Junior School assessment; why do we do it?

- Mrs Owens on assessment in the Junior School and why we do it

Assessment in the Junior School takes place in many different forms and allows teachers to make judgements about each child’s development and achievements. It also helps us to identify children’s strengths and weaknesses in a particular area. Teachers are constantly evaluating a wide variety of skills and concepts related to each child’s academic, social, emotional and physical development to ensure she makes good progress from her starting point.

When teachers plan work, in any area of the curriculum, they will relate it to the key objectives and skills they want the children to acquire by the end of the lesson. Teachers assess children’s understanding right from the start through observation and oral work. Questioning is particularly important in this initial stage of Formative assessment. Is a pupil showing a basic or more in depth understanding when she answers questions or joins in with discussions? Teachers monitor written work by actively going around the classroom giving suggestions, help, encouragement and praise. Marking work after a lesson enables teachers to give pupils feedback – letting the girls know what they have done well and where they might improve. A comment preceded by the letter ‘T’ is given as a target, or as a point to think about. This encourages the girls to reflect on their work, motivates them to improve, and helps them to become more independent learners. With the very youngest children oral assessment and feedback is particularly important because their reading and writing skills are still in the early stages. Photos are often taken as evidence of a child’s achievements in the early years and these will form part of their school and home ‘learning journey’.

Teachers also monitor children’s progress through Summative assessments. These usually take the form of end of term tests, based on the key objectives and skills for that subject. These tests are a snapshot of a child’s understanding at that point in time. The results inform the teacher of where a child excels, what she finds challenging and gives an overview of achievement across the class. Standardised tests, usually taken mid-year, help us to compare our girls’ achievements with the national average for their age group. It is vital that any form of assessment is useful and informs the teacher’s future planning; the results of a well-planned assessment helps teachers to pinpoint exactly where a difficultly lies, so that individual needs can then be met. Results will also identify children who need extension work. Teachers take the time to reflect on what has been taught well, and which areas might need revisiting, perhaps through a different approach. Just as importantly, our assessment of each child’s learning, shared through parent evenings and school reports, provides parents with a clear picture of their daughter’s progress throughout their time at our Junior School.

Year 1
Year 1 pupils were practically assessed to ascertain their levels of computer skills, and the knowledge required to draw the penguin.

Year 2
In Year 2, Science investigations are being observed to evaluate the girls’ understanding of fair testing. Art work can also be assessed, in terms of technique, use of tone and observational detail.

Year 3
Year 3 took part in a Science investigation this week; the girls had to devise an experiment to prove that there are layers in soil. An array of ideas were put forward and the experiment carried out, and the group is looking forward to seeing the results later today.

Year 4
Year 4 pupils have been presenting their research to their peers on one of the following areas of their current topic: ‘The Mayan civilization – what did the Mayans do with chocolate?’; ‘How did chocolate come to Europe?’; or ‘What is the story of chocolate in Britain?’. The girls gave each other constructive feedback on their presentations and completed a checklist, which they will keep a copy of, to help them with their own self-evaluations. The group focussed on presentation skills, quality of research, and how the project was presented. All the girls conducted lots of research using a mixture of books and websites, and produced a great variety of original projects – some of which are 3D.

Year 5

Year 5 pupils were assessed on their learning of space. The girls were evaluated formatively through a combination of practical exercises and questioning, and we have been very impressed with their engagement in the topic. We wonder if we might have sparked an interest for any budding astronauts!

Year 6
Year 6 pupils are pictured being assessed in Science. Wherever possible, Science assessments involve a practical element.

The way I see it... a word from Assistant Head, Mrs Owens

Right from birth we are being assessed in one way or another; from the pin prick test to the progress check at the age of two. Much later we may take a driving test (or two) and then, with luck, attend our first job interview. Most day to day assessments are based on a general ‘weighing up’ of people and situations. However, when this assessment is labelled as a ‘test’ or ‘examination’, it tends to produce a good degree of anxiety in most of us. We have to ‘measure up’ and, if we don’t feel confident, it can all go wrong. Why is it that we can forget things in a test that we once knew so securely? In my very first school assessment, aged six, I suddenly forgot how to spell ’the’; a word I can assure you I had used every day without a second thought. It is important to be aware that testing may not give the full, or entirely accurate, picture of progress – especially with young children. A shaky start to their day may mean that the addition sign becomes an alien mark, never before encountered. The trick is to tell children I am going to see how well I have taught them – to see if I need some more practise. As teachers, we know when a child knows more than they demonstrate in a test, because we are constantly evaluating them in the classroom. Of course, we also need to teach resilience and encourage children to recover when faced with failure. Across the school, the words ‘I can’t do it!’ have been replaced by ‘I can’t do it …yet!’ – click here to read more on this aspect of Teaching & Learning in Ms Avery’s recent blog.