Assessment and Recording
One of the issues we wanted to address regarding the assessment was to help teachers to know what outcomes to look for in the classroom, especially with pupils where progress may be very limited. The other concern was to devise a method of recording that was both manageable and meaningful.
Assessment
Each unit has outcomes that are specific to the objectives. For the pre-level 1units there are outcomes from P level 1 through to NC level 1. We took the science P levels produced by QCA and used our collective expertise to interpret these for the particular contexts.
The outcomes take the form of a statement, plus 1 or 2 examples that are topic specific, to clarify exactly what a pupil will be able to do to exemplify that level.
Many pupils will need physical help e.g. hand over hand or light touch or support in order to participate in some activities. This is NOT the support referred to in the P level outcomes, which is meant to indicate verbal or visual prompting.
For pupils working between levels 1 and 4, notional half levels or intermediate stages have been devised to help a teacher assess progress. This was felt to be an important addition to the outcomes because so many of these pupils make small steps that are not recognised by the National Curriculum level descriptions.
Recording
A sample recording sheet is included with each unit in the scheme and this could be used in one of two ways. For example, it could be an individual recording sheet that follows the pupil throughout the school. Alternatively it could be used to record the progress of the whole class or group with pupils' names written across the top. The further comments box may be used for additional observations or assessments of the pupils. During the trials in school most teachers felt that the latter was less cumbersome.
It also illustrates the point that pupils may 'miss out a level' either because progress is not linear or because of their special needs and that a teacher will need to use their professional judgement to finally decide on a pupil's level. In order to reduce the amount of paperwork for individual pupils we created a summary assessment sheet that would follow the pupil throughout his/her school career.
However, these sheets are only suggestions. Individual schools may prefer not to use tick lists in this way, but mat prefer to modify the sheets and make use of the outcomes to fit in with existing systems.