwise. The end result is that we are able to target our time and energy to those areas which make the greatest difference; the planning and delivery of quality teaching and learning within the classroom and the provision of meaningful personalised feedback.

Subject areas have in place agreed standardised activities across the year be they tests, assignments or other activities. These are marked to agreed criteria, usually National Curriculum Levels at Key Stage 3, or grade-related criteria at GCSE and A Level. The data provided helps us to identify the progress pupils are making and to identify where action is required to support any underachieving pupils. These standardised assessments can still be used to provide useful feedback to pupils to help target areas for improvement with most subjects providing help / guidance sheets of various forms.

Further information can be found by using the links listed below:

http://www.teachers.tv/video/565

http://www.qca.org.uk/7659.html

Stokesley School Assessment Policy Document

If you wish to provide feedback regarding the assessment information provided here or if you have any questions relating to the school’s assessment policy, then please feel free to contact:
 

Paul Fazakerley,    Director of Teaching and Learning alf_fazakerley@stokesleyschool.org

Sue Forth Co-ordinator of Assessment for Learning alf_forth@stokesleyschool.org