Assessment for learning

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CCCCCC" TEXT="#080000" background="0bdb85a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Wairoa  College</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wairoa College"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="member_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Curriculum">Curriculum</A>   |   <A HREF="member_2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adult Community Education">Adult Community Education</A>   |   <A HREF="courses.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NCEA Policy 2007">NCEA Policy 2007</A>   |   <B>Assessment for learning</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#888888" TEXT="#080000" background="0bed2d03.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Assessment for learning</I></div> <div> Assessment for learning: a powerful way to improve learning and raise standards. With materials for each subject as well as general information, this guidance will help you integrate assessment for learning into everyday classroom practice.</div> <div> <B>What is assessment for learning?</B></div> <bR> <div> Assessment for learning involves using assessment in the classroom to raise pupils’ achievement. It is based on the idea that pupils will improve most if they understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim and how they can achieve the aim (or close the gap in their knowledge).</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>1</B><B>0 Principals for Assessment for learning</B></div> <bR> <div> Assessment for learning should be part of effective planning of teaching and learning</div> <bR> <div> A teacher's planning should provide opportunities for both learner and teacher to obtain and use information about progress towards learning goals. It also has to be flexible to respond to initial and emerging ideas and skills. Planning should include strategies to ensure that learners understand the goals they are pursuing and the criteria that will be applied in assessing their work. How learners will receive feedback, how they will take part in assessing their learning and how they will be helped to make further progress should also be planned.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should focus on how students learn</div> <bR> <div> The process of learning has to be in the minds of both learner and teacher when assessment is planned and when the evidence is interpreted. Learners should become as aware of the 'how' of their learning as they are of the 'what'.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should be recognised as central to classroom practice</div> <bR> <div> Much of what teachers and learners do in classrooms can be described as assessment. That is, tasks and questions prompt learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. What learners say and do is then observed and interpreted, and judgements are made about how learning can be improved. These assessment processes are an essential part of everyday classroom practice and involve both teachers and learners in reflection, dialogue and decision making.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers</div> <bR> <div> Teachers require the professional knowledge and skills to: plan for assessment; observe learning; analyse and interpret evidence of learning; give feedback to learners and support learners in self-assessment. Teachers should be supported in developing these skills through initial and continuing professional development.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional impact</div> <bR> <div> Teachers should be aware of the impact that comments, marks and grades can have on learners' confidence and enthusiasm and should be as constructive as possible in the feedback that they give. Comments that focus on the work rather than the person are more constructive for both learning and motivation.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should take account of the importance of learner motivation</div> <bR> <div> Assessment that encourages learning fosters motivation by emphasising progress and achievement rather than failure.</div> <div>  Comparison with others who have been more successful is unlikely to motivate learners. It can also lead to their withdrawing from the learning process in areas where they have been made to feel they are 'no good'. Motivation can be preserved and enhanced by assessment methods which protect the learner's autonomy, provide some choice and constructive feedback, and create opportunity for self-direction.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should promote commitment to learning goals and a shared understanding of the criteria by which they are assessed</div> <bR> <div> For effective learning to take place learners need to understand what it is they are trying to achieve - and want to achieve it.</div> <div>  Understanding and commitment follows when learners have some part in deciding goals and identifying criteria for assessing progress. Communicating assessment criteria involves discussing them with learners using terms that they can understand, providing examples of how the criteria can be met in practice and engaging learners in peer and self-assessment.</div> <div> Learners should receive constructive guidance about how to improve</div> <bR> <div> Learners need information and guidance in order to plan the next steps in their learning. Teachers should:</div> <div> pinpoint the learner's strengths and advise on how to develop them </div> <div> be clear and constructive about any weaknesses and how they might be addressed </div> <div> provide opportunities for learners to improve upon their work.</div> <div> Assessment for learning develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing</div> <bR> <div> Independent learners have the ability to seek out and gain new skills, new knowledge and new understandings. They are able to engage in self-reflection and to identify the next steps in their learning. Teachers should equip learners with the desire and the capacity to take charge of their learning through developing the skills of self-assessment.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should recognise the full range of achievements of all learners</div> <bR> <div> Assessment for learning should be used to enhance all learners' opportunities to learn in all areas of educational activity. It should enable all learners to achieve their best and to have their efforts recognised<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> A teacher's planning should provide opportunities for both learner and teacher to obtain and use information about progress towards learning goals. It also has to be flexible to respond to initial and emerging ideas and skills. Planning should include strategies to ensure that learners understand the goals they are pursuing and the criteria that will be applied in assessing their work. How learners will receive feedback, how they will take part in assessing their learning and how they will be helped to make further progress should also be planned.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should focus on how students learn</div> <bR> <div> The process of learning has to be in the minds of both learner and teacher when assessment is planned and when the evidence is interpreted. Learners should become as aware of the 'how' of their learning as they are of the 'what'.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should be recognised as central to classroom practice</div> <bR> <div> Much of what teachers and learners do in classrooms can be described as assessment. That is, tasks and questions prompt learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. What learners say and do is then observed and interpreted, and judgements are made about how learning can be improved. These assessment processes are an essential part of everyday classroom practice and involve both teachers and learners in reflection, dialogue and decision making.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers</div> <bR> <div> Teachers require the professional knowledge and skills to: plan for assessment; observe learning; analyse and interpret evidence of learning; give feedback to learners and support learners in self-assessment. Teachers should be supported in developing these skills through initial and continuing professional development.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional impact</div> <bR> <div> Teachers should be aware of the impact that comments, marks and grades can have on learners' confidence and enthusiasm and should be as constructive as possible in the feedback that they give. Comments that focus on the work rather than the person are more constructive for both learning and motivation.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should take account of the importance of learner motivation</div> <bR> <div> Assessment that encourages learning fosters motivation by emphasising progress and achievement rather than failure. Comparison with others who have been more successful is unlikely to motivate learners. It can also lead to their withdrawing from the learning process in areas where they have been made to feel they are 'no good'. Motivation can be preserved and enhanced by assessment methods which protect the learner's autonomy, provide some choice and constructive feedback, and create opportunity for self-direction.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should promote commitment to learning goals and a shared understanding of the criteria by which they are assessed</div> <bR> <div> For effective learning to take place learners need to understand what it is they are trying to achieve - and want to achieve it. Understanding and commitment follows when learners have some part in deciding goals and identifying criteria for assessing progress. Communicating assessment criteria involves discussing them with learners using terms that they can understand, providing examples of how the criteria can be met in practice and engaging learners in peer and self-assessment.</div> <div> Learners should receive constructive guidance about how to improve</div> <bR> <div> Learners need information and guidance in order to plan the next steps in their learning. Teachers should:</div> <div> pinpoint the learner's strengths and advise on how to develop them </div> <div> be clear and constructive about any weaknesses and how they might be addressed </div> <div> provide opportunities for learners to improve upon their work.</div> <div> Assessment for learning develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing</div> <bR> <div> Independent learners have the ability to seek out and gain new skills, new knowledge and new understandings. They are able to engage in self-reflection and to identify the next steps in their learning. Teachers should equip learners with the desire and the capacity to take charge of their learning through developing the skills of self-assessment.</div> <div> Assessment for learning should recognise the full range of achievements of all learners</div> <bR> <div> Assessment for learning should be used to enhance all learners' opportunities to learn in all areas of educational activity. It should enable all learners to achieve their best and to have their efforts recognised.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> This section contains general guidance, in the form of a checklist, to support teachers and schools implementing assessment for learning<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#33CCFF" FACE="Arial" >.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Assessment for learning is effective when pupils:</div> <div> show changes in their attitudes to learning and in their motivation, self-esteem, independence, initiative and confidence </div> <div> show changes in their responses to questions, in contributions to plenary sessions, and in explanations and descriptions </div> <div> improve their attainment </div> <div> ask relevant questions </div> <div> are actively involved in formative assessment processes, eg setting targets, peer or self-assessment, recognising progress in their written work, skills, knowledge and understanding.</div> <bR> <div> To effectively use assessment for learning teachers need to:</div> <div> know their pupils well, know why pupils make mistakes, and be able to make judgements about next steps or interventions </div> <div> share learning intentions with pupils and use them to mark work or give feedback or rewards </div> <div> build in review time for themselves and their pupils </div> <div> encourage pupils to take responsibility for their learning by providing opportunities for pupils to describe their response to learning intentions or targets, the strategies they use and the judgements they make in relation to their progress </div> <div> give pupils examples of a variety of skills, attitudes, standards and qualities to aim for </div> <div> analyse pupils' performance in tests and use the information for future learning plans </div> <div> feel confident and secure in classroom practice.</div> <bR> <div> In addition, teachers need to produce plans with:</div> <div> emphasis on learning intentions and on sharing them with pupils and other adults in the classroom </div> <div> assessment criteria for feedback and marking, peer and self-assessment </div> <div> differentiated classroom groups </div> <div> built-in review time and flexibility </div> <div> notes of pupils who need additional or consolidation work </div> <div> time for guided group sessions for explicit formative assessment opportunities </div> <div> adjustments highlighted or crossed out: what did or did not work and why.</div> <bR> <div> To effectively use assessment for learning schools need an ethos that:</div> <div> values attitudes to learning and promotes trusting relationships </div> <div> encourages and builds self-esteem </div> <div> believes that all pupils can improve and measures individuals against their own previous attainment instead of against other pupils </div> <div> uses value-added data </div> <div> provides support, guidance and appropriate training for teachers </div> <div> manages change well and includes maintenance systems </div> <div> encourages review and self-evaluation at individual, subject and school level.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>