Assessing Maths and Sceince
Assessing children’s achievements in Science and Numeracy
Over recent years, the profile of assessment in education has increased. Moreover, the purposes and uses of assessment have developed and, as a result, assessment now stands in dynamic interaction with teaching and learning (Gripps, 1996 in Black & Wiliam, 1998). Assessment is conducted for a wide range of purposes, but in order to discuss these further it is helpful to distinguish between summative and formative assessment.
Summative assessment is used to measure progress and it is conducted at specific stages of the learning process - for example, end of unit tests, end of year tests and SATS. Summative assessment is often referred to as ‘assessment of learning’ and is linked to the concept of convergence (Torrance & Pryor, 1998), whereby the purpose of assessment is to determine whether a child knows, understands or can do. Pollard et al (2002) suggest that since the introduction of the National Curriculum, education has seen a rise in the use of summative assessment and attributes this to the way the government has used data as a means of comparing schools. However, summative data gained from statutory and optional tests is often used within schools as a means of tracking the progress of children, teaching standards and school performance. Critics have highlighted the dangers of over-reliance on test-based summative assessment. Lambert & Lines (2000) suggest that summative assessment in the form of exams or tests is only an abstraction of what the pupil knows, understands or can do. In response to concerns regarding the over-reliance on summative assessment data, there has been much research into the benefits of using formative assessment in the classroom.
Formative assessment is often referred to as ‘assessment for learning’ and is linked to the concept of divergence (Torrance & Pryor, 1998), whereby the purpose of assessment is to determine what a child knows, understands or can do. It is
Over recent years, the profile of assessment in education has increased. Moreover, the purposes and uses of assessment have developed and, as a result, assessment now stands in dynamic interaction with teaching and learning (Gripps, 1996 in Black & Wiliam, 1998). Assessment is conducted for a wide range of purposes, but in order to discuss these further it is helpful to distinguish between summative and formative assessment.
Summative assessment is used to measure progress and it is conducted at specific stages of the learning process - for example, end of unit tests, end of year tests and SATS. Summative assessment is often referred to as ‘assessment of learning’ and is linked to the concept of convergence (Torrance & Pryor, 1998), whereby the purpose of assessment is to determine whether a child knows, understands or can do. Pollard et al (2002) suggest that since the introduction of the National Curriculum, education has seen a rise in the use of summative assessment and attributes this to the way the government has used data as a means of comparing schools. However, summative data gained from statutory and optional tests is often used within schools as a means of tracking the progress of children, teaching standards and school performance. Critics have highlighted the dangers of over-reliance on test-based summative assessment. Lambert & Lines (2000) suggest that summative assessment in the form of exams or tests is only an abstraction of what the pupil knows, understands or can do. In response to concerns regarding the over-reliance on summative assessment data, there has been much research into the benefits of using formative assessment in the classroom.
Formative assessment is often referred to as ‘assessment for learning’ and is linked to the concept of divergence (Torrance & Pryor, 1998), whereby the purpose of assessment is to determine what a child knows, understands or can do. It is
References: Black, P. and Wiliam, D., 1998. Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), pp.7-74. Evans, N., 2001. Thoughts on assessment and marking. Primary Science Review, May/June 01, pp. 24-26. GTC. 2009. Assessment for Learning: Putting it into practice. [Online] General Teaching Council for England. Available at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/teachers/rft/afl_prac0904/ [Accessed 28 March 2009]. Harrison, C., Drozdowskij, J. and Westhead, K., 2001. Formative assessment in primary classrooms. Primary Science Review, May/June 01, pp. 19-22. Lambert, D. and Lines, D. (2000) Understanding Assessment: Purposes, Perceptions, Practice, London: Routledge Falmer. Leakey, A., 2001. Fantastic Feedback. Primary Science Review, May/June 01, pp. 22-23. Lindsay, C. and Clarke, S., 2001. Enhancing primary science through self- and paired- assessment. Primary Science Review, May/June 01, pp. 15-18. McCallum, B. (2000) Formative Assessment – Implications for classroom practice. Institute of Education. Mitchell, C. and Koshy, V. (1993) Effective Teacher Assessment, London: Hodder & Stoughton. Ofsted (2006) X Primary Inspection Report, London: HMSO. Ofsted (2003) Good assessment practice in Science, London: HMSO. Pollard, A., Collins, J., Maddock, M., Simco, N., Swaffield, S., Warin, J. and Warwick, P. (eds.) (2005) Reflective Teaching, London: Continuum. Pollard, A., Collins, J., Simco, N., Swaffield, S., Warin, J. and Warwick, P. (eds.) (2002) Reflective Teaching, London: Continuum. Pollard, A. and Bourne, J. (1994) Teaching and Learning in the Primary School, London: Routledge. Qualter, A., 2001. Assessment in primary science. Primary Science Review, May/June 01, pp. 5-8. Sebatane, E. M., 1998. Assessment and Classroom Learning: a response to Black & Wiliam. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), pp.123-130. Torrance, H. and Pryor, J. (1998) Investigating Formative Assessment, Buckingham: Open University Press.