The Use Of Assessment In School Placement Education Essay Example

progress and are vital for effective learning. The DfES 2003 report emphasizes the strong correlation between achievements at an early age and future development. Hence, it is imperative to determine the students' current levels to enhance their academic performance throughout their education. By incorporating effective assessment practices, schools can track student progress and encourage them to reach new levels of learning, fostering continuous improvement.

The text emphasizes the importance of meaningful and informative appraisal in positively influencing student acquisition without hindering or demotivating them (Black and Wiliam, 1999). Black and Wiliam's research highlighted five crucial aspects of learning through appraisal:

• Providing effective feedback to students
• Engaging students actively in their own learning
• Adapting teaching methods based on appraisal results
• Acknowledging the profound impact of appraisal on student motivation and self-esteem, both of which greatly influence learning
• The necessity for students to assess themselves and comprehend ways to improve.There are numerous ways in which appraisal is used in schools, serving various purposes. Some common reasons for using appraisal in schools include providing feedback on students' progress, offering educational feedback to students, motivating students, documenting progress, indicating current attainment, assessing students' readiness for future learning, and providing evidence of teacher and school effectiveness. Due to the diversity in appraisal practices used in schools, certain key terms are frequently used, such as "summative" and "formative" assessment. Summative assessment focuses on evaluating a student's knowledge and understanding based on measurable and comparable results, while formative assessment heavily relies on teachers' daily interactions with students to make judgments about their progress. Summative assessment is employed throughout schools to evaluate a child's level of knowledge.

  Summational assessment is a way to assess

a child's knowledge and understanding on a specific topic at a given moment in time. It is commonly used in the form of grades or results, such as end of subject tests and exams like the SAT's for key stages 1, 2 and 3, GCSEs, and A-Levels. This type of assessment allows you to compare a student's grade against the expected standard and gain insights into their knowledge fairly easily. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to compare results with other schools and students nationwide or in similar school settings to identify any trends.

The summational appraisal offers a wealth of information that can be compared with other schools locally, nationally, and at the authority level. Statistical data from resources like the Fischer Family Trust and Raise Online are utilized for this comparison. This analysis helps identify areas needing improvement, leading to a comprehensive action plan. The detailed process of achieving this will be discussed later in this assignment, emphasizing the importance of gathering and storing high-quality information. Essentially, summational appraisal allows for comparing schools through reviews, reports, statistics, and conference tables. Please refer to the appendix in this assignment for a breakdown of the League Table for North East Lincolnshire.

The other effective measure of evaluation that schools utilize is known as formative evaluation, and it differs significantly from summative evaluation as it relies on the instructor's subjective judgment. It is derived from feedback and observations provided throughout the school day. This type of evaluation helps determine where improvement is needed for individual students or the class as a whole, as well as identify any misconceptions. This approach is often referred to as Assessment for Learning (AfL),

while summative evaluation assesses the level of learning achieved.

This statement of evaluation allows an instructor to adjust future lessons in the schedule to review concepts or further development if learning has been above or below expectations. Appraisal for Learning (AfL) encompasses the process of formative appraisal. Cowie's research shows that as a result of Black and Wiliam's research, "appraisal for learning should be an important feature of classroom instruction and learning and that it can improve achievement" (Cowie, 2005). Therefore, Appraisal for Learning aims to enhance learning based on this feedback within lessons taught in a teacher-student process instead of giving an overall grade for learning.

The Uk Assessment Reform Group ( 1999 ) identified five key principles of assessment for learning, which include:

1. Effective feedback to students.
2. Active engagement of students in their own learning.
3. Teaching adjusted based on assessment results.
4. Acknowledgment of the impact of assessment on students' motivation and self-esteem.
5. Promotion of self-assessment and understanding how to improve.

How Assessment is Used In My School Placements?

According to Stiggins (2002), the purpose of assessment for learning is to help students continue learning and maintain confidence in their ability to learn if they persist. Stiggins also emphasizes the importance of not giving up or feeling hopeless. The lead school I am placed in uses various assessment practices, such as talking partners. At SP, talking partners are changed every Monday morning using a random selection method. In key stage 2, lollipop sticks are drawn two at a time to determine new partners who then sit together until everyone has a partner. Key stage 1 utilizes a whiteboard program called 'Magic Hat', which animates and sounds children's names as it pairs them

up.

The procedure of assigning spouses for the week in my school arrangements helped to focus and excite the kids. This also motivated them to be more interested in their own learning, which is a positive influence on their education. Both of my school arrangements utilized self and peer appraisal effectively. In Year 4, kids were able to assess each other's work using the tickled pink and green for growth formats. This method was successfully implemented by the class instructor. In other year groups, thumbs up or thumbs down were used during circle time and plenary to determine if the kids had understood a new or difficult concept. During an observation in October 2010, my Year 4 class gave feedback to the instructor during a plenary session. They expressed that they did not understand time problems at all, as shown by a majority of thumbs down. Although this was not entirely true, an additional session was conducted by the instructor the next day to reinforce learning and improve confidence with time problems.

The observation focused on the use of AfL within the school, specifically how it was used to assess the students' learning progress in real-time. This example aligns with Black et al's statement that this type of assessment aims to develop a student's orientation towards learning, separate from focusing solely on performance (Black, P. et al. 2003). The instructor in this class successfully achieved that goal. They used a green pen to mark areas for improvement in individual students' learning, and a pink pen to provide feedback on specific pieces of work, following the school's marker policy.

SP School utilizes a scheme called 'tickled pink and

green for growing' throughout the school to encompass various aspects of learning. The purpose is to provide students with up to three specific areas in which they excel in their work, as well as one area for improvement, potentially offering examples of how they can achieve this goal. In my second school (LS), the tagging policy seemed more formal compared to what I had observed in SP School's Key Phase 1. While feedback was still provided by the class instructor, there was no opportunity for students to respond to new goals. As a result, I have incorporated both approaches into my own teaching style but prefer SP School's method, as I have witnessed an increase in motivation when children see their previous work.

How is Assessment Data Utilized?

I have been fortunate enough to see how data is utilized in my primary placement at SP School and during my time at LS School. I was shown how the school interprets this data to prioritize its main school plan.

The process of information aggregation is continuous, with SP and LS having collected extensive amounts of data. They are able to compare their scores and levels at both the local and national levels through the analysis of data using RaiseOnline and the Fischer Family Trust. In classrooms, student progress is monitored daily through the use of APP, which is separately collected for each child in every class by their teacher. Formative and summational assessment methods are used to gather evidence. The scaling of APP is moderated within each school every term to ensure fairness and standardization according to national standards. Moderation begins by collecting data from at

least three students in each class, and then comparing the teacher's scaling against available evidence for that student within the school.

The evidence collected includes the child's textbooks (in English, Maths, and Topic work) and photocopies of illustrations of their work. The evidence also includes work recorded on single whiteboards during plenary and starting motors to demonstrate the child's understanding of a certain concept, method, or achievement. This evidence is named by the student, dated, and photocopied to be used as evidence alongside textual work to demonstrate justification for leveling a specific child. Up to three pieces of evidence are needed to thoroughly level a child at the agreed degree, and this was the case for both students. Moderation at SP and LS is conducted by experienced professionals within the school (all part of the leadership board), and they have appropriate training on moderation. They also frequently communicate with other schools to share information and techniques during regular training sessions and moderation meetings. This is crucial as it ensures that results can be assessed fairly and consistently with other classes and schools so that every child is graded equally and fairly.

All instructors interviewed in both LS and SP have undergone training on APP, which ensures overall quality in the schools. The moderation process guarantees consistency within the school and aims to prevent inaccurate leveling of a child. The results of the APP at SP serve as the foundation for the school's tracking grid, known as the 'Pink and Grey' tracking grid. This grid is developed from an online assessment program called Optimum O-Track, which my second school had recently transitioned to. An example of this system

is shown on the next page, with student names redacted.

The pink and Grey tracking grid is a helpful tool for staff to see the current level of achievement for each student, as well as their projected level of achievement by the end of the school year. This tool can easily identify academically underperforming students or those exceeding expectations. The tracking grids also assist in determining which students may require intervention strategies to improve their learning opportunities. Additionally, teachers can use the grids to create ability groups within their classes. At SP, the class teacher has chosen three ability groups while LS has four, with a class TA supporting the SEN group. The school collects and tracks information on every student's progress from foundation through their entire school career, and this data is then transferred to the student's new school at the end of year 6. Throughout this learning journey, the student's data is compared to their expected levels, which are predicted early on by comparing previous years' results from across the country.The Fischer Family Trust helps LEAs and schools make better use of performance data, collaborating with all the LAs in England and Wales to provide a range of analyses for self-evaluation, assessment, and goal setting (fischertrust.org). During my second school placement at LS, I observed a similar method to the 'Pink and Grey' tracking grid, which was also used in detail at the school because their results came from the O-Track system. Recently, they have adopted the same system as SP (within the past three months), and it was encouraging to see how every staff member was aware of its use within the school.

All teachers have access to the online facilities that display each class in the school, just like the 'Pink and Grey' tracking system.The LS's trailing system aligns more closely with the default 'O-Track' designed by Optimum. The appendix of this assignment provides further examples of how this information is presented, demonstrating how schools can use the information and signifier programs to target specific countries. The school can compare their collected information with the nationally collected Fischer Family Trust and Raise Online information to anticipate the expected achievement level of each student by the end of KS2. National expectations indicate that the requirements at the end of KS2 are at level 4, and if a child falls below this expected level (as early as year 1), interventions will be implemented within the school to improve and support their learning and understanding of that particular subject. This emphasizes the importance of quality assessment, even at a young age, as it allows for early interventions to provide necessary support to help the child achieve a level 4 by the end of year 6. The assessment forms an action plan within the school, placing emphasis on children's learning.

The process of keeping records and measuring from the APP demonstrates the specific needs of individual children within a category. This information allows us to see the achievements of each child and identifies who is performing at different levels. In an ideal situation, all children's needs would be met, with lower achieving students receiving support through intervention strategies, teaching assistant (T.A.) support, and additional help. Middle achieving children would be challenged at a level appropriate to their learning needs, while higher achieving

(and gifted and talented) students would receive differentiated work to enhance their understanding and improve their performance. Realistically, this is not too far from what actually happens in the classroom based on observations of LS and SP schools. Both primary and secondary school settings showed children being grouped within the class according to their abilities, with higher ability (HA), middle ability (MA), and lower ability (LA) groups assigned.

Throughout the text, various terms like Mars, Asteroids, Rockets, Strawberries, Blueberries, and Pineapples were used to categorize groups of students. However, these groups were not labeled as higher or lower achievers, although most of the students were aware of who the higher achieving students were. The purpose of these groups is to allow the teacher to provide differentiated work that suits each student's level of proficiency. By tailoring the information and concepts to each student's confidence level, they are more likely to make progress and gain understanding over time. Consequently, their performance should improve consistently.

The information from the APP is collected and compared with national and regional data, allowing for comparison between similar schools. The statistics can be broken down and filtered to identify any patterns. For example, you can examine the FFC statistics, such as the percentage of students on free school meals, and how this relates to their predicted grades in subjects like English. This is just one example; other areas, like students with special educational needs or low attendance scores, can also be compared. The data can be presented in various filtered graphs or tables of your choice. This is where any significant findings from Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meetings based on the statistical evidence

are highlighted.

Following the SLT meetings, there will be a program of action that will be incorporated into the whole school development program. This program will provide feedback to the subject teachers on areas of improvement for the entire school. In my lead school, they have specifically targeted script and numeracy skills among male students as areas for improvement in the upcoming academic year. It is hoped that these efforts will result in improvements throughout the year and lead to new goals being set as the school development program proves successful. This process continues throughout the school year, with trends being monitored using available statistical information.

Tendencies are observed over three years and when numbers consistently increase or decrease during these years it can be considered a trend. Several factors can impact the figures, such as a strong group of students for one or two years, so a three-year trend is what is sought in the statistics as it is considered more reliable.

Conclusion

This assignment has taught me the significance and high importance that must be placed on assessment during my teaching practice. Grading and evaluation must be fair and accurate in order to provide every student with the education they deserve. Motivation and feedback have stood out to me as two of the most crucial aspects of assessment influenced by a teacher, and I will make an effort to never forget this. It is easy to assign a grade or mark simply by clicking or crossing off a student's textbook.

It is important to remember that children are eager to understand what they did well and why they made certain mistakes. As

a successful teacher, it is your responsibility to provide clear feedback to students, highlighting key areas that require further understanding. By offering personalized feedback, you can make the child feel unique and increase their motivation and involvement in a subject, potentially raising standards. Accurately assessing students' progress in their work is crucial, as it has long-term effects on their future learning. Research has shown that incorrect leveling, even from a young age, can have implications for the child. It can impact how they are supported in school and determine the level of work they are given. If the work is too difficult or too easy, motivation and willingness to learn may decrease, preventing the child from reaching their full learning potential.

Excessive ranking of a child may prevent them from receiving necessary intervention sessions to achieve the level you initially believed they were capable of.

Bibliography

1. Black, P. Wiliam, D. (2001) Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment, King's College London School of Education.
2. Black + Wiliam 2003 utilized previously.
3. Black, P. Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., and William, D.

(2003) Appraisal for Learning: Putting it into Practice, Maidenhead: Open University Press. USED.

(2005) Clark, S. Formative Assessment in Action: Weaving the Elements Together. London. Hodder Murray.

USED

Harlen,

W. James, M. Stobart, G [The UK Assessment Reform Group] (1999) Appraisal for Learning: beyond the Black Box. Cambridge School of Education USED.

Stiggins, R. J. (2002).

Assessment Crisis: The Lack of Assessment FOR Learning, in Phi Delta Kappan Vol.83, No.10 pp758-765.