Assessing without levels: part 1

From time to time over the holidays I have been thinking about the problem of assessing without levels. I refer to it as a problem, because it is a change that I know will ultimately be for the better, but it is going to be costly in terms of time. Blood, sweat and tears spring to mind - and to be honest the systems I have seen that look like rearranged versions of APP, of which I have never been a fan, are beginning to bring out my ranty side. Why can't anything ever be simple?

I know that what I need to do is dedicate time and find the right space to having a big think, scribble some notes on paper (I have some very sparse notes so far) and then think some more. During my first ponderings I remembered about an assessment for learning website I cobbled together when I was an AST. It was a good way of sharing practice as well as a place for storing my files. It's a bit dated, but the principles remain the same.

Before I dedicate time to my big think, I want to make sure I'm fully informed of what is currently going on in the world. I am assessment co-ordinator at East Harling, but as with everything else at our school it's not a role that I carry out alone. Next Wednesday I have time with my HT to chew over ideas and what it could look like. I'm not one for re-inventing wheels and simple is good. We have recently formed the Acorn Co-operative Learning Alliance with other local schools and, as my HT suggested, it makes sense to work together on this. The only potential problem is that we should be assessing against our curriculum, and we have devised a curriculum that feels very personal to our school (beyond the statutory curriculum). Do we assess the additional knowledge and skills that we feel are important, or stick with the key objectives in the new curriculum?

I believe that the best way to preserve teacher time and make it meaningful is to involve the children wherever and whenever possible; the freedom in the new curriculum should technically give us time to dedicate to self assessment in a purposeful (as opposed to ad hoc) manner. In reality, we run out of time quickly in primary as there are always other demands on our time and recommendations that we spend additional time on this, that and the other. That said, I have always spent time on self assessment and have become much better at allocating marking response time.

The following documents have / will inform my thinking. As always I would be grateful if you have any more that you could add to the list.

Assessing without levels: preliminary reading list (in no particular order)

DFE info for schools Reforming assessment and accountability for primary schools

Learning ladders 

Big writing- standards for writing 

What others are doing http://assessmentwithoutlevels.com/

No tick boxes (growth mindset) http://classteaching.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/assessment-without-levels-an-opportunity-for-growth/

http://alisonpeacock.net/2013/11/aaagh-not-app-under-new-name/

http://community.tes.co.uk/national_curriculum_2014/b/assessment_without_levels/default.aspx#.U9djZcNecWM.twitter (there is a lot of stuff on the TES from the assessment innovation fund)

Primary curriculum resource pack 

Pupil asset http://www.pupilasset.com/tracking-the-new-national-curriculum.html

Classroom monitor: Assessing without levels   Case studies 

Leading curriculum development I include this as it reminds us what makes an outstanding curriculum - a key part of that assessment cycle!

Sue Hackman- assessment and accountability (thanks @10kmk42 for pointing it out)

Self assessments as a reflective tool

Before teaching in mainstream I taught in a fish bowl. It was a new school for children with autistic spectrum disorders and therefore constantly visited by HMI, psychologists and other professionals. I was very self critical, partly because at that time I was unqualified and felt I had much to prove. I always wanted to do better. The school principle said once that it was my best and worst quality. I didn't need anyone else analysing my practice, I could do it well enough on my own.

I strongly believe that this underpins good teaching. Self assessing is a regular part of my practice, because it has a dual purpose - it helps the children focus on their strengths and areas to develop and it also helps me understand mine. At the end of each half term I want the children to spend a bit of time reflecting on their learning and also their proudest moments.We start by thinking and talking about all the things we have learned in class, what we have achieved and our thoughts in general. They then talk to their partners about what they have got better at and things they are proud of.

 I ask them to be frank and to tell me what would have made it even better for them in class as this helps me become a better teacher. It is their chance to be frank with me. Whilst I understand that the fact that these are not anonymous could influence what the children feel comfortable saying, I do also believe that our youngest children have the power to be frank when asked.

So here is what I learned from this set of self assessments:

• Older children often focus on their improvements in writing (especially handwriting) and maths. Although this is not that dissimilar for my year 2/1s, my children also identified improvements in singing, sewing and behaviour such as sitting/listening on the carpet.
• My children are very proud of a range of things: the puppets that they made, their stories that scared Mr BB, a range of maths subjects, their clay work, singing and a range of writing. This is good because I feel it shows how all learning is valued.
• A lot of children identified that the noise levels in class sometimes prevented them from concentrating. This became a great discussion point and has provided a reference point for when I ask them to use indoor voices/turn their volume down in the future. 
• Some children wrote that they have had a lot of help in class, from adults and from their friends. They seemed very able to identify that they are well supported. 
• There were still too many blank spaces for the 'This would have helped with my learning...' section. When I asked children they told me that they were happy, that they had enough help and that they didn't know what to put in there or how it could be better. Some children went away and added 'I have enjoyed everything'. It is difficult to get them to add anything more constructive without putting words into their mouths.
• One child had written that it would help if there were 10 Miss BBs ;-)
• A G&T child wrote: 'I have enjoyed having lots more hard work, because the other maths is too easy.' Although I thought I had been stretching her, her 100% accuracy was not making her feel challenged. She prefers it when she struggles slightly as she knows that she is learning (I can relate to this). This is a fine balance though, but at the moment it seems to be the right balance.
• They have enjoyed a range of subjects that we have covered. 
• Identifying specifics is difficult for this age group. They might know that they want to improve their maths, but may not be clear exactly which part.
• If my children had their choice next half term they would like to learn about: airplanes, the world, cats, tsunamis, dinosaurs, body and bones, Norwich, transport, squirrels, experiments I can do at home, polar bears, fish, how to bake cakes, the Hulk, horses, all about artists, Spanish, more numbers, poisons, another language, bears, Swedish, Spanish and French. A third of children gave reasons for their choices.

Now I can definitely cover some of these, but not all. This is why my team teacher and I made the decision to let our children make their own choices about their learning in the form of self study projects, at least twice a year. It is something that I have always done with older children, but it has proved very successful and enjoyable with my year 2/1s too. They enjoy the process and all children produce work of a standard that is high for them. They put a lot of effort in.

I have made brief notes from these self evaluations to inform my planning for next term, but more than that I enjoyed reading them. They were a pleasure to read and follow up on.

Example of PE self assessments

A little further (more academic) reading: 

The reflective teacher-McGraw Hill
Towards reflective teaching
The reflective teacher - Geoff Petty
Becoming a reflective teacher - Sage Publishing