Assessment in the New National Curriculum – ‘Life After Levels’ Information for Parents
Why is this change happening? “… the current system of national curriculum levels and level descriptions will be removed and not replaced.” Department for Education (July 2013) “Schools need to be conscious that the new curriculum is not in alignment with the old national curriculum levels.” NAHT Commission on Assessment (February 2014) o A new National Curriculum was introduced in September 2014. The existing levels don’t work as a way of assessing o children’s attainment against the new curriculum. o The Government have not replaced levels and have left it up to schools to design their own assessment framework.
Why a new Curriculum? • In order to raise standards, and bring the UK in line with other countries, in particular South East Asian countries, the content of the new National Curriculum (Sept 2014), has become harder. • In some areas of the curriculum, in particular Maths and Literacy, there are now topics being taught at a greater breadth and depth in year groups lower down the school than previously. • For example, elements of “Time” that were previously taught in Year 4 are now being taught in Year 2.
Why were levels removed? • As Professor Dylan Wiliam's paper, Level Best? (2001), made clear, more than a dozen years after their introduction, national curriculum levels sat uneasily with academics who were concerned that they were simply a best-fit that, were often inaccurate and did not really represent a child's true attainment – precisely the reasons that they have now been discarded. Written by: John Viner | Published: 03 March 2015
• Then there was the trip-hazard of being "just in" a level – thank goodness the pupil was just in Level 4. This led us to push pupils into the next steps of learning before they were ready, which is why progress for these pupils was often fragile. Written by: John Viner | Published: 03 March 2015
Which children in school will be affected? o Children in Foundation Stage are not affected by these changes. o Children in Years 1 to Year 6 will now be assessed using a new system of attainment steps. Year Group This Year (2015-16) Still assessed in the same way FS2 (transition tool will be used as they go into Y1) Y1 New system of attainment New system of attainment Y2 End of Year SATs Y3 New system of attainment Y4 New system of attainment Y5 New system of attainment New system of attainment Y6 End of Year SATs
Why have we chosen the STAT Sheffield approach? The materials have been developed by schools for schools ... this o has been a big city wide project involving a broad group of professionals in Sheffield. A shared solution leaves the school less isolated and more able to o work in partnership with other schools. The materials are high quality and have been quality assured . o Robert Pritchard was in charge of OFSTED in Yorkshire & Humber Steve Anwyll has worked with project leaders. Mick Walker advised the NAHT Commission. The NAHT assessment framework was developed with members of o the project team and drew on the principles underpinning the STAT Sheffield materials. The materials have continued to be developed … refining the grids o based on feedback, taking account of national developments & developing materials to support teachers.
What will replace the levels? Step Appropriate Curriculum o Attainment Stages will be used to 1-15 Pre-Y1 attainment stages describe Yr 1 to Yr 6 children’s attainment 16 Entering Curriculum 17 Developing in Maths, Reading, Writing and SPaG Year 1 18 Secure (Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar). 19 Entering Curriculum o The stages are organised in the same way 20 Developing Year 2 21 Secure that the new curriculum is, so that they 22 Entering provide expectations for each year group. Curriculum 23 Developing Year 3 o Just as before, each class will have 24 Secure children at different stages of development 25 Entering Curriculum 26 Developing and understanding. Year 4 27 Secure 28 Entering Curriculum 29 Developing Year 5 30 Secure 31 Entering Curriculum 32 Developing Year 6 33 Secure 34 + Post-Y6 attainment stages
How will teachers decide how my child is doing? o Teachers will use a grid, like this one, as a tool to support them in making the decision about which step a child is on now. o The grids do this by identifying the proportion of the appropriate curriculum that a child has mastered.
Over the course of a school year, it is expected that most children will start the year at the “Entering” step for their academic year. Step Curriculum Source During the year, each child will be continually 1-15 Pre-Y1 attainment stages assessed through good classroom practice, using 16 Entering Curriculum questioning, marking written work and mini- 17 Developing Year 1 tests and formal assessments. 18 Secure 19 Entering Curriculum Teachers will use the evidence from the 20 Developing Year 2 continual assessment to ensure children have 21 Secure secured the knowledge they need before moving 22 Entering Curriculum them onto the next stage, be that “Developing” 23 Developing Year 3 24 Secure or “Secure”. 25 Entering Curriculum 26 Developing By the end of the academic year, most children Year 4 27 Secure will have developed a “Secure” knowledge of 28 Entering their year group’s curriculum. Curriculum 29 Developing Year 5 30 Secure For a few children by the end of the academic 31 Entering year, they may not have moved through the Curriculum 32 Developing Year 6 stages for their year group as expected, and may 33 Secure therefore not finish the school year as “Secure” 34 + Post-Y6 attainment stages in their year group’s curriculum.
How will teachers decide how my child is doing? o Teachers will use a grid, like this one, as a tool to support them in making the decision about which step a child is on now. o The grids do this by identifying the proportion of the appropriate curriculum that a child has mastered.
What information will I receive about how my child is doing? Step Curriculum Source 1-15 Pre-Y1 attainment stages o We will share with you your 16 Entering child’s attainment during our Curriculum 17 Developing Year 1 Spring Term Parent Interviews and 18 Secure 19 Entering your child’s end-of-year written Curriculum 20 Developing Year 2 report. 21 Secure 22 Entering Curriculum 23 Developing Year 3 o When children in Yr 2 and Yr 6 24 Secure take their Yr 2 and Yr 6 SATs in 25 Entering Curriculum 26 Developing Year 4 May 2016, they will be tested on 27 Secure the new curriculum. This will be 28 Entering Curriculum 29 Developing reported differently than before. Year 5 30 Secure o Mrs O’Gorman and Mrs Dilbert 31 Entering Curriculum will be talking about this in 32 Developing Year 6 33 Secure greater depth. 34 + Post-Y6 attainment stages
What do we expect from the children? • Attendance – every day counts! • Independence • Readiness to work • Effort in classwork and homework • To ask for help if needed • Times tables • Reading as much as possible
What are the important things to remember? o The new curriculum is harder so children will be covering topics that were previously taught in higher classes. o Teachers will use a range of ways to gather the evidence to assess the children’s progress. o One of the rationales for having new assessment procedures is that children spend longer embedding the knowledge they have learnt, rather than rushing through objectives to get to the next level without having a secure understanding of the concepts they have learnt.
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