Assignment plan:

Reflections: 1000 words

Reflections on when I have seen assessment used in the classroom (formative and summative)

Year 10 top set:

In a year 10 top set class that I have been observing over the period of a term, I have witnessed a variety of different
forms of formative and summative assessment. Among other forms of assessment, the class teacher would use end
of topic tests to gather information on students understanding relating to the topic they have completed. This type
of assessment proved to be a benefit to said class teacher, as they then gained an understanding of how well the
students have retained the information they have been taught. However, as far as my observations went, I did not
observe the teacher applying this knowledge to the class. An example of this would be, when the class teacher set
the students a test on everything she had taught them so far in the departments scheme of work. Upon collating all
the results from these tests, it was clear that there were some misconceptions common to a substantial proportion
of the class. The teacher then gave the class their tests back with some written feedback about what they need to
look at again and a couple of relevant remediation questions, although from my observations and interactions with
the students, very few would read the written feedback and would instead attempt the questions making the same
mistakes again. However, the teacher did not address these misconceptions in the lesson time with the whole class
so maybe the benefit from this form of assessment did not fully reach the students.

From my continued observation of this class, as well as the same class on the other side of the year, I have witnessed
a stark contrast between the two teaching styles and how the different teachers use assessment differently. The
other year 10 class have done less assessments, but these assessments have still covered all the content that has
been taught and then the teacher will spend time addressing common misconceptions with the whole class before
giving tailored remediation questions to the students where the teacher can address misconceptions individually or
in small groups. From my observations, the students were less like to make the same mistakes again when the class
teacher had planned time to address misconceptions in lesson time. This shows how having a different teacher or
teachers who use different teaching styles can affect how beneficial assessment is for students.

Year 11 mock exams:

During my time spent in school for this term, I have had the pleasure of running interventions for year 11 students as
well as observing a variety of year 11 classes. The intervention sessions that I took part in involved recapping
previous topics or teaching the current topic that the class teacher would ask me to cover, with small groups of
students. Over the course of my time at the school, the year 11s took their mock GCSE exams for the core subjects;
English, Maths and Science. In the lead up to the mock exams it was noticeable that some of the students were
experiencing some anxiety and stress related to them and I observed very little that was done to address this.
Therefore, in my intervention sessions I chose to focus on topics in which the students felt least confident in and had
asked to go over before the exams, as I was attempting to ease their anxiety and stress.

When the mock exams had been completed and the students had received their results, there were mixed reactions,
and a divide in how students interpreted their results. Most students that I interacted with seemed to be
disappointed and demotivated by the results they had achieved, which leads me to conclude that, at that time, the
mock exams were not beneficial to them. However, other students seemed to be motivated by their results or took
their result as a challenge to do better next time, even if the results themselves were disappointing. Consequently,
for some students the mock exams were not beneficial at all, whereas, for others it was the opposite and they gave
the students the incentive for them to do better than they had before. For those students who were disheartened
with the results that they achieved, teachers could possibly offer support in the form of out of lesson sessions
covering exam techniques and coping with the pressure of exams, which in turn would hopefully have an impact on
their reactions to their results.

Year 7 baseline tests:

At the start of the school year, before the year 7 students started their maths lessons, they were placed into sets
based on their prior attainment in year 6. They were then given a baseline test to assess their prior knowledge, this
being all the basic mathematical processes they should have been taught in primary school. This test covered basic
geometry, the four mathematical processes involving whole numbers, fractions and decimals, and some basic
algebra as well. The results of these baseline tests were then collated and split into the topic areas that the
questions related to; number, fractions, decimals, geometry and algebra. This information, including the student’s
year 6 results, was then made available to the teachers who are teaching the year 7 classes. The purpose of this
information was to inform the teaching of the year 7 classes, classes where students achieved higher marks in
certain topic areas theoretically would not require as much teaching time for those topic areas and this would
benefit both the teacher and the student as more time could be spent teaching topics that students are not as able
or confident in.

In theory, I believe that this form of assessment, in conjunction with the student’s prior attainment, could potentially
benefit both the teacher and the student greatly; as stated previously, it informs class teachers of the students prior
learning and allows them to utilise teaching time more effectively by not having to reiterate knowledge the students
already know. As well as benefiting the student and teacher, baseline tests also have the potential to benefit the
school as well; by providing an accurate indication of student’s abilities at the start of year seven as, from what I
have seen teaching a year seven class this term, the students year 6 results do not necessarily correlate with their
ability. Therefore, using this assessment and the student’s prior attainment in conjunction can allow for a more
realistic prediction for their future potential, as well as placement in classes and groups that will be more beneficial
to the student.

Pupils response to the question, who benefits the most from assessment in your opinion?

Upon interview, student’s responses to the question varied. Whilst most of the students questioned believed that it
was teachers who benefitted the most from assessment within education, with the majority of these saying that
teachers used assessments to inform them of what to teach, a small group held the opinion that assessment
benefitted them the most as it allowed them to see where they were and what they needed to do to progress. As
well as this, minority groups of students questioned believed that it was in fact the parents or the school or the
government who benefitted the most from assessment.

Parents response to the question, who benefits the most from assessment in your opinion?

Most parents who answered this question responded by saying that they hoped teachers were benefitting the most
from assessment in the classroom. The theme for this answer was that these parents hoped that teachers would use
any assessment to inform their teaching and to increase the students learning. As well as this, a large number of
parent responses also mentioned that they found that when results from assessments were shared with them, as
parents, they found this beneficial as they could better support their children with their learning.

Teachers response to the question, who benefits the most from assessment in your opinion?

The majority of teachers and trainee teachers, myself included, when questioned responded by saying that both
teachers and students should benefit from assessment, however, this is not always the case. Respondents went on
to elaborate that assessment should be used by teachers to gather information on students prior learning, or to
assess how well they can recall and use techniques or facts that they have been taught. The results from such
assessments should then be used by teachers to assist in reflecting upon and inform their future practice. This will
then pass on the benefit that teachers get from using assessment in the classroom onto the student, as the teacher
will be more able to adapt their teaching to meet the needs and grow the strengths of their students. However, a
common theme amongst these respondents appeared to be, that it was simply not possible to do this with every
single student/class, due to time constraints that they had, therefore, students did not necessarily reap all of the
benefits that using assessment could provide.

Introduction:
 - A brief introduction to my current school, demographic area, subject area / key stage etc

The school that I have been spending my first placement at is a voluntary aided devout roman catholic secondary
school and sixth form college. The school has a very wide demographic, ranging from students from affluent families
all the way through to students from low income families and those eligible for pupil premium funding (See
Appendix 1a). My subject area is mathematics at Key Stage 3,4 and 5.

- A critical reflection on the importance of assessment (explain that I think assessment is important, but I want
to consider who really benefits from it and if the current culture of over assessing is really beneficial for the
children who should be at the centre of everything we do) leading into

Assessment is a critical component of teaching, in which “Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing
information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know,
understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates
when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning” (Huba and Freed, 2000).

Assessment should influence every aspect of a students education and learning (Gibbs, 2006)

- The focus of my assignment

o How assessment is being used within my school/department
o Why is it being used this way
o Implications for deprived pupils

Background and methods:

- A rationale for the selection of your focus and explain/reflect upon your theoretical approach towards
assessment for learning/ teaching within your subject. Include some references to relevant literature
o What is assessment, why is it important, what different types are there (formative and summative)
o Possibly bring in the rising culture of schools focusing on getting good Ofsted inspections
(assessment for the school and teachers and government) over the education of the pupils
(assessment benefiting the child) look at blog post in assignment bookmark folder

Main Content:

- Identify and critically review research literature relating to your chosen focus. Ground my work in up-to-date
references. Explore the relevant policy and theoretical perspectives which apply to aspects of your focus

Conclusion:

- Draw conclusions, including implications for future work and an evaluation of impact on your thinking and
practice

References (Harvard):

Gov.uk. (2017). Pupil premium: funding and accountability and accountability for schools – GOV.UK. [online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternative-provision-
settings [Accessed 18 Dec. 2017]

Huba, M. and Freed, J. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, p.8.
Gibbs, G., 2006. How assessment frames student learning. Innovative assessment in higher education, 23.

Appendix:

1 – definitions:

1. ‘’The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of
disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers.’’ (Gov.uk, 2017)