guidelines for teachers - ncca.ie · guidelines provide examples of how teachers gather information...
TRANSCRIPT
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ContentsIntroduction 03
Section1 Re-envisioningassessment 06
WhatisthepurposeofassessmentinthePrimary School Curriculum? 07
Whatdoesassessmentinvolve? 07
Howhasassessmentdevelopedsince
thepublicationofthePrimary School Curriculum? 08
Section2 Classroomassessmentmethods 12
Self-assessment 14
Conferencing 24
Portfolioassessment 30
Conceptmapping 36
Questioning 42
Teacherobservation 46
Teacher-designedtasksandtests 54
Standardisedtesting 60
Section3 AcloserlookatAfLandAoL 70
Gatheringassessmentinformation 70
Recordingassessmentinformation 70
Interpretingassessmentinformation 71
Usingassessmentinformation 71
Reportingassessmentinformation 71
Section4 Schoolpolicyonassessment 76
Contentoftheassessmentpolicy 77
Whyshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed? 77
Whatshouldbeassessed? 77
Whenshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed? 77
Howshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed? 78
Whereshouldassessmentinformationberecorded? 79
Howshouldassessmentinformationberecorded? 79
Withwhomshouldassessmentinformationbeshared? 80
Howshouldassessmentinformationbesharedwithothers? 80
Forhowlongshouldassessmentinformationbestored? 80
Appendices AppendixA
Furtherinformationonclassroomassessmentmethods 84
AppendixB
Photocopiableresources 91
AppendixC
Legislativerequirementsofschoolsinrelationtoassessmentpolicy 95
AppendixD
Rolesofexternalorganisationsinsupportingchildren’slearning 97
Bibliography 99
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Introduction
Thisdocument,Assessment in the Primary School Curriculum:
Guidelines for Schools,hasbeendevelopedtosupportteachers’
knowledgeandunderstandingofassessment,andtoassistschools
indevelopingandimplementinganassessmentpolicy.The
guidelinesprovideexamplesofhowteachersgatherinformation
aboutchildren’sprogressandachievement,usethisinformation
toenrichteachingandlearning,andreportthisinformationtoall
thoseconcernedwithchildren’seducation.
Thedocumentcontainsfoursections.Section1,Re-envisioning
assessment,presentstwoapproachestoassessment—assessment
forlearning(AfL)andassessmentoflearning(AoL).These
approachesbuildonthefourpurposesofassessmentoutlinedin
thePrimary School Curriculum (1999)-formative,summative,
evaluativeanddiagnostic.ThesectionbrieflydescribesAfLandAoL
withfurtherdetailprovidedinSection3.
Section2,Classroom assessment methods,outlinesarangeof
methodsteachersuseinassessingchildren’slearning.Descriptions
ofhowteachersusethesemethodstosupportchildren’slearning,
andtheirownteaching,arealsoincluded.
Section3,A closer look at AfL and AoL,comparesandcontraststhe
twoapproachestoassessment.Itusesfiveassessmentactivities—
gathering,recording,interpreting,using,andreporting—toshow
whatthetwoapproacheslooklikeinpractice.
Section4,School policy on assessment,providesadviceon
developingtheschool’sassessmentpolicy.Ithighlightsthe
legislativerequirementsforrecordingandreportinginformation
aboutchildren’sprogressandachievement.
AppendixApresentsfurtherinformationonclassroomassessment
methodstosupplementSection2withphotocopiableresources
forsomeofthesemethodscontainedinAppendixB.AppendixC
outlineslegislativerequirementsthataffectschoolsinrelationto
assessmentpolicy.AppendixDsummarisestherolesofvarious
organisationsinsupportingchildren’slearning.
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Section1Re-envisioningassessment
Sampleactivity1 Assessmentinaction
Curriculumarea/Subject Mathematics
Strand Measures
Strandunit Length
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoestimate,compare,measureandrecordlengthusingnon-standardunits.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Strand Number
Strandunit Operations—Addition
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoaddnumberswithoutandwithrenamingwithin99.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Ms.Coffeyorganiseshertwenty-sixfirstandsecondclasschildrenintofourgroups—threegroupsof
fivechildreninsecondclassandonelargergroupofelevenchildreninfirstclass.Buildingonpractical
workoverthepreviousdaystoaddnumberswithandwithoutrenamingwithin99,Ms.Coffeypresents
eachgroupofsecondclasschildrenwithaseriesofnumberproblemsandabasketofresources(lollipop
sticks,unifixcubes,stick-a-bricks,andnumberstrips).Thechildrenworktogethersolvingtheproblems.
Meanwhile,Ms.Coffeyworkswiththefirstclasschildrentodeveloptheirskillsinmeasuringlengthusing
non-standardunits.Afterdiscussingwhyknowledgeoflengthisimportant,andlinkingthistoeveryday
activities,shedemonstratesmeasuringthelengthofabookusingmatchboxes,thelengthofadeskusing
paintbrushes,andthelengthoftheclassroomusingfootsteps.Ms.Coffeyinvitesthechildrentoworkin
pairs(withonegroupofthreechildren)tomeasurethelengthofobjectsincludingtheirmathscopybooks,
schoolbags,theirarm-spans,andtheclasslibrary.Duringtheseactivitiessheobservesthechildrenat
workandtalkstothemabouttheirfindings.Sheremindsthechildrenaboutimportantstrategieswhen
measuring,forexampleplacingthemeasuringunitsend-to-end,positioningthefirstunitattheedgeof
theobjectbeingmeasured,andpointingtothemeasuringunitsastheycountthem.
Whenthechildrenhavecompletedtheirmeasuringtasks,Ms.Coffeyinvitesthemtosharetheirfindings
asagroup.Providingfeedbackthroughdiscussion,shehelpsthemtoexplorereasonsforsignificant
differencesintheirfindings.Thesearisemainlyfromthechildrennotplacingthemeasuringunits
end-to-endwhileafewarecausedbycountingerrors.Notingthatanumberofthechildrenrequire
moreexperienceinmeasuringaccurately,Ms.Coffeyplanstoprovidesimilartasksthefollowingday.
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Thisaccountofoneteacher’sclassroompracticeshowshow,asthe
Primary School Curriculumsuggests,assessment is integral to all
areas of the curriculum and it encompasses the diverse aspects of
learning (Primary School Curriculum, Introduction,p.18).Inthis
example,theassessmentprocessprovidestheteacherwiththe
informationsheneedsinordertomakeimportantdecisionsabout
theteachingandlearningprocess—selectingcurriculumobjectives,
identifyingappropriateteachingmethodologies,designinglearning
activities,choosingsuitableresources,differentiatinglearning,
andgivingfeedbacktochildrenonhowwelltheyaredoing.These
everydayactivitiesplaceassessmentattheveryheartofteaching
andlearning.
WhatisthepurposeofassessmentinthePrimarySchoolCurriculum?Assessmentisaboutbuildingapictureovertimeofachild’s
progressand/orachievementinlearningacrossthePrimary School
Curriculum.Informationabouthowthechildlearns(thelearning
process)aswellaswhatthechildlearns(theproductsoflearning)
shapesthepicture.Theteacherusesthisinformationtoidentify
andcelebratethechild’scurrentlearning,andtoprovidehim/her
withappropriatesupportforfuturelearning.
Whatdoesassessmentinvolve?Fortheteacher,assessmentinvolvesgatheringinformationto
understandbetterhoweachchildisprogressingatschooland
usingthatinformationtofurtherthechild’slearning.Assessment,
therefore,goesfarbeyondjusttesting.Itconcernsthedaily
interactionsbetweentheteacherandeachchildthatinclude
moment-by-momentconversations,observationsandactions.
Assessmentistheprocessofgathering,recording,
interpreting,using,andreportinginformationabout
achild’sprogressandachievementindeveloping
knowledge,skillsandattitudes.
Whethertheteacherisquestioningandlisteningtochildren,
observingchildrenworkingonatask,orusingtheresultsofa
weeklytesttoinformteachingandlearning,assessmentinvolves
manyoverlappingandoftensimultaneousactivities—gathering,
recording,interpreting,using,andreportinginformation.These
activitiescanhappenwithinafewsecondsor,incontrast,over
aperiodofdaysorweeksdependingonthepurposeofthe
assessmentandthemethodsused.Theinformationgathered
enrichestheteacher’sunderstandingbothofwhatandhowthe
childlearns.Theteacherusesthatinformationtoplanlearning
experiencesbasedonappropriateobjectivesfromthecurriculum,
andonthechild’spreviouslearning:Through assessment the
teacher constructs a comprehensive picture of the short-term and
long-term needs of the child and plans future work accordingly
(Primary School Curriculum, Introduction,p.17).Using
assessmentinformationintheseways,theteachersupportsand
extendsthechild’slearning.
Assessmentis,therefore,partofwhattheteacherdoesonadaily
basisinhis/herclassroom,asshowninFigure1.
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Figure1:Assessmentaspartofclassroompractice
Usingassessmentaspartofteachingandlearning,theteacher…
plansnewlearning
usingassessment
information
andcurriculum
objectives.
shareswiththe
childrenwhat
theirnewlearning
willinvolve.
gathersandrecords
informationabout
whatandhow
childrenarelearning.
exploreswiththe
childrenwhat
successfullearning
lookslike.
usesappropriate
methodologies
andclassroom
organisational
strategies.
HowhasassessmentdevelopedsincethepublicationofthePrimarySchoolCurriculum?ThePrimary School Curriculum emphasises,ingeneralterms,the
importanceofassessmentinenablingtheteachertoextendand
enrichchildren’slearningacrossallcurriculumareas.Inrecent
years,research,theoryandpracticeinteachingandlearninghave
highlightedmorespecificallyhowtheteachercanuseassessment
tomakelearningmoreenjoyable,moremotivating,andmore
successfulforeachchild.Drawingonthesedevelopments,these
guidelinesdescribeare-envisioning of assessmentintheprimary
schoolandprovidetheteacherwithinformationandexamplesto
showhowassessmentcantranslateintodailypracticein
theclassroom.
Thecurriculumdescribesassessmentashavingfourfunctions—
formative,summative,evaluativeanddiagnostic.Inre-envisioning
assessmentintheprimaryschool,theseguidelinesbuildonthese
functions,andfocusontwoprincipalapproachestoassessment:
• AssessmentforLearning(AfL)
• AssessmentofLearning(AoL).
Theseinterrelatedandcomplementaryapproachesemphasisetwo
aspectsofassessmentthatarecentraltotheteacher’swork:
• Theteacherusesevidenceonanongoingbasistoinform
teachingandlearning(AfL).
• Theteacherperiodicallyrecordschildren’sprogressand
achievementforthepurposeofreportingtoparents1,teachers
andotherrelevantpersons(AoL).
1 Throughouttheseguidelines,thetermparentsreferstothechild’sprimarycaregiversandeducators.Theseincludethechild’sfatherandmotherand/orguardians.
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AssessmentforLearning(AfL)Theconceptofassessmentforlearning(AfL)extendsthepotential
offormativeassessment.Itemphasisesthechild’sactiverolein
his/herownlearning,inthattheteacherandchildagreewhatthe
outcomesofthelearningshouldbeandthecriteriaforjudgingto
whatextenttheoutcomeshavebeenachieved.Inessence,AfL
helpsteachersandchildrentofocusonthreekeyquestions:
• wherearechildrennowintheirlearning?
• wherearechildrengoingintheirlearning?
• howwillchildrengettothe nextpoint intheirlearning?
ProvidingfeedbacktochildrenisthereforecentraltoAfL.This
feedbackisbasedonevidenceofhowandwhatthechildren
arelearning.Feedbackfocusedonthelearningortaskinhand,
canhelpchildrenidentifyandcelebratetheirprogressand
achievements,pinpointchallengestheyexperience,anddecide
whatthenextstepsshouldbe.Thislevelofinvolvementin
shapingtheirownlearningcanheightenchildren’sawareness
ofthemselvesaslearnersandencouragethemtotakemorepersonal
responsibilityfor,andpridein,theirlearning.
AfLdoesnotgenerallyhappenattheendofaparticularpieceof
workoraperiodoftime.Itusuallytakesplaceintheday-to-day
minute-by-minuteinteractionsbetweenteachersandchildren.
Everythingchildrendo,sayandmake—askingquestions,working
onaprojectorataskaloneorcollaboratively,playing,designing
ormakingamodel,andsoon—hasthepotentialofprovidingthe
teacherandthechildrenthemselveswithinformationaboutwhat
theydoanddon’tunderstandandwhattheycanandcannotdo.
UsingAfL,theteacherinterpretsthisinformationandusesitto
supportchildrenintheirworkandtoplanahead.Inthisway,
theteachercanintegrateAfLintoteacher-childinteractions
andchildrencancometoregarditanaturalpartofhowthey
learninschool.
TheteachercanalsouseinformationfromAfLtoevaluatehis/her
teaching.Basedoninformationgatheredfromchildren,theteacher
canmakechangestohis/herplanning,organisationalstrategies,and
teachingmethodologiesinordertomakelearningmoresuccessful
forthechildren.
AssessmentofLearning(AoL)Incontrast,assessmentoflearning(AoL)focusesmoreonmedium-
andlong-termassessment.AoLgenerallyinvolvesassessinga
child’slearningattheendofagivenperiod,suchastheendof
aunitofwork,aweek,aterm,orayear.TheemphasisinAoLis
onmeasuringachild’scumulativeprogresstowardscurriculum
objectives.Agradeorascoreisoftentheonlyfeedbackachild
receives.Whiletheseresultsareusefultotheteachertheycanbeof
limitedvaluetothechild,unlesstheteacheridentifiestheessential
informationtheyprovideaboutthechild’sprogressandachievement
andcommunicatesthistothechild.AoLalsohelpstheteacherto
planfuturework,tosetnewtargets,andtoprovidefeedbackand
informationforend-of-yearassessment.
Theteacherusesinformationfrom AoLforreporting,particularly
toparentsandotherteachers.TheDepartmentofEducation
andScience(DES)inspectormayaccessassessmentrecords
toascertainliteracyandnumeracystandards,and/ortoassess
progressincurriculumimplementationaspartoftheWholeSchool
Evaluationprocess.TheNationalEducationalPsychologicalService
(NEPS)psychologistmayalsoaccesstheinformationgathered
throughAoLinordertoworkwithschoolsinmeetingthelearning
needsofindividualchildren.
Section3oftheseguidelinespresentsAfLandAoLinmoredetail
andhighlightstheacronymsinboldtohelpdistinguishbetween
thetwo.Itcomparesandcontraststhetwoapproachesusingthe
fiveactivitiesintheassessmentprocess:gathering,recording,
interpreting,using,andreportinginformationaboutachild’s
progressandachievement.
SECTION 2
CLASSROOM
ASSESSMENT
METHODS
SECTION 2
CLASSROOM
ASSESSMENT
METHODS
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Section2ClassroomAssessmentMethodsThissectionintroducesavarietyofmethodsforgatheringand
usinginformationabouthowwellchildrenarelearningacrossthe
curriculum.Themethodsrangefromobservationandquestioning
aspartofdailyteachingandlearningtothemoreformaland
structuredmethod,standardisedtesting.Byusingacombination
ofmethodsovertime,theteachergathersevidenceofchildren’s
progressandachievement.Basedonthisevidence,he/sheplans
howfuturelearningcanbesupportedmosteffectively.
Noteverythingachildlearnscanbeassessedorneedstobe
assessed.Inpartnershipwithcolleagues,theteachercanusethe
Primary School Curriculumtoprioritisewhatthechildshouldbe
enabledtodoandunderstandintermsofknowledge,skills,values,
attitudes,anddispositions.He/shewillsometimesfocusonthe
child’slearninginaparticularsubjectbutatothertimeslookatthe
child’slearningacrossdifferentsubjects.Havingdecidedwhatisto
beassessed,theteacherconsidershowitwillbeassessedandhow
theassessmentinformationwillbeused.
Muchoftheteacher’sassessmentisdoneintuitivelywhilesomeis
plannedforparticularpurposes.Intuitiveassessmentandplanned
assessmentarecomplementaryandbotharenecessaryifthe
teacheristogainacomprehensivepictureofeachchild’sprogress
andachievement.Forexample,inhelpingagroupofseniorinfants
todraftastoryabouttheirvisittothenearbypark,theteacher
noticesthatonechildformsan‘a’incorrectlyandthatanother
childdoeslikewisewitha‘c’anda‘d’.Thiscanprompttheteacher
toplansomefocusedobservationwiththesetwochildrenover
thefollowingfewdays.Throughfocusedobservationstheteacher
canidentifytheneedtosupportoneofthechildreninforming
the‘c,o,a,dandp’familyofletters.Byinterpretingmuchofthe
informationchildrensharethroughtheirwords,theirsilences,their
actions,andtheirinteractionstheteachercanbalanceintuitiveand
plannedassessmentinordertobenefiteachchildasalearner.
Thissectionsupportstheclassroomteacherinanswering
thequestions:
• HowwillIassess?
• HowwillIusetheinformationIgather?
Itprovidesinformationoneightassessmentmethods
andshowshowthesemethodscanbeusedforAfLandAoL.
(SeeSections1and3.)Themethodsareself-assessment,
conferencing,portfolioassessment,conceptmapping,questioning,
teacherobservation,teacher-designedtasksandtests,and
standardisedtesting.
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Whiletherearemanymoreassessmentmethodsthatteachers
cananddouse,theguidelinesusetheseeighttodemonstratethe
diversityofassessmentmethodsandthebenefitsthatcanaccrue
fromusingacombinationofmethods.Nooneassessmentmethod,
ofitself,willprovidesufficientlyusefulinformationtotheteacher.
Indeedanyonemethodusuallyinvolvesusingothermethodstoa
greaterorlesserextent,forexampleateacher-designedtaskmay
alsoinvolvequestioningandobservingchildren.
Intheseguidelines,eachmethodisdescribedinresponseto
questionssuchasthefollowing:
• Whatisthepurposeofthisassessmentmethod?
• Howisthemethodused?
• Whatinformationisrecorded?
• Howisthisinformationused?
Themethodsareillustratedbyexamplesfrompractice.
Theseexamples,referredtoassampleactivities,helptoshow
howthemethodsoperateinactualclassrooms.Thesample
activitiesfocusonparticularsubjectsorareasofthecurriculum
andonparticularclasslevels.However,manyofthemethods
canbeusedwithothersubjectsorcurriculumareasandcan
beadaptedtootherclasslevels.2Thesampleactivitiesbeginwith
anoutlineoftherelevantcurriculumarea,subject,strand,strand
unit,curriculumobjective(s),andclasslevel(s)inthePrimary
School Curriculum,whichcanbedownloadedfromorviewedat
http://www.curriculumonline.ie.Inthecaseofsampleactivities
whichfocusonEnglish,a‘/’signisusedtopresenttherelevant
strand(s)andstrandunits(s).Thisstrategytakesaccountof
English: Additional Support Materialpublishedin2005.
Theeightassessmentmethodsarepresentedonacontinuumin
Figure2.Methodspositionedtowardstheleftarethoseinwhich
thechildplaysaleadingroleinassessinghis/herownwork;
towardstherightofthecontinuumtheteacherplaysagreaterrole
inleadingtheassessment.Whilenosingleassessmentmethodis
exclusivetoAfLorAoL,thosetowardstheleftofthecontinuum
(thechildinaleadingrole)generallyhaveastrongerAfLfocus
whilethosetotherightgenerallyhaveastrongerAoLfocus.
2 Inthecaseofsomeofthesampleactivities,teachersarereferredtousingfirstnameswhileinothersampleactivitiestheyarereferredtousingtheirlastname.ThisreflectsthevarietyofpracticeacrossprimaryschoolsinIreland.
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questioning
TeacherleadstheassessmentChildleadstheassessment
portfolioassessment
conceptmapping
teacherobservation
teacher-designedtasksandtests
self-assessment
standardisedtesting
conferencing
Figure2:Acontinuumofassessmentmethods
Thediscussionofassessmentmethodsinthissectionfollowsthe
ordershowninFigure2.Eachmethodispresentedasafold-out
fromthemaindocument.
• Self-assessment page14
•Conferencing page24
•Portfolioassessment page30
•Conceptmapping page36
•Questioning page42
•Teacherobservation page46
•Teacher-designedtasksandtests page54
•Standardisedtesting page60.
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Self-assessmentWhatisself-assessment?Childrenareinvolvedinself-assessmentwhentheylookattheir
ownworkinareflectiveway,identifyaspectsofitthataregoodand
thatcouldbeimproved,andthensetpersonallearningtargetsfor
themselves.
Self-assessmentinvolvesmetacognition—theprocessofbeing
awareofandreflectingonone’sownlearning.Self-assessment
skillsincludeeffectivequestioning,reflection,problem-solving,
comparativeanalysis,andtheabilitytosharethoughtsinavariety
ofways.Self-assessmentcanbeusedbychildrenofallability
levelsandinallareasoflearning.Inage-appropriateways,itcan
beusedthroughouttheprimaryschoolandacrosssubjects.Whole
classdiscussions,groupsituationsorone-to-oneconferencingare
allplatformsforself-assessment.
Inlookingatexamplesofself-assessmentacrossthecurriculum,
thechildcanuseself-assessmentskillsindrafting,revising,
editingandpublishingapieceofhis/herownwriting.He/she
canusetheskillsinchoosingthebestsamplesofhis/herwork
toincludeinaportfolioforSocial,EnvironmentalandScientific
Education(SESE),Social,PersonalandHealthEducation(SPHE)
orArtsEducation.(SeeSection2,pp.30-33formoreinformation
onportfolioassessment.)Self-assessmentcanalsoplayacritical
roleincreating,talkingabout,andrecordingmusicalcompositions.
Keepingaportfolioasapersonalrecordofprogressandreviewing
itscontentsencouragesthechildinself-assessmentbyhelping
him/hertoclarifyobjectivesandsetnewlearningtargets.Itcanbe
usedtofosterreflection,bothverbalandnon-verbal,andhigher-
levelthinkingskills.Alearninglogcanbeusedtodocumentthe
child’sself-assessmentandreflectiononhis/herworksamplesor
collections.
Whatisitsvalueasanassessmentmethod?Self-assessmentisanessentialpartofAfL.Itenablesthechild
totakegreaterresponsibilityforhis/herownlearning.Thechild
canusedifferentstrategieswhenthinkingaboutwhathe/shehas
learnedanduseasetofcriteriatomakejudgementsaboutit.
Themostsuccessfulcriteriaarethosethatareagreedbeforehand
bytheteacherandtheclass.Self-assessmenthelpsthechildto
recognisethenextstepsinhis/herlearningandtobecomemore
independentandmotivated.Asthechilddevelopsself-confidence
he/shecanfeelmoresecureaboutnotalwaysbeingright.Inthis
way,self-assessmentcontributestoapositiveclassroomclimate
inwhichmakingmistakesisconsideredcentraltothelearning
process.Theresultsofthechild’sself-assessment(forexample,
learninglogs,portfolios,piecesofwriting)canbesharedwith
his/herparentsduringparent/teachermeetings.Thiscangive
parentsmoreinformationaboutthechild’slearningfromthe
child’sownperspective.
Howisself-assessmentused?Theskillsofself-assessmentneedtobelearnedovertime.This
involvesalong-term,continuingprocessthatisplannedatclass
andschoollevel.Theskillsthechildneedscanbetaughtor
modelledbytheteacherandpractisedbythechilduntilhe/she
feelscomfortableusingthemindependently.
Theteachercanencouragethechildtothinkabouthis/herown
workusingguidingquestions,toolsoraids.Theseinclude,for
example,rubrics,Know, Want to know, Learned(KWL)grids,Plus,
Minus and Interesting(PMI)diagrams,ladders,trafficlights,talk
partners/buddies,checklistsandwebs.(SeeAppendixA,pp.84-85
formoreinformationonself-assessmenttools.)Theteachercan
incorporatelearningtargetsandsuccesscriteriaintoclassroom
discussions.Thechildcanthenlearntoassesshis/herworkagainst
thesetargetsorcriteria.Bygivingpositive,informativefeedbackto
thechildtheteachercansupporthim/herinrecognisingandtaking
thenextappropriatestepsinlearning.
Sampleactivity2.1 Usingarubricforself-assessment
Curriculumarea ArtsEducation
Subject Visualarts
Strand Construction
Strandunit Lookingandresponding
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtolookatandtalkabouthis/herworkandtheworkofotherchildren.
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
ThechildreninMr.Byrne’sthirdandfourthclassesaregiventhetaskofbuildingamodelofabridge.
Theyhavelearnedaboutmanykindsofbridgesoverafewlessons.Mr.Byrnewantsthemtoshowthat
theyunderstandtheessentialfunctionsofabridge,itsconstruction,anditsfeatures.Thechildren
havetoshowtheplantheyhavedrawnofthebridge,andtheyhavetotellwhythebridgeisbuiltinthis
way.Theycanuseanykindofsuitablematerialstomakeit.Theteacherhasdiscussedtheimportant
elementsinplanningandbuildingthismodelwiththeclass.Thefollowingrubricisusedafterthe
modelisbuilt.
Asamplerubic
Feature 1 2 3
Plan Imadeoutaplanformy
modelwithafewdetails.
Imadeoutaplanofmymodel
withquiteafewdetails.
Imadeoutaverydetailed
planformymodel.
Design Ididn’tshowtheimportant
featuresofthebridge.
Ishowedsomeofthefeatures
inmymodel.
Ishowedalotorallofthe
featuresinmymodel.
Materials ThematerialsIusedtomake
thebridgewerenotsuitable.
Iusedsomesuitablematerials.
AllthematerialsIusedwere
verysuitable.
Whythebridge
wasbuiltlikethis
Ididn’texplainthis. Ipartlyexplainedit. Iexplaineditverywell.
Appearance MybridgelooksOK. Mybridgelooksgood. Mybridgelooksgreat.
Thechildrencompletetherubricbytickingorcolouringtheappropriatelevelofqualitytheyjudgetheir
modeltoshow.Differentiatingaccordingtothechildren’sability,Mr.Byrnehelpssomechildrenuse
therubricbyreadingthestatementsandtalkingtothechildrenaboutwhattheythinkofthequalityof
theirbridges.
Variationsonthisrubricincludeextendingtherangeofqualitytoperhapsfourlevels.Forexample,
forchildrenwhohavemoreexperienceofusingassessmentrubricsthiscouldincludefamiliarising
thechildrenwiththeexpectedstandardsorlevelsofqualitybeforebeginningthemodelwork,and
demonstratingwhatsuchlevelswouldlooklikebyshowingsimilarworkdonebyotherchildren.
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Sampleactivity2.2 Usingquestionsforself-assessment
Curriculumarea/Subject Mathematics
Strand Shapeandspace
Strandunit 3-Dshapes
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexploretherelationshipbetween2-Dand3-Dshapes.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
TheschoolwhereRayteachesisworkingonself-assessmentwithchildrenfromjuniorinfantstosixth
class.Becausehisfirstandsecondclasseshavebeenworkingonself-assessmentforsometimenow
andarecomfortablewiththeprocess,Rayoftenencouragesthemtoworkinpairsorsmallgroupsto
discusshowtheyfeelabouttheirlearning.Hesometimesworkswithallthechildrentogether.
AttheendofamathslessononshapeinMay,heencouragesthechildrentothinkandtalkabouttheir
learning.Hemodelssomepromptquestionsforthem,asfollows:
Promptquestions
• WheredidIgetstuck?
• WhatdidIdo?
• Whathelpedmebest?
• WhodidIask?
• WhatnewthingdidIlearn?
Hesuggestssomepossibleanswersandthengivesthechildrentwominutestothink.Workingwiththe
wholeclass,Raylistenstothechildren’sresponsestoeachquestion.
Ahmed (Hasgoodmathematicalability):I think it’s hard to remember the difference
between 2-D and 3-D shapes.
Tom (Workswiththelearningsupportteacher):Some of the names are hard to say.
Ciara Well, I checked the 3-D shapes in the Maths Corner for the names I couldn’t remember.
Shane I just asked Dara.
Marie-Claire I learned the word cuboid.
Anna A cuboid is very like a cube.
Consideringthechildren’scomments,Rayordersmorebooksonshapefortheclassroomlibrary.He
alsoaddsmorecomputerprogramsonmathematicstotheclasssoftwarecollection.Heencouragesthe
childrentosearchthebooksandtheprogramsforanswerstosomeoftheirquestions.
Raypinsthefiveself-assessmentquestionsinlargeletterstothenotice-boardatthetopoftheclass.
Overthefollowingweeks,hegivestheclasssometimeaftereachmathslessontoreflectonthe
questions.Asthechildrenrespond,hemakessurethatthemore-ablechildrenareallowedtimeto
saywhattheyfounddifficultsothateveryoneintheclassunderstandsthatanyonecanexperience
challengeswhilelearningandthat’sok!
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Sampleactivity2.2(continued)
Rayusuallyasksthechildrentogivetheirresponsesorally.Hesometimesasksthemtowritetheir
answersbutheisawarethatthechildren’sself-assessmentmightbereducedtowhattheyfindeasyto
write.Sometimeshechatswithindividualchildrenabouttheirassessmentoftheirownwork.Hemight
markachecklisthehasalreadyprepared.(Seeexamplebelow.)
Samplechecklist
Date:01.10.07Naming2-Dshapes
Name square rectangle circle triangle
1stClass
Ciara ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Noor confusessquareandrectangle ✓ ✓
2stClass
Juli ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Pat confusessquareandrectangle can’tname can’tpronounce
Jess ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
ThechecklisthelpstoguideRay’sclassroomplanningandithelpshimrememberwhathewantsto
discusswiththechildren’sparentswhentheycalltotheschoollaterintheyear.
1� 19
Sampleactivity2.3 Usinganevaluationsheetfor self-assessmentwithinagroup
Curriculumarea Social,EnvironmentalandScientificEducation(SESE)
Subject Geography
Strand Naturalenvironments
Strandunit Land,riversandseasofmycounty
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtobecomefamiliarwiththenamesandlocationsofsomemajornatural
featuresinthecounty.
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
Strand Naturalenvironments
Strandunit PhysicalfeaturesofEuropeandtheworld
Curriculumobjective ThechildshouldbeenabledtolearnaboutasmallnumberofthemajornaturalfeaturesofEurope.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
Mrs.CunninghamteachesinaschoolinCountyGalway.Sheteachestwentychildreninfourclass
groups–third,fourth,fifthandsixth.Thirdandfourthclasseshavebeenlearningaboutsomeofthe
physicalfeaturesofCo.Galway.Herfifthandsixthclasseshavebeenlearningaboutthephysical
featuresofEurope.Bothgroupshaveopportunitiestouseadigitalprojectorandaninteractive
whiteboardtozoominandoutoffeaturesonrelevantmaps.Thethirdandfourthclasschildrenenjoy
zoomingintoanaerialphotographoftheirschoolaspartoftheirworkontheircounty.
TofindoutwhatthechildreninthedifferentclasseshavelearnedMrs.Cunninghamsetsdifferentiated
tasksforthem.ThemorejuniorclassesworkingroupstolocateGalwayBay,LoughCorrib,the
MaamturkMountains,thePartryMountains,theAranIslands,Inishbofin,andfourotherphysical
featuresoftheirchoiceofCo.Galwayonablankmap.Theolderchildrenalsoworkingroupstolocate
mostofthefeaturestheyhavelearnedaboutonablankmapofEurope.Thechildrencanusethe
classroomcomputertohelpwiththeirtasks.Mrs.Cunninghamasksthegroupstodisplaytheirwork
appropriately.Beforetheclassesbegintheirtaskstheydiscusswhatthesuccesscriteriawillbe.With
somehelpfromMrs.Cunningham,theyagreeonthree:
Samplesuccesscriteria
• Thefeaturesmustbecorrectlyplaced.
• Themapsmustbeeasytoread.
• Themapsmustbecolourful.
Theclassesbeginworkinginsmallgroups.
19
Sampleactivity2.3(continued)
Wheneachgrouphasdisplayeditswork,Mrs.Cunninghamgivesthechildrenashorttimetoreflect
onwhattheyhavelearned,howtheyhaveworkedtogetheringroups,andtowhatextenttheyhave
mettheirsuccesscriteria.Shethendistributesanevaluationsheetandallowsthechildrentimeto
completeit.Sheworkswithsomeoftheyoungerandsomeoftheless-ablechildren.Shediscusses
theirideaswiththemandhelpsthemtorecordthem.(SeetheevaluationsheetcompletedbyAoife.)
Sampleevaluationsheet
Mrs.Cunninghamreadsalltheevaluationsheetsbeforetheendoftheweek.OnFridaymorningshe
returnsthemtothechildrenandallowsthemtimetoreadhercomments.Whileherclassaredoing
somepersonalreadingMrs.Cunninghamencourageschildrenwhosowishtodiscussthecomments
withheronaone-to-onebasis.
�0 �1
Sampleactivity2.4 UsingaKWLgridforself-assessment
Curriculumarea/Subject Mathematics
Strand Number
Strandunit Fractions
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexpressimproperfractionsasmixednumbersandviceversa
andpositionthemonthenumberline.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
IníonUíMhurchúteachesfifthclass.Therearetwenty-sevenchildrenintheclass.Manyofthe
childrenintheclasshavealowabilitylevelinmathematics.Theyfindabstractconceptsparticularly
challenging.OneFridaymorningIníonUíMhurchúexplainsthattheclasswillworkonfractionsduring
thefollowingweek.Shereviseswhattheclasshasalreadylearnedinthisarea.Attheendofthe
revisionsessionsheencouragesherclasstofillintheirKWLgrids.
Someofthechildren’sKWLgridsareshownbelow.
Séan’sKWLgrid Addi’sKWLgrid
IníonUíMhurchúreadsquicklythroughthecompletedgridswhenplanninghermathematicslessons
forthefollowingweeks.Sheensuresthatshehasincludedmanyoftheitemsinthewantedsections
ofthegrids,forexampleidentifyingmixednumbersinthechildren’senvironment(shoesizes,food
packaging)andexploringwhattheymean.Duringtheweeksheencourageseachchildtoworkonthe
itemhe/shewantstoknowmoreabout.Somebringinexamplesfromhome,somecheckcomputer
programs,othersgoonlinetofindinformation,whileothersreadlibrarybooksandtextbooks.Some
askIníonUíMhurchúoraclassmate.BeforeIníonUíMhurchúfinishestheworkonfractionssheasks
eachchildtocompletehis/hergridrecordingatleastonethinghe/shehaslearned.
�1
Sampleactivity2.4(continued)
Someofthechildren’sKWLgridsareshownbelow.
Séan’sKWLgrid Addi’sKWLgrid
IníonUíMhurchúcollectsthegrids.Sheusesthecompletedgridswhenrevisingfractions,setting
homework,anddesigningdifferentiatedtestsforherclass.
Samplehomework
MathsHomeworkMonday,January14
1. Write5mixednumbers.
2. List5fractionsthatmakeonewhenyouaddthem.
3. Do¾and½makeone?
4. Areimproperfractions>1?
5. Write5improperfractions.
Shefilesthegridsaspartofherrecordsoneachchild.Shefindsthegridsespeciallyhelpfulwhen
chattingtoparentsabouttheirchildren’sprogressandwhencompletingreportcardsattheendofthe
schoolyear.
��
Gníomhaíochtshamplach2.5 AgbaintúsáideasléaráidPMI lehaghaidhféinmheasúnaithe
Réimsecuraclaim Teanga
Ábhar Gaeilge
Snáithe Labhairt
Snáthaonad Agúsáidteanga
Cuspóircuraclaim Bachóirgogcuirfíarchumasanpháistecluichíteangaaimirt.
Leibhéalranga Rangannaacúigisasé
TáféinmheasúnúmarchuiddeghnáthshaolSNBallynogue.Ónalaethantaisluaithespreagtarna
daltaílemeasúnúadhéanamharagcuidoibreféin,arbhealaíatáoiriúnáchdán-aois,chunagcéad
chéimeannaeileaphleanáil.Dábhrísin,tánah-árdrangannasascoilaragcompórdleisanbpróiseas
measúnaitheseo.Míníonnamúinteoir,Síle,rialachachluichebéilteangadorangannaacúigisa
sé.IarrtarorthutreorachasimplíbéilasGaeilgealeanúint.Máleanannnadaltaínatreorachago
cúramachbachóirgombeadhpictiúrdechruthmatamaiticiúilacuardeireadh.Pléannsiadnafocail
abheidhdedhíthorthu.Molannnapáistífocailatáareolasacucheana-díreach,líne,fada,ardheis,
archlé.Lecuidiúónmhúinteoircuireannsiadnafocailaleanasleisanméidsin:tarraing,níosfaide,
gearr,níosgiorra.ScríobhannSíleroinntfrásaíúraarangclárdubh-cas,nóchacéim,cosúil.Míníonn
sínafrásaí.Suladtosaíonnsaid,pléannSíleagusarangnacritéirrathúlaaghlacfarleodontasc
áiritheseo.Comhaontaíonnsiadarcheithrechritéar.ScríobhannSílearangclárdubhiad.
Ceithrechritéar
•Éistgocúramach–cuimhnighgancuristeachardhaoineeile.
•Scríobhtrífhocalaralaghadachloiseannagusathuigeanntú.
•Scríobhaimnanrudathíosfaoi.
•Déananlitriúaseiceáil(ibhfoclóir,ileabhair,archairteachanóarlíne).
Gomall,léannSíleamachnatreorachaledronuilleogatharraingt.Cuireannsínacritéirrathúlai
gcuimhnedonadaltaíagusiadagobair.Nuairabhíonncríochnaitheagnapáistí,iarrannSíleorthu
agcuidoibreathaispeáint.Tádronuilleogdéantaagcuidacuagusd’éirighleoanfocaldronuilleog
aaimsiúibhfoinsíéagsúlatagarthaatásaseomraranga.Scríobhtromlachnabpáistícuiddena
focailad’úsáidSíle.Díreachsuladtéannnapáistíarsostugtarcúignóiméaddóibhlenagcuidoibre
amheasúnúagusléaráidíPMIán-usáidacu.DíríonnSílean-airdarnacritéirrathúlaatáarangclár
dubh.DáileannsíléaráidísimplíPMI.Iarrannsíargachpáisteruddearfachagusruddiúltachfaoin
obairachursanáireamh(rudamháinabhfuildúilaige/aicifaoinac(h)uidoibreagusrudamháin
nachbhfuildúilaige/aicifaoinac(h)uidoibre).Iarrannsíorthuleisrudamháinsuimiúilfaoinobair
alua.ScríobhannZitainacóipleabharBheadhmophictiúrníosfearrdámbeadhpeannluaidhegéar
agam.Níorthuigméchuidmhórdáraibháráaganmúinteoirachchualamé‘arís’agus‘líne’agus
litrighméigceartiad!ScríobhannMáirínSheiceáilméanlitriúarchuiddenafocailarlíneachbhí
SimonagiarraidhanríomhaireaúsáidagusníraibhméábaltateachtaranGhaeilgear‘rectangle’.Is
í‘cearnóg’anGhaeilgear‘square’áfach!ScríobhannDeanNíorscríobhméachdháfhocal–nílsésin
ró-mhaith–achtáafhiosagamgurlitrighmé‘dronuilleog’marisceart.D’aimsighméésanfoclóir!
Bheadhmochuidoibreníosfearrdán-éistfinnníoscúramaí!
BailíonnSílepictiúiragusléaráidíPMInabpáistí.Cuireannsíigcomhadiadd’fhonncomparáida
dhéanamhleceachtatáarintinnaiciathabhairtníosdéanaísabhliain.Marchuiddán-obairbhaile
antráthnónasiniarrannSílearnapáistítríabairtascríobhagúsáidfocailascríobhsiadtaobhlena
bpictiúir.
�4
Conferencing
Whatisconferencing?Conferencinginthecontextofassessmentmeansthatthose
concernedwiththechild’slearningsharetheirknowledgeand
understandingofthechild’swork,itsprocessesandoutcomes
duringaplannedorintuitivemeeting.Atdesignatedtimesduring
theschoolyearthechild’sworkandprogresscanbethesubjectof
meetingsbetweenthechildandhis/herteacher,ortheteacherand
parents,orteacherandteacher,orallpartiestogether.
Whatisthevalueofconferencingasanassessmentmethod?Conferencingprovidesanopportunitytoshareinformationin
ordertoincreaseunderstandingaboutthechild’slearning.The
conferenceisanassessmentactivity.Whentheconferenceis
betweenteacherandchild,abouttheworkinaportfoliofor
example,theteachertalkstothechildabouthis/herstrengths
andachievementsandmakessuggestionsaboutwhereandhow
learningcanbeimproved.Throughconferencingtheteacherlistens
tothechild’sideasaboutwhathe/shefindseasyordifficultin
learning,andencouragesthiskindofopennessinthechild.Thisis
anexampleofAfL;theoutcomeoftheconferencewillinformthe
teacher’splanningfornextstepsinthechild’slearning,andwill
helpthechildtoseehowhis/herworkcanbeimproved.
Howisconferencingused?Teacher/child conferencing
Theteachersetsasideacertaintimefortheconference,which
mightbetermedareview,orameeting,orsimplyaconversation.
Ifconferencingisdoneregularly,forexampleweekly,theteacher
willprobablybeabletodevoteonlyafewminutestoeachchild.If
childrenarenewtotheprocessthismightbeausefulwaytostart.
Thedurationorfrequencywillnotmatterasmuchasthechild
participatinginandvaluingtheexercise.
Conferencing
Thesubjectoftheconferencemightbeasingleproductof
learning(awrittenstory,adrawing,aproject),orgenerallearning
experiences,suchasusingICTortakingpartinadramaorafield
sport.Theconferenceshouldbeinformalandnon-threatening.It
isessentiallyaconversationaboutschool-work.Atalaterstage,or
witholderchildren,theteachermayusetheconferencetoassign
agradetoaparticularpieceofworkthechildhascompleted.
Discussionofcriteriawouldbeessential:What is it that makes
this a good piece of work? How might it be improved?Asimple
assessmentrubricwouldbeusefulforthisactivity.Arubricis
anassessmenttoolwhichdescribesvaryinglevelsofqualityina
specificpieceofwork.(SeeAppendixA,p.84formoreinformation
onrubrics.)Sampleactivity2.6onthefollowingpageisan
exampleofhowarubricmightbeusedwithsixthclasschildrento
assesspiecesoftheirwriting.Whatisconferencing?
Theclassroomclimateisasignificantfactorintheconferencing
process.Childrenneedtoknowandacceptthattheyarenotunder
examinationinaconferencewiththeteacher,andthattheyarefree
tosaywhattheyfeelabouttheirownperformanceinanactivity
orareaoflearning.Theconferenceismorelikelytosucceedina
classroomculturethatrespectschildren’sopinionsandencourages
themtoexpressthem.Childrenalsoneedtoseetheconferenceas
anopportunitytolearnsomethingaboutthemselvesaslearners.
Sampleactivity2.7onpage26presentsaconversationaspartofa
teacher/childconferenceinasupportiveclassroomenvironment.
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Sampleactivity2.6 Usinganassessmentrubricaspartofconferencing
Curriculumarea Language
Subject English
Strand Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage/Writing
Strandunit Writing:developingcompetence,confidenceandtheabilitytowriteindependently
Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage:developingcompetence,confidenceandthe
abilitytowriteindependently
Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtowrite,withoutredrafting,onagivenorchosentopicwithin
certaintimeconstraints.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtoobservetheconventionsofgrammar,punctuationand
spellinginhis/herwriting.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtohelpothersineditingtheirwriting.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
Strand Receptivenesstolanguage/Writing
Strandunit Writing:creatingandfosteringtheimpulsetowrite
Receptivenesstolanguage:creatingandfosteringtheimpulsetowrite
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoreceiveandgiveconstructiveresponsestowriting.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
Sixthclasschildrenusetherubricbelowtoassessastorytheyhavewritten.Theparticularelements
intherubricarebasedonwhatmakesagoodstoryasdiscussedandagreedbythechildrenandtheir
teacherbeforehand(thecriteriaforsuccessinwritingthestory).Anotherrubricmightbeusedin
subsequentwritingtoassesspunctuation,forexampletheuseofquotationmarks,exclamationmarks,
andsoon.
Samplerubic
Feature Ididn’tdowell Imadeagoodeffort Imadeaverygoodeffort
Structure
andplot
Mystorydoesn’thaveaclear
beginning,middleandend.
Mystoryhasastructureandplot
butsomeofitisnotclear.
Mystoryhasaclearstructure
andplot.
Paragraphs Ihavetoomany(ortoofew)
paragraphs,ortheyarenot
beginninginsuitableplaces.
Someparagraphsareintheright
places,butsomearen’t.
Myparagraphsbeginatchange
pointsinthestoryandhelpthe
readertofollowthestorybetter.
Interest Mystoryisnotthatinteresting. Mystoryisfairlyinteresting. Mystoryisveryinteresting.
Characters Ihavedescribednostrong
characterinthestory.
Ihavedescribedatleastone
strongcharacterinthestory.
Thecharactersinthestory
aredescribedwell.
Eachchild’sreflectiononhis/herownpieceofwritinghelpstodevelophis/herskillsofmetacognition
(reflectingonone’sownlearning).Akeyoutcomeofeachconferenceisthatboththeteacherandthe
childcanunderstandsomethingmoreaboutthechild’slearningandthenextstepsthatneedtobe
takeninsupportinglearning.Inaddition,theindividualisednatureoftheconferencemeansthatthe
teachercandifferentiatesupportappropriatetoeachchild’sabilitiesandneeds.
�5
Sampleactivity2.7Ateacher/childconference
Curriculumarea Language
Subject English
Strand Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage/Writing
Strandunit Writing:developingcompetence,confidenceandtheabilitytowriteindependently
Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage:developingcompetence,confidenceandtheability
towriteindependently
Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexperiencevariedandconsistentorallanguageactivityaspart
ofthepre-writingprocess.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtowriteindependentlythroughaprocessofdrafting,revising,
editingandpublishing.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
Mr.Swiftusesconferencingregularlywithhistwenty-sixfifthandsixthclasschildren.Hemakestime
forsmallgroupsofthechildrentotalkwithhimonaFridaybeforelunch.Inthisway,thechildrenget
totalkabouttheirworkforaboutthreeorfourminuteseverythirdweek.HereheistalkingwithShane
aboutapieceofwritingtheclasshaddoneearlierintheweek:A UFO Landed Here Yesterday:
Mr.Swift Well Shane, what do you think about what you have written here? Are you happy with it?
Shane I don’t know … It’s a bit short, I suppose.
Mr.Swift Well to me it’s not too short. But what about the story? Did you read it to your buddy?
Shane I did. He thought the beginning was exciting but the ending was boring.
Mr.Swift And what do you think?
Shane Yeah, I think he’s right. I had a few good sentences at the start - the short sentences we
talked about before we started to write … to make more suspense.
Mr.Swift I agree. You made the opening very interesting. And you used some of the scary words
we had on the list. But I wonder had you a plan for how it would end? I think it finished
too quickly.
Shane Yeah, it did. I just ran out of ideas. So I just finished it off.
Mr.Swift OK, so would you have another go at the ending? Remember that someone reading this
story wants to know what happened to the two main characters. So make up a new last
paragraph with a bit more information, just to bring the story to an interesting conclusion.
If you get stuck come back to me tomorrow, and we’ll look at it again.
Shane OK teacher, I’ve just thought of a better ending!
Duringtheconference,Mr.SwiftdirectsShaneinidentifyingwhatcouldbeimprovedinhisstory.
Thereareanumberofotherthingstheteachercoulddwellonbutheusesthisconferencetohighlight
thestory’sending,asworkwasdonewiththeclassrecentlyonbuildingstructureinastory.Shanewill
nowwriteupaseconddraftofthestory.Theremaybesomefurthersmallchangesbeforethefinal
draftiscompleted.
Mr.Swifthasalsousedabuddysystemintheclasstohavechildrenreadeachother’swork
constructively.Eachchildisrequiredtonoteonestrengthandoneideaforimprovementinthework
ofthepartnerbuddy.Eachteacher/childconferencetakesjustafewminutes,thewholegrouptaking
50-55minutesofclasstime.Mr.Swiftisconfidentthatthetimespentonconferencingiswellspent,
giventherealimprovementhehasseeninthechildren’swork.
��
ConferencingforAfLandAoLConferencingisavaluableexerciseinAfLwhenithappensonan
on-goingbasisduringtheschoolyear.Then,stepscanbetakento
offermorefocusedsupporttothechild.Anend-of-yearconference
ismorelikelytosupportAoLwhenallpartiesconsidertheprogress
thechildhasmadeduringtheperiodoflearning,oftenthefull
schoolyear.Thismightinvolvetalkingabouttheoutcomesof
standardisedtests,iftheyhavebeenadministeredduringthatyear.
OthertypesofconferencingParent/teacher conferences
Assessmentinformationisalsosharedatparent/teachermeetings.
Someofthesearescheduled;othersareunplannedmeetings
betweentheteacherandthechild’sparents.Forbothteacher
andparentthemeetingisanopportunitytolearnmoreabout
howthechildlearnsathomeandatschool,andtoconsiderways
inwhichthatlearningcanbesupported.Suchameetingisalso
achancetotalkaboutthechild’sspecialinterests,anxietiesor
misunderstandingsconcerningschoolworkorhomework.
Teacher/teacher conferences
Teacherscanmeeteachothertolookatchildren’sworkwithinand
acrossschools.Thistypeofconferencingcanhelpteachersto
• designmoreeffectiveassessments
• developcommonstandardsthroughasharedunderstanding
ofthequalityofchildren’swork
• gatherandreflectonideasforrevisingclassroompractice.
Inconferencingofthiskindteachersidentifycriteriaforjudgingthe
qualityofworkindifferentcurriculumareas/subjectsatdifferent
classlevelsbyusingsamplesofchildren’sworkasabasis
fordiscussion.
�7
31
PortfolioassessmentWhatisaportfolio?Fromanearlyagechildrencandevelopself-assessmentskills,
graduallytakingmoreresponsibilityforthequalityoftheirown
work.Creatingaportfolioisausefulwaytopromotetheseskills.
Aportfolioisacollectionofthechild’swork,reflectinghis/her
learninganddevelopmentoveraperiodoftime.Itcanprovide
evidenceofprogressinlearninginacurriculumarea,asubject,a
strand,oraacrossanumberofthese,usingatopicorthemeas
thefocus.ThePrimary School Curriculum recommendstheuse
ofportfoliosaswellasworksamplesandprojectsforassessing
learninginanumberofsubjects:Gaeilge,English,mathematics,
SESE,SPHE,visualarts,musicanddrama.
Dependingonitspurpose,theportfoliocanbeusedoverayear,a
term,orashorterperiod.Portfoliosalsoprovideopportunitiesfor
collaborativeassessmentwherebytheteacherandchildtogether
lookatandtalkaboutthechild’swork,identifyingpositivefeatures
andpointsforimprovement.
Portfolioscanexistinhardcopyand/orelectronically.Anelectronic
portfolio,alsoknownasane-portfolioordigitalportfolio,is
acollectionofachild’sworkcreatedusingwordprocessing,
presentation,multimediaauthoring,conceptmapping,database
and/orspreadsheetsoftware,andisassembledbythechild.
Simpletext-and-illustrationentriescanbecreatedbyveryyoung
children.E-portfoliosalsoprovidescopeforconnectingworkwithin
theportfolio(forexample,linkingavideofiletoadocument)
andexternaltotheportfolio(forexample,linkingawebsitetoa
presentation).TheNCCA’sguidelines,ICT in thePrimary School
Curriculum(2004)notethattherangeofelectronicworksamples
willincreaseaschildrenbecomemorefamiliarwithdevelopingand
maintainingtheire-portfolios.This will stimulate their interest in
using ICT for learning, and foster their ability to assess their own
work(p.35).E-portfolioscanbeupdatedandmanagedonline,
whichfacilitatessharingthechild’sworkwithothersandstoring
assessmentdatawithintheclassroomandschool.Anexampleof
ane-portfolioisdescribedinsampleactivity2.9whichfollows.
Whatmightthechildputinaportfolio?Theportfolio’scontentsdependontheportfolio’spurpose(s).The
teacherdecidesonthepurpose(s)oftheportfoliobeforebeginning
touseit.Examplesofpurposesmightbe:toshowimprovement
inchildren’swork,toshowarangeofwork,toshowchildren’s
strengthsandinterests,ortoshowtheirbestwork.Theportfolio
canrepresentbothAfLandAoL.Dependingonitspurpose(s),
theportfoliomightcontainsamplesofthechild’sworkacrossthe
curriculumorinaparticularsubjectincluding:
• Examplesofwrittenworkatdifferentstagesofdevelopment
(stories,letters,poetry)
• Projectworkinscience,historyorgeography
• Worksamplesinvisualarts
• Chartsordiagramsfrommathematicsorscience
• Photographsorvideo-recordingsofthechild’sparticipationina
physicaleducationactivity
• Recordingsofmusicalwork.
Howdoestheportfolioworkasanassessmentmethod?Oncetheteacherhasdecidedthepurpose(s)oftheportfolio,
he/sheexplainstheconcepttothechildren.Theteacherprovides
foldersorcontainersofsuitablesize,orthechildmightmake
his/herown.Theteacherarrangesforstorage(paper-basedand/or
electronic).Theteacherorchild(orbothtogether)periodically
selectapieceofworkfortheportfoliousingtheagreedpurpose(s)
andcriteria.Thechildattachesashortwrittenstatementexplaining
whythispiecewasselected.(Theemphasisshouldbeonwhatthe
childhaslearned.)Theteacherandchildcanassignagradeor
commenttoeachpieceofworkbasedoncriteriarelatedtolearning
goalsoroutcomes,butitisimportantthattheteacherisaware
thatassigninggradesratherthancommentstoitemsinaportfolio
changestheassessmentroleoftheportfolio.
Theclasscouldorganiseadisplayofportfoliosinconjunctionwith
aparent/teachermeeting.Somechildrenmightliketotalkabout
theirportfolios,whattheworkinitmeanstothem,andwhatthey
havelearnedfromit. Questionsateachershouldaskwhenplanningtouseaportfolio• WhyamIusingtheportfolio?
• WhatkindoflearningwillIassess?
Whichsubject(s)/skills/concepts/dispositionswillIassess?
• Howwilltheportfoliocontributetomyassessmentofthechild’s
progressandachievement?
• Whatperiodoftimewillitcover—aterm,amonth,thefullyear?
(Shorterperiodswillsuityoungerchildren.)
• Whatsizewilltheportfoliosbe?WherewillIstorethem?Is
electronicrecordingpossible?
• Whowillselectthecontentfortheportfolio,andhowfrequently?
• IfIplantoassigngradesorcommentstoitemsintheportfolio,
whatcriteriawillIusetoassignthese?Howwillthechildren
knowwhatthesecriteriaare?
• Whatwillhappentotheportfolioattheendofitsuse?Willthe
portfoliosbeshowntoawideraudience(forexampleparents,
otherchildrenintheschool,ataschoolassemblyoropen
day/evening)?
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Sampleactivity2.8Creatingawritingportfolio
Curriculumarea Language
Subject English
Strand Receptivenesstolanguage/Writing
Strandunit Writing:creatingandfosteringtheimpulsetowrite/Receptivenesstolanguage
Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexpressandcommunicatereactionstoreadingexperiences.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexperienceinterestingandrelevantwritingchallenges.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtoseehis/herwritingvalued.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
Strand Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage/Writing
Strandunit Writing:developingcompetence,confidenceandtheabilitytowriteindependently
Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage
Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoobservetheteacherimprovingwriting.
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
Ms.Kennedyteachesfifthclassandusesportfoliostoassessthechildren’sworkinEnglishduring
theyear.Shegetsthechildrentomakeupthefolders(A3size)anddesignthecovers.Shetellsthe
childrenattheoutsetthatthepurposeoftheportfolioistoshowothersandthemselveshowtheir
Englishworkimprovesduringtheyear.AbouteverytwoweeksMs.Kennedygivestheclasssometime
tolookattheirpiecesofworkandasksthemtoselectwhattheythinkisagoodpiece.Ontheback
ofittheywriteoneortwosentencesexplainingwhatisgoodaboutit.Thesefeatures/qualitiesofgood
workarewrittenonpostersbyMs.Kennedyanddisplayedontheclassroomwallsothatsheandthe
childrencanrefertothem.Theyprovidethebasisforusefuldiscussions.
Overthemonthsthecollectionofworkineachportfoliogrows.Bytheendoftheyear,eachportfolio
hasaboutfifteenitemsincludingpoems,piecesofwriting(somedescriptiveandsomeinstoryform),
there-tellingofnewsitemsdiscussedinclass,andaccountsofholidaysandschoolevents.Thereare
alsowordpuzzlesandquizzes,jokesandcartoonstrips.Thechildrenstoretheportfoliosonashelfin
theclasslibrary.
Ms.Kennedyissurprisedathowwellthechildrenlookaftertheirportfolios.Attheendoftheyear
theclasshaveaportfoliopresentationwherebyeachchildhasaminutetotalktotheclassabout
his/herworkandselecttheirbestpiece.ManyofthechildrenareabletosayhowtheirworkinEnglish
improvedovertheyear.Theportfoliosareofgreatinteresttoparentswhentheymeettheteachersand
receivetheirchildren’sreports.
3� 33
Sampleactivity2.9 Creatinge-portfolios
Curriculumarea/Subject Social,PersonalandHealthEducation(SPHE)
Strand Myself
Strandunit Self-identity
Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtodevelopanappreciationofandtalkaboutpersonalstrengths,
abilitiesandcharacteristics.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtorecogniseandreflectonchoicesthataremadeeveryday.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Strand Myself
Strandunit Takingcareofmybody
Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexplorethevariousthingsthebodycando.
Thechildshouldbeenabledtodevelopandpractisehygieneskills.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Inthefirstschoolterm,childrencreatedportfoliosoftheirlearningaboutfarmanimals.Mrs.Farrell
workedwithchildrentocreateandmaintaindifferentkindsofportfolios.Someportfolioswere
presentedinring-binderswithplasticpocketsorfilefolderswhileothersusedpizzaboxes.
Topromotechildren’suseofICTforlearning,Mrs.Farrellplanstousee-portfoliosforassessing
children’slearninginSPHEwithchildreninfirstclass.Herpurposeistodocumentchildren’sgrowing
awarenessandunderstandingoftheirbodiesaswellastheirskillsatmakinggoodchoices.
Mrs.FarrellbeginsbyhelpingthechildrentocreateanewfolderonthedesktopoftheclassroomPC.
Theyusetheirownnamesfortheirfolders.Usingwordprocessingsoftware,Mrs.Farrellcreatesaone-
pageintroductiontothee-portfolio(asshownbelow)whichshehelpseachchildtocompleteandsave
inhis/herfolder.
Introductiontothee-portfolio
Welcometomyfirste-portfolio.Itisallaboutme.
Mynameis
Iamin class.
Iliketo
Ifeelhappywhen
33
Sample activity �.9 (continued)
Mrs.Farrellandthechildrenusethedigitalcameratotakephotographsofeachchildwhichtheypaste
intoeache-portfoliointroduction.
Tohelpchildrennameandrememberbodyparts,thechildren’snextportfolioentryfocuseson
insertingthecorrectwordsbesideadiagramofthebodywithblanklabels.Overthefollowingweeks
eachchildcontinuestoaddsamplesofworktohis/here-portfolioincludingphotographsofthingsthe
childlikestodo,alistofthingsthechildwantstolearntodo,anaudiofileofashortstoryabouta
goodchoicethatthechildmade,andsomescannedartworkofchildrenlookingaftertheirbodies.
Childrenbecomemorefamiliarwithfindingandopeningtheirownfoldersonthedesktopofthe
classroomPCandaddingnewworksamplefiles.Duringtheterm,eachchildshareshis/herportfolio
ofworkwithotherchildreninthegroup,discussingwhattheylikeabouttheirworksamples,and
thingstheywouldliketoimproveon.Mrs.Farrellassessesthechildren’sskillsinpresentingtheir
ownworktoothers.Sheseesfromtherangeofskillsthechildrendemonstratethatfurtherworkand
encouragementareneededfortheshyerchildrenintheclassandshereorganisestheportfoliogroups
tosupportthesechildren.
AttheendofthetermMrs.Farrellwillprovidetimeforchildrentopresenttheirportfoliosandtalk
totheclassaboutwhattheyhavelearnedaboutthemselves.Mrs.Farrellplanstorecordchildren’s
presentationsasshortvideofileswhichprovideevidenceofchildren’sreflectionsontheirlearningand
theirportfolios.Thesewillbethefinalentriesinthee-portfolioforeachchild.
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Conceptmapping
Whatisconceptmapping?Conceptmapping(alsoknownassemanticnetworking)isaprocess
usedtomakespatialrepresentationsofideasandtherelationships
betweentheseideas.Theconceptmaps(orsemanticnetworks)
aresimilartographscontainingideasandlabelledlineswhich
describetherelationshipsbetweenthem.Thepurposeofthemaps
istohelpthechildshowwhatandhowhe/shethinksaboutanidea.
Whiletherearedifferentkindsofconceptmaps,theyallhelpthe
childtoorganiseandrepresenthis/herthinking.Inthisway,the
mapsaregraphicorganisersorpicturesummariesofthechild’s
understandingofideasandtherelationshipsbetweenideas.
Whatisthevalueofconceptmappingasanassessmentmethod?Childrenconstantlytakeininformationabouttheworldaround
them.Theyusethisinformationtoconstructtheoriesaboutwhy
thingsarethewaytheyareandwhythingshappenastheydo.
Thesetheoriescanchangeovertimeasaresultofchildren’s
experiencesandinteractionswiththeirenvironmentandwith
otherpeople.Conceptmappinghelpstheteachertoseeinside
thechildren’sthoughts.Thisinformationcangiverichinsights
intowhatandhowchildrenarelearning—theconnectionstheyare
makingbetweenideas.Conceptmappingisalsoverybeneficial
tothechildrenthemselves.Theprocessengageschildreninmore
meaningfullearningbyhelpingthemtointegratenewinformation
intopriorknowledgeandprovideevidenceofthisunderstanding.
Childrencanalsouseconceptmapsasstudyguides.
Theinformationtheteachergathersthroughconceptmapping
canprovideimportantstartingpointsandcheck-inpointsfor
teachingandlearning.Constructingaconceptmaphelpschildren
todrawtogethertheinformationtheyalreadyhaveandunderstand
aboutaparticulartopicoridea,andincorporatenewinformation
intheirthinkingastheylearn.Conceptmapscanalsoimprove
children’sunderstandingofindividualconceptsandhelpthemto
seeconnectionsbetweenconcepts.Theycanbeespeciallyuseful
forchildrenwithreadingandwritingdifficultiessincethechildren
representwhattheyarelearninggraphically.Usingevidenceof
children’slearningfromconceptmaps,theteachercanidentify
teachingstrategies,activitiesandexperiencestomodifytheir
learningwheremisunderstandingexists,and/orfurtherdevelop
theirthinking.
Conceptmappingisparticularlyusefulinassessingchildren’s
learninginscience,historyandgeography.Itcanbeusedwith
childrenacrossthedifferentclasslevelsbutdoesrequiremore
teacherinputwithyoungerchildren.
Howisconceptmappingused?Conceptmappingbeginswithadiscussionontherelevantideaor
concept.Throughthisdiscussion,theteacherorchildrenrecord(s)
keywordswhichrepresentthechildren’sunderstandingofthe
ideaorconcept.Thesewordsbecomethebasisforcreatingthe
conceptmaps,withtheideaorconceptthecentralfocusofthe
map.Conceptmapscanbe3-Dor2-D.Making3-Dmapsrequires
resourcessuchaspaperorcardandstringorwool,while2-Dmaps
canbecreatedusingpaperandpencilorcomputersoftwaresuchas
wordprocessingorconceptmappingsoftware.
Whateverformatisused,theteachersetsthechildrenthetask
(individually,inpairsoringroups)oforganisingthewordsor
conceptsinawaywhichenablesthemtodescriberelationships
betweenconceptsandsub-concepts.Thenumberofconcepts
representedinachild’sconceptmapprovidesevidenceofthe
breadthofthechild’sunderstandingofthetopicorareaofstudy.
Thelevelsofconceptsrepresented(concept,sub-concept,
sub-sub-concept)suggeststhedepthofthechild’sunderstanding.
Thechildrenuselinestorepresenttherelationshipsacrossthe
conceptsandsub-conceptswitharrowsindicatingthedirectionof
therelationship.Theteacherencourageschildrentoshowasmany
relationshipsaspossible.Thenumberofrelationshipsrepresented
inthechild’smapprovidesevidenceoftheextentofthechild’s
integrationofideaswithinthetopicorareaofstudy.Theteacher
askschildrentodescribetherelationshipsusingasfewwordsas
possible.Theaccuracyofthechild’sdescriptionofrelationships
providesafurtherindicatoroftheextentofhis/herunderstanding.
Somechildren,particularlythosewithstrongvisual-spatialabilities,
learntouseconceptmapsquickly.Otherscantakelongerto
developcompetenceandmightneedtobeginwithsimplerforms
ofgraphicorganisersandpicturesummaries.
Whenshouldconceptmappingbeusedasanassessmentmethod?Atthebeginningofaunitofworkconceptmapscangive
informationtoteachersaboutchildren’scurrentlevelof
understanding(andmisunderstanding)aboutaparticularconcept.
Thisinformationenablestheteachertoidentifywhatknowledge
he/sheneedstofocusontomeetthechildren’simmediatelearning
needs,thususingconceptmappingforAfL.Duringorattheend
ofaperiodoflearning,conceptmappingcanprovideevidenceof
howexperiencesoractivitieshavemodifiedorextendedchildren’s
thinking.Todothis,theteachercaninvitethechildrentorevisit
theirmapsandadjustthemastheywouldlike,orthechildren
canbegiventheopportunitytoconstructnewmapsbasedon
thesameconcept.Inthisway,conceptmappingcanbeusedfor
AoL.Throughthisinformation,theteachercanalsoevaluatethe
effectivenessofhis/herteachinginsupportingchildren’slearning.
37
Sampleactivity2.10 UsingconceptmappingforAoL
Curriculumarea Social,EnvironmentalandScientificEducation(SESE)
Subject Science
Strand Livingthings
Strandunit Plantandanimallife
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtodevelopanincreasingawarenessofplantsandanimals
fromwiderenvironments.
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
Therearetwenty-sevenchildreninMs.Daly’sthirdclass.Thechildrenarelearningaboutrodentsin
Irelandandabroad.Ms.Dalyorganisesashowandtellsessionandinvitesthechildrentotakepart.
YuribringshispethamstertoschoolandSílebringstheguinea-pigthathergrandfatherboughther
forherbirthday.Theclassinterviewsthelocalvetandpet-shopowner,useson-lineresearchasa
homeworktask,readsbooksfromtheclassroomandlocallibrary,printsandlabelspicturesfroma
CD-ROMusingthecomputerintheclassroom,anddevelopsinformationleafletsontheirpetsforother
childrentoread.
Inassessingthechildren’slearningMs.Dalydifferentiatestheconceptmappingtaskbyusingtwo
spiderconcept-maps.Inaspiderconcept-mapthecentralideaisplacedtowardsthecentreofthe
mapwhileothersub-ideasradiatefromit.Shedistributesthefirstmap(seebelow)toagroupofsix
childrenwhoexperiencedifficultieswithliteracy.Sheasksthechildrentolookandthinkaboutthe
mapwhileshedistributesadifferentconceptmaptotherestoftheclass.Assoonasthechildrenare
settledandworkingindependentlyonthetaskshereturnstoworkwiththefirstgroup.Ms.Dalyhelps
themwithkeywordsorphrasesandscribesforDavidwhohasDown’sSyndrome.
Sampleconceptmaptemplate
are
comeoutat
livein eat
and
mice
spread
Somehelpfulwords
rodentsdiseaseburrowsnight
3� 39
Sampleactivity2.10(continued)
Thesecondmap(seebelow)iscompletedbytherestoftheclasswithoutassistance.Thismap
requiresthechildrentoidentifysub-ideasandalsotoindicatetherelationshipbetweentheseandthe
mainidea.
Sampleofachild’sconceptmap
Reviewingthemaps,Ms.Dalynotestheextentofsomeofthechildren’slearningandinparticular,the
childrenwhohaveliteracydifficulties.Shewritesthisinformationinherday-to-dayrecordsfortheclass.
Shestorestheconceptmapsinthechildren’scentralfilesandplanstosharethesewithparentsatthe
upcomingparent/teachermeetings.
39
Sampleactivity2.11 UsingconceptmappingforAfL
Curriculumarea Social,EnvironmentalandScientificEducation(SESE)
Subject Science
Strand Energyandforces
Strandunit Heat
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtobecomeawareofdifferentsourcesofheatenergy.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Henryisusingconceptmappingwithhistwenty-fourfirstandsecondclasschildren.Allthechildren
sitonthecarpettohaveaclassdiscussionaboutheat.Asthechildrenraisebigideasrelatedtoheat,
Henrywritestheseonthewhiteboard.
ThefollowingdayHenrygiveseachgroupoffivechildrenasetofcardswiththebigideasprintedon
them.ThechildrenreadthewordswithHenry.Henrymovesfromgrouptogroup,helpingthechildren
arrangethecardsontheirtablessothatwordsthatareconnectedtoeachotherareplacedtogether.
Thechildrenstickthecardsontoalargesheetofpaperleavingenoughspacebetweenthecardsto
drawconnectinglines.Theydrawlinesbetweenthewordstheythinkarerelated.Oneachlinethey
writeawordaboutthenatureoftherelationshipbetweenthetwowords.Wherenecessary,Henry
scribesforthechildren.Onegroupofthreemoreablechildrenusetheclasscomputertocreatetheir
conceptmap.Whenthemapsarealmostcompletedthechildrencheckanycardstheyhavenotyet
used,andaddanythattheythinknowdofitonthemap.Theyaddnewlinesandrelationshipwords.
Thegroupsnameanddisplaytheirmaps.
Sampleofachild’sconceptmap(createdusingwordcardsandbywriting)
40
Sampleactivity2.11(continued)
Sampleofachild’sconceptmap(createdusingtheclassPC)
OverthenextfewdaysHenryinterpretsthechildren’sconceptmapsandnotesthatsomechildrenhave
notyetfullygraspedtherelationshipbetweenwarmandhot.(Theydon’tincludethesewordsintheir
maps.)Itisalsounclearfromthemapshowchildrenperceivetherelationshipbetweenheatandthe
sun,especiallyinthecaseofchildreninfirstclass.InfurtherworkonheatHenryusesinvestigations
intheclassroomtoexploretheconceptoftemperatureandtocomparetemperaturesinsideand
outsidetheclassroom,includinginvestigationswhichshowthatthesunisasourceofheat.
Bytheendofthetermtheconceptmapsaremoresophisticated(seebelow)asthechildrenbecome
morecompetentatconstructingthem.
Sampleofachild’sconceptmap
ismadefrom
gives comesfrom
SUN HEAT FIRE
and
COAL WOOD
and
HOT WARM
isis
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QuestioningWhatisteacherquestioning?Questioningunderpinsallclassroomassessmentmethods.Teachers
regularlyaskchildrenoralquestionsabouttheirworktofindout
whattheyhavedoneandwhy.Teachersusethesequestionsto
assessknowledgeandunderstandingandtoguidechildrenintheir
learning.Childrenalsousequestionstohelpthemtolearn,for
exampletheyasktheirteacherandtheirpeersquestions.Partof
theteacher’sworkinusingquestioningasanassessmentmethodis
tomodelgoodquestioning.Thisinturnhelpschildrentobecome
moreskilfulataskinggoodquestionstoaidtheirownlearning.
(SeeSelf-assessment,p.16.)
Therearemanydifferenttypesoforalquestions.Theserange
fromclosedquestionsinwhichtheteacheranticipatesasingle,
factualanswertoopen-questionswhichencourageamorecritical,
analyticalresponse,andwhichfacilitatemultiplesolutionpaths.
(SeeAppendixA,pp.86-87formoreinformationontypesof
questions.)Questionscanalsobeusedtoassesslearning(AoL)
andtoassistlearning(AfL)althoughthedistinctionisnotclear
cutandquestionsmayperformbothfunctionstosomedegree.The
followingparagraphsexploresomeexamplesoforalquestioning
techniques.
Whatisthevalueofquestioningasanassessmentmethod?Teachers’questionscanassesschildren’sdepthoflearningby
encouragingthemtoelaborateonananswer,whetheritbetheir
ownoranotherchild’s.Thisiscalledprobing.Probinginvolves
questioningchildrenabouthowtheyhavereachedasolutionto
aproblemorhowtheyarepresentlyworkingonatask.Probing
canelicitclarification,solicitadditionalinformation,orredirect
achild’sresponseinamorefruitfuldirection.Probesinclude
questionslike,How did you get that?andWhy is that? Whenusing
probingasanassessmentmethoditisagoodideatoaskifanyof
theprobescanbemoreeffectiveindeterminingchildren’scurrent
understandingandifso,how.
Teachers’questionscanalsotaketheformofprompts.Prompts
involveaskingchildrentoconsideraspectsofataskwiththe
aimofhelpingthemtoreachacorrectsolutionortouseamore
appropriatemethod.Promptsincludequestionslike,Does that
work for all even numbers? and Suppose the shape was a rectangle,
would that make any difference?
Hereareanumberofquestionstokeepinmindifyouareusing
promptsasanassessmentmethod:
• Dothepromptsaddressthecommondifficultieslikelytobe
encounteredbythechildren?Ifnot,howmightthepromptsbe
altered?
• Doanyofthepromptsgotoofar,totheextentthatyouare,in
effect,tellingchildrenwhattheyshouldbedoingratherthan
guidingthemtoreconsidertheirplans?
AnsweringquestionsTheexamplesabovefocusontheteacheraskingquestions.
Encouragingthechildrentoaskquestionsoftheteachercan
alsoprovideinformationtosupportAoLandAfL.Thiscanbe
achievedby:
• Givingthechildrenopportunitiestoaskquestions:Pauseafter
makinganimportantpointorexplainingatopic,orask,Any
questions?orDo you want me to say more?Givethechildren
timetoformulatetheirquestionsbeforegoingtothenextpoint.
• Tryingnottopostponeansweringaquestionornotignoringa
child’squestion:Ifonechildtendstomonopoliseclasstimetry
saying,Let’s take questions from people we haven’t heard from,
or Vincent, I’ve already answered several of your questions, let’s
hear from some of the others first.
• Answeringthechild’squestionsadequately:Iftheteacherdoes
notwishtoanswerthequestiondirectlythenhe/shecouldtry
- repeatingthequestionorparaphrasingittoensurethatthe
entireclasshearsthequestion.
- redirectingthequestiontoanotherchildortotheclassin
general,askingforananswerorcomment,oranelaborationof
theissue.
- respondingtothechild’squestionbydirectinghis/her
attentiontothingsthatmayonlybeimpliedintheanswer,
andsohelpthechildanswerhis/herownquestion.
• Listeningtothequestion:Lookatthechildwhenhe/sheis
talking;showthatyouarefollowingbynodding;checkwhether
youreallyunderstandwhathe/sheissayingbyrephrasingthe
question.
• Promotingadiscussionamongthechildren:Involvethemajority
oftheclassintryingtoanswersomequestions.
43
Sampleactivity2.12QuestioningtosupportAoL
Curriculumarea/Subject Mathematics
Strand Number
Strandunit Fractions
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoidentifyfractionsandequivalentformsoffractions
withdenominators2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10and12.
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
BeanUíBhriainteachestwenty-sevenfourthclassboysandgirls.Thechildrenhavebeenspending
aweekworkingonfractionsduringmathsclass.Shewishestoprobetheirunderstandingoffractions
byaskingthefollowingquestionsofthewholeclass.Shebeginswithastarterquestiontoelicit
priorknowledge.
BeanUíBhriain What is a fraction? (ShewaitsforfivesecondsbeforeeventuallycallingonAnnato
givetheanswer.)
Anna A fraction is a small number.
BeanUíBhriain (EchoesAnna’sanswer)A fraction is a small number. (Shethenposesaquestion
toclarifyAnna’sanswer.) Can anyone tell me what Anna means by a small number?
(Againshewaitsforafurtherfiveseconds.ThistimeshecallsonLukewhodoesn’t
havehishanduptoanswer.)
Luke A fraction is a small number because you don’t have the complete thing.
BeanUíBhriain (InvitesLuketoelaborateonhisresponsebyasking) Can you give me an example?
Luke Like if you go to a birthday party and there is a birthday cake, well, the cake would
have to be shared among all the children that are there, so everyone only gets a
fraction of a cake.
BeanUíBhriain Right! So why are there two numbers in a fraction? (Shesignalsanon-verbal
invitationfromPierretorespondusingeye-contact.)
Pierre Well if there is one cake, then this would have to show as � divided by the number
of children it has to be shared between. Say for example, if there were eight children
it would have to be shown as �/8 (one-eighth).
BeanUíBhriain (NodsinagreementwithPierre.Shethenencouragesthechildrentoreflectonthe
topicbysaying)Now I would like you to think about this question and write down
the answer. Are you all ready? If Anna got 2/�6 of the cake and Luke got �/8 of the
cake, which child would have more?
Úna I think that Anna got more because �6 is bigger than 8.
BeanUíBhriain Is Una’s right?
Tadhg No, Una’s isn’t right because 2/�6 and �/8 are the same.
Bean Uí Bhriain That is an interesting observation Tadhg. (Shepresentsatasktoencouragethe
childrentooffertheirowninformationandobservationsonthetopicoffractions.)
This time I would like you to work in your groups. The question I would like each
group to answer is: How can you tell when two fractions are equal? You have paper
and pens in front of you. You have ten minutes in which to prepare your responses in
the form of a television presentation. Each group will be asked to present for the rest
of the class.
44
Sampleactivity2.13 QuestioningtosupportAfL
Curriculumarea Social,EnvironmentalandScientificEducation(SESE)
Subject Science
Strand Energyandforces
Strandunit Sound
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtodesignandmakearangeofsimplepercussioninstruments.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Mr.Traynoristeachingthetopicofsoundtotwenty-twofirstandsecondclasschildren.Hestartswith
attention-focusingquestions.Hetapsaspoononthesideofanemptyjam-jar.
Mr.Traynor What sound can you hear? Is it a high sound or a low sound?
Mario It is a high sound.
Mr.Traynorhalffillsthejam-jarwithwaterandtapsthejaragain.Thistimeheusesa
comparisonquestion.
Mr.Traynor Is the sound higher or lower than last time?
Sarah Lower!
Mr. Traynor What do you think will happen to the sound if more water is
added to the jam-jar?
Thechildrenareinvitedtopredicttheoutcome.Thisprocessisrepeatedanumberoftimesadding
moreandlesswater.Whenthechildrenarefamiliarwiththepossibilitiesofthevariouslevelsofwater
inthejam-jarsMr.Traynordecidesthattheyarenowreadyforproblem-solvingquestions.Hesetsone
groupofsixchildrenataskoftryingtocomposeatuneusingonlyjam-jarsandwater.Toanothergroup
ofsixchildrenhegivesaselectionofelasticbandsandcardboardboxes.Tothethirdgrouphegives
avarietyofbeaters(spoons,rulers,andsoon)andcommonclassroomobjectstoinvestigatesounds
madeusingdifferentmaterials.
Attheendoftheactivityeachgrouppresentsitsfindings,andMr.Traynorisabletoassesswhateach
memberhaslearnedusingfurtherquestioningandobservation.
47
Teacherobservation
Whatisteacherobservation?Teacherobservation,spontaneousorplanned,canhappenanytime
ateacherandchildinteract.Observationsmadebytheteacherin
theclassroomprovidesomeofthemostimmediateandaccurate
informationaboutachild’slearning.Whenteacherobservationis
compiledasawrittenrecorditallowstheteachertodescribea
child’slearningincontext.Theserecordscanmaketheplanningof
furtherworkforanindividual,grouporwholeclassmorefocused
andsystematic.
Whatisthevalueofteacherobservationasanassessmentmethod?Byrecordingdetailsofwhatachildsays,doesormakes,and,more
importantly,howthechildsays,doesormakesthingstheteacher
cangatherimportantinformationaboutachild’slearning.He/she
canidentifythechild’slearningneedsandpreferencesandcan
gaugehoweffectivelythoseneedsarebeingmetinclass.Teacher
observationprovidestheteacherwithinformationabouthowthe
childinteractsandworkswithothers.Italsohelpstheteacherto
assessnotonlythechild’sabilitytotransferskillsandknowledge
acrossthecurriculumbutalsohis/herabilitytouselearning
materialsandresources.
Observationhelpstheteachertofindoutthevaryingdegreesof
successwithwhichachildacquiresandmastersdifferentskills
andknowledgeandthentoadjustteachingandlearningcontexts
accordingly.Someoftheknowledgeandskillsacquiredbythechild
arebestobservedinaction,andsoteacherobservationmayoften
betheonlywaytoassessachild’sprogressaccurately.
ThePrimary School Curriculum recommendstheuseofteacher
observationinallsubjects.Thereareseveral,similarwaysofdoing
teacherobservation.(SeeFigure3onp.47.)
Howisteacherobservationused?Teacherobservationispartofclassroomwork.Itincludeslistening
andwatching,andrequirestheteachertonotice,recogniseand
respondtothechild’sthinkingandactions.Observationmayfocus
onanindividualchildoronagroup,butnotallchildrenwillneed
thesamelevelofobservationatalltimes.Teacherobservations
occurspontaneouslyaschildrenengageinlearningactivitiesand
thoseobservationsmayberecorded.Moreeffectiveandpurposeful
monitoringofachildoragroupinvolvesteacherobservationthatis
plannedandrecordedinastructuredandfocusedway.
Whenshouldteacherobservationbeused?Teacherobservationcanbeusedatanytimeinaclassroom.For
example,ateachermaydecidetoobservethediscussionwithin
aparticulargroupintheclassroomortheworkofachildwith
learningdifficulties.He/shemakessuitablearrangementsto
observethechildorgroup,whichmayincludeorganisinggroup
workforotherchildren,securingtheco-operationofacolleague,
and/ordrawingupchecklists.Observationusuallytakesplaceover
ashortperiodoftime.Theteacherobservesthechildorgroupas
theycarryoutplannedtasksorassignmentsandhe/sherecords
therelevantinformation.Subsequentobservationsallowon-going
monitoringofthechildorgroup.
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Figure3:Someteacherobservationmethods
Targetchildobservation
focusesononechild.Aseriesof
observationscombinetogiveapicture
ofthechild’suniquedevelopment.
Ashadowstudy
isarecorded,plannedsystematic
observationofaspectsoflearningor
behaviour.Itcaninvolveanindividual
child,agroupwithinaclass,anentire
class,ortheschool.
Anecdotalobservation
spontaneousorplanned,isawritten
narrativeofinterestinginstancesofa
child’sdevelopmentorbehaviour.
Eventsamples
arerecordedobservationsofparticular
eventsthatbuildupapatternofachild’s
behaviouroveraperiodoftime.
Timesamples
areshort,repeated,focusedobservations
ofachild’sdevelopment.Theycanbe
usedtocollectprecisedataoveralong
periodoftime.
4� 49
Sampleactivity2.14 Targetchildobservation
Curriculumarea Language
Subject English
Strand Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage/Orallanguage
Strandunit Orallanguage:developingcompetenceandconfidenceinusingorallanguage
Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtochooseappropriatewordstonameanddescribethingsandevents.
Classlevel Infantclasses
Áineisfourandahalf.Herteacher,Siobhán,isconcernedaboutÁine’slanguagedevelopment,in
particularhercolourrecognitionskills.SheplanstoobserveÁineandherbestfriend,Katie,asthey
enjoysomefree-playthefollowingday.SiobhánknowsthatÁineandKatielikedressingupsoshe
provideslotsofverycolourfulclothesforthemtotryon.Katiepicksabrightbluecoatfromtherail.
Sheopensthebuttonsandputsonthecoat.Sheclosesthebuttonscarefullyandadmiresherselfin
themirror.I like blue,shetellsÁinewhoisstrugglingwithafluffypinkjumper.Áinepullsthejumper
overherheadbutcan’tgetherarmsintothesleeves.Siobhánasksherifsheneedshelp.No,pants
Áine,do it myself.Katielaughsandhelpshertopullthejumperontherightwayaround.What colour
is your fluffy jumper? asksSiobhán.Is green,shesays.No,saysKatie,your jumper is pink!
We look pretty!
WhenherclasshavegonehomethatafternoonSiobhánmakesanentryinherfolderontheclassroom
PC.SheopensthefilemarkedKatie.
Scrollingtotheendofthedocumentshetypes:
SampleteacherrecordonKatie
October21
Managesbuttonswell.
Knowsthecoloursblueandpink.
Ishelpfultoherfriends.
InÁine’sfileshetypes:
SampleteacherrecordonÁine
October21
Showssomelanguagedelay.
Needshelpwithdressing.
Notsureofcolourspinkorgreen.
Likestodothingsindependently.
Siobhánsavesthenewinformationandclosesthefiles.
49
Sampleactivity2.14(continued)
BeforetheendoftheweekSiobhánworkswithherclassonthecoloursshehasalreadytaught.
Throughfurtherquestioning,sherealisesthatsheneedstodifferentiatebetweenthechildrenwhoare
familiarwithmanycoloursandthosewhostillstrugglewiththeonesalreadycoveredinclass.She
discoversthatKatieandthreeothersrecogniseandcannameallthecoloursshehasplannedtoteach
herclassthatyear.WhilethesechildrenworkinpairsonacomputerprogramaboutcoloursSiobhán
revisesthecolourstaughtsofar.ShepaysextraattentiontoÁinewhostillstruggles.Sheencourages
hertonameandusecolourwordsasoftenaspossible.
AsSiobháncontinuestoobserveandrecordÁine’suseoforallanguagesherealisesthatÁine’s
languagedevelopmentisdelayed.Shespeakstotheschoolprincipalandtheyagreetodiscuss
Siobhan’sconcernswithÁine’smother.She,inturn,agreestoencourageÁinetousemoreextended
formsoflanguage.SiobhánlendsÁine’smumbooksthatfocusoncolourfromtheclasslibrary.They
decidethatÁinemightneedspecialisedhelpwithlanguageandagreetomonitorherprogressoverthe
nextfewmonths.
Siobhánoftenchecksthechildren’sfileswhendoingherclassroomplanning.Beforetheschool’s
parent/teachermeetingsSiobhánreferstothefilesshehasbuiltupovertheweeksoneachchild.
Shefindsthefilesespeciallyhelpfulwhensheiscompletingreportcardsonthechildrenatthe
endoftheyear.
50 51
Sampleactivity2.15 Ashadowstudy
Curriculumarea Social,EnvironmentalandScientificEducation(SESE)
Subject History
Strand Localstudies
Strandunit Mylocalitythroughtheages
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtostudyaperiodorperiodsinthehistoryofthelocalvillage,
town,cityarea,townland,parishorcounty.
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
Therearetwenty-fourchildreninMr.O’Grady’sthirdandfourthclassgroup.InSeptember,Mr.
O’Gradydivideshisclassintoteamstocarryoutahistorytrailinthelocalmuseum.Eachteamisof
mixedabilityandhasatleastonechildfromthirdclassandonechildfromfourthclass.Theteams
havetofollowclues,workoutanswers,andfindcertainexhibitsinordertocompletetheworksheets
Mr.O’Gradyhasprepared.Overthefollowingweekstheteamswillconstructmodelsofsomeofthe
museum’sexhibitsandtheywillreportondesigningandmakingthemodel.Mr.O’Gradyinvitesthe
parentofachildinhisclasstoaccompanythemtothemuseum.Atransitionyearstudentfromalocal
post-primaryschool,whoisonworkexperience,alsogoesalongwiththeclass.
Mr.O’Gradyhasplannedtoobserveoneteamatwork.Asitisearlyintheschoolyearhewantsto
studytheteammembers’socialinteractiontoseewhethertheycanworkwellcollaboratively.Heplans
toobservetheirindividuallearningpreferencestoo.Mr.O’GradynotesthatGráinneemergesasleader
duringtheearlystagesoftheproject.Sheallocatesjobsandorganisestherecordingoftheirfindings.
Anotherchild,James,showslittleinterestintakingnotesorreadingclues.Erin,whoworkseachday
withtheschool’slearningsupportteacher,ishappytofollowtheothersintheteamfromexhibitto
exhibit,butisslowtomakesuggestionsofherown.Antonioaskswhetherhecanusetheschool’s
digitalcamera,whichMr.O’Gradyhasbroughttothemuseumforthechildren’suse.Antoniocarefully
takesashortvideoclipoftheteamastheywork.Hephotographstheexhibittheteamdecidetomodel.
Jamesappearsuninterestedwhileinthemuseum.However,backintheclassroom,atthedesignand
makestage,hesuggestssomewaysofconstructingthemodel.Aftersomediscussiontheotherteam
membersarehappytogoalongwithhisideas.Antoniotakessomefurtherphotographsastheteam
workontheirmodel.WithsomehelpfromthetransitionyearstudentGráinneandAntonioupload
thephotographsandvideocliptotheclassroomPC,andtheyscanintheircompletedworksheets.
Whenthechildrenhavecompletedtheprojecttheirparentsareinvitedtotheschooltoseethework.
Erinproudlyreportstotheclassandparentswhoattendonhowtheteamworkedinthemuseum
andonhowtheybuiltthemodel.Jamespointsoutitsspecialfeatures.AntonioandGráinnerunthe
photographsandscannedworksheetsasaslideshowandtheyplaytheshortvideoclip.
51
Sampleactivity2.15(continued) Mr.O’Gradywritesbriefnotesasthechildrenworkinthemuseum.Hemakesfurthernotesasthey
workinschoolafterwards.Henotestheirdifferentlearningpreferencesandaptitudes.Herecordseach
child’scontributiontothegroup’sworkasitreflectshis/herabilitiesandinterests.
Sampleteacherrecord
Gráinne willingtotakethelead–organised–goodcomputerskills
Antonio goodcomputerskills–verygoodphotographer–likestoworkindividually
Erin oralpresentationofideasverygood
James seemstohavelittleinterestinreadingandwriting–goodideasaboutconstruction–abletotaketheleadtoo
Mr.O’Gradyfilesthenoteshehasmade.Heencourageseachchildinthegrouptoworktohis/her
strengthsduringtherestoftheterm.HediscussesErin’soralpresentationwithhiscolleaguein
learningsupport.TheyagreetohelpErintodevelopherverbalpresentationskillswhileplacingless
emphasis,forthepresent,onherwrittenwork.HeandJamesagreeonalternativewaysoftakingnotes.
Jamesiscontenttouseconceptmapswhichrequirehimtodolesswritingintheshort-term.Laterin
theyearGráinnehelpswiththepublicationoftheschoolnewsletter.Antonio’sphotographicskillsare
muchusedduringtheschool’sspecialeventssuchasSports’Dayandschooltrips.
Mr.O’Gradyplanstoobserveothergroupsastheycarryoutassignmentsthroughtheterm.Heusesthe
noteshemakestoinformhisclassroomplanningandforreportingtoparents.
5�
Sampleactivity2.16 Eventsampling
Curriculumarea/Subject PhysicalEducation(PE)
Strand Games
Strandunit Sending,receivingandtravelling
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtodevelopandpracticearangeofballhandlingskills.
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
Liam’sclass,thirdandfourth,hasbeenworkingondribblingandpassingskillsinbasketballforsome
weeks.BeforemovingontootherskillsLiamwantstocheckoneachchild’sprogress.
HedesignsasimplechecklistontheclassPC.Heincludesthechildren’snames,thedate,
andtheskillshewantstomonitor.Heprintsoutthechecklistand,overthenexttwoPElessons,
hetickstheappropriateboxasheobservesthechilddemonstratingeachskill.Whennecessary
hemakesveryshortnotestohelphimwithhisplanningforthenextphaseofbasketballlessons.
(Seeexamplesbelow.)
Sampleteacherchecklistfor3rdclass
3rdclassDate:25.09.07
Name dribble overheadpass bouncepass chestpass
Micheál ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Bryn losesballifhedoesn’t
watchitallthetime✓ ✓ ✓
Jane ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Brian ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Mary poorhand-eye
co-ordination✓
can’tcontrol
theball✓
Sampleteacherchecklistfor4thclass
4thclassDate:25.09.07
Name dribble overheadpass bouncepass chestpass
Sílelosesballifshedoesn’t
watchitallthetime✓
can’tcontrol
theball✓
Oisín poorhand-eye
co-ordination✓
can’tcontrol
theball✓
Claudia ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Khumar ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Olivia poorhand-eye
co-ordination✓
can’tcontrol
theball✓
Hestoresthechecklistforusewhenspeakingtoindividualchildrenabouttheirskilllevel,andfor
parent/teacherconferencinglaterintheyear.Healsousesthechecklistwhencompilingwritten
reportsonthechildren.
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Teacher-designedtasksandtests
Whatareteacher-designedtasksandtests?Tasksandtestscantaketheformofwrittenororalassessmentsor
practicalassignmentsdevelopedbytheteachertoassesschildren’s
learning.Theycanbeusedthroughouttheschoolyearasabasis
forcontinuousassessment(AfL).Tasksandtestscanalsobeused
attheendofanacademicyearorattheendofaperiodoflearning
aboutacertaintopicforthepurposeofAoL.However,tasksand
testscanservebothAoLandAfLatthesametime,sinceteachers
mayfirstlyreporttheresultsoftasksandtestsandthenusethe
resultstodecidewhattheyshouldteachandhowtheyshould
approacheachtopic.
Whatisthevalueofteacher-designedtasksandtestsasanassessmentmethod?Tasksortestsprovideopportunitiesforchildrentodemonstrate
theirlevelsofunderstanding(ormisunderstanding)andtheirskills,
andoffervaluableinformationthatcanbeusedtoplanfuturework
directedtowardsthechildren’sneeds.
Generalguidelinesfordevelopingateacher-designedpaperandpenciltest• Identifythepurposeofthetestattheoutsetanddesignthetest
tomeetthispurpose.
• Trytoformulatequestionswhichrelatetothechildren’sown
interestsasthishelpsmakethetestrelevantandmotivatingfor
children.
• Startwithsomeeasyquestionsthatallthechildrencananswer
inordertohelpthemovercometheirnervesandfeelconfident
thattheycansucceed.
• Includeatleasttwotypesofproblemsintests.Whenonlyone
typeofproblemiscontainedonthepagethechildrenquickly
pickuponthispattern,anditdiscouragesthemfromreading
andthinkingabouttheproblems.Newproblemscanbemixed
inwithonesthatthechildrencansolvealreadyinorderto
provideopportunitiesforchildrentoshowdifferentdegreesof
integrationofknowledgeanddifferentlevelsofability.
• Asfaraspossiblewritequestionsusingasimplesubject-verb-
objectstructure,evenwhenthismayresultinmorewordsbeing
used.Forexample:Insteadofwriting:
ExampleA
Blue paint is added to a jam-jar containing yellow
coloured water.
The colour of the water changes.
What colour does it become?
Thequestioncouldbephrasedas:
ExampleB
Laura has a jam-jar containing yellow coloured water.
She adds blue paint to the jam-jar.
The colour of the water in the jam-jar changes.
What colour is it now?
Teacher-designedtasksandtests
Whatareteacher-designedtasksandtests?
Usingachild’snameasinexampleBalsoallowsfortheuseof
moresimple,directsentencestructures.
• Avoidusingdoublenegativesinquestions.
• Thinkabouttheoveralllayoutofthetest,andhowthe
informationwillbepresented.Forexample,asinglequestion
shouldbecontainedononepagetohelpchildrenfollow
questionsmoreeasily.
• Givekeyinformationinbold.Theuseofpicturesandlabelled
diagramscanhelptomakequestionsmoreaccessible.
• Varythequestionssothattheyassessthechildren’sreasoning
skillsbehindtheiranswersandthemethodstheyuse.
(SeeAppendixA,pp.89-90formoreinformationondeveloping
testquestions.)
Howareteacher-designedtasksused?Manyteacher-designedtasksinvolvechildrenworkinginsmall
groups.Forassessmentpurposes,ahighlevelofinteraction
betweentheteacherandthegroupofchildrenisrecommended.In
orderforthistooccur,theteachermaydecidethatitisnecessary
forjustonegrouptoworkontheactivitywhiletheremaining
childrenareengagedinotherworkthatdoesnotinvolvemuch
inputorsupervisionfromtheteacher.(SeeAppendixA,p.88for
aguidetousingasampletaskplanningsheet,andAppendixB,
p.94foraphotocopiableplanningsheet.)
FeedbackontasksandtestsTheuseofgradesorexternalrewardssuchasstickersforfeedback
ontasksandtestsisgenerallyoflimitedhelptochildreninAfL.
Themainpurposeofprovidingfeedbackistogiveinformation
tochildrenaboutwheretheyachievedsuccessinrelationtothe
learningintentionsandwheretheymightimprove.Childrenneed
timetoreadortalkaboutthefeedbackaswellastimetomake
improvementsbasedonit.
55
Sampleactivity2.17 Usingatest
Curriculumarea Social,EnvironmentalandScientificEducation(SESE)
Subject Science
Strand Livingthings
Strandunit Plantsandanimals
Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtogroupandsortlivingthingsintosetsaccordingtocertaincharacteristics.
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
Ms.Sawyersisteachingamixedfirstandsecondclassgroupoftwenty-fivechildren.Buildingon
thechildren’sexperienceofsortingandmatchingshebeginstheactivitywiththewholeclassonthe
carpet,lookingatacollectionofpicturesofanimalspinnedtoadisplayboard.Sheasksthechildren
tochooseanodd-one-outandtogiveareasonfortheirchoice.Thepicturesofanimalsarechosento
focusonparticularvocabulary(forexample,mammals,egg-layers,distinguishingcharacteristicsof
insects,andsoon).Shenoticesthatthechildrenfinditeasiertoidentifydifferencesbasedonvisual
features,sosheencouragesthemtoarticulateandexplainwhatthecorrespondingsimilaritiesare.
Shedesignsaquickinformaltestinvolvingdifferentiatedactivitiestoassessthechildren’sthinking
aboutthecharacteristicsrelevanttoscientificclassification.Thistestprovidesthechildrenwith
opportunitiestousespecificvocabularyinawaythatrevealstheirunderstandingoftermsthatare
importantforclassification.
Fortheyoungerandlessablechildrenintheclasssheintroducesagamecalled’IntheRing’.The
childrenworkinpairswithahoopforsortingandsetsofcardswithpicturesofanimals.Sheasksthem
tofindfarmanimalsandputtheminthehoop.Sheasksquestionsabouttheanimalsinthehoopand
thoseoutofthehoop.Ms.Sawyersthenasksthechildrentotakealltheanimalsoutandtoputother
animalsinthehoop(forexample,animalsthathibernate).
Shepresentstheolderandmoreablechildrenintheclasswithagrid(odd-one-outboard)containing
namesofanimals(seebelow).
Samplegridofanimalnames
squirrel polarbear cow
hedgehog penguin bat
swallow butterfly hen
Sheasksthechildrentochoosearoworacolumnandcompleteanodd-one-outtemplaterecording
thesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheanimalsandthentopicktheodd-one-outgivingareason
fortheirchoice.
5� 57
Sampleactivity2.17(continued)
Thefollowingisasamplecompletedtemplate.
Samplecompletedtemplate
JohnandFionacompletethistaskquickly,soMs.Sawyersposesamorechallengingtask.Sheasks
themtomakeuptheirownodd-one-outboardandtofindsomethingthatisthesameabouttwoofthe
animalsandsomethingdifferentaboutthethird.
Agroupofsixchildrenfromsecondclassareaskedtochooseoneanimaleachfromthegridand
tocompleteareportusingatemplateMs.Sawyersgivesthem.(Seesamplereportonp.57.)Any
informationthattheydonotknowtheylookuponthecomputer.Teresa‘googles’thewordsquirreland
locatesanumberofwebsiteswithinformationontheanimal.Ms.Sawyersobservesthatsheisableto
readandunderstandtheinformationpresentedonthewebsitesinordertocompletetheexercise.
WhenthetestsandtasksareoverMs.Sawyerscollectsallthegridsandreports.Inherteacher
recordsshewritesbriefnotesaboutwhateachchilddidandwhatdifficultieshe/sheencountered.
Forexample,sheidentifiesClodaghasnotperformingaswellasexpected.WhileClodaghcameup
withfeaturessuchascolourshedidnotrefertoanyofthemorescientificfeatureswhichtheclass
hadbeenworkingon.Ms.Sawyersmakesanotetore-emphasisesomeofthemainclassifying
featuresofanimalstoClodagh.
57
Ms.Sawyersreturnsthegridsandreportstothechildren,andoverthenextfewdaysshetakesafew
minutestotalktoeachchildabouthis/herwork.Shereturnstomanyofthepointsthataroseduring
theseteacher/childconferencestoplanfollow-onworkonthelife-cycleofanimals.Oneobservation
shemakesisthatthechildrenfinditeasiertodescribethelife-cycleofanimals,whichhavedistinct
stages,suchasafrogorabutterfly,butthattheyhavegreaterdifficultywithmammals.Ms.Sawyers
reflectsontheresultsofthetestandadaptsthenexttopic,theprocessesoflife,withaviewto
incorporatingdifferenttaskssothatmoreemphasisisplacedonthelife-cycleofmammals.
57
Sampleactivity2.17(continued)
Samplereport
5�
Gníomhaíochtshamplach2.18 Agbaintúsáidastaisc
Réimsecuraclaim Teanga
Ábhar Gaeilge
Snáithe Labhairt
Snáithaonad Agúsáidteanga
Cuspóircuraclaim Bachóirgogcuirfíarchumasanpháisteusáidabhaintasleideannaéagsúlachuncabhrú
lecumarsáidéifeachtachadhéanamh.
Leibhéalranga Rangannaahaonisadó
Táanmúinteoiragiarraidhcumaslabharthanagcailíníirangahaonamheastrídhrámabeaga
chumadh.Iarrannsíarbheirtchailíníscéalbeagachumadh.Déanannsiadéseogorúnmharle
cabhairónmúinteoiragusansincuireannsiadandrámaarsiúlgotostachagusáidmímechunan
scéalainsint.Caithfidhnacailíníeilesaranganscéalainsintinabairtísimplí.Iséábharanscéil
nágodtéannCaitríonagodtíansiopachunseacláidacheannachmarbhronntanasmarinniubreithlá
Mhamaí.
Glaonnnacailíníabairtíamach:
Bhí airgead ag Caitríona. Chuaigh sí go dtí an siopa. Cheannaigh sí barra seacláide. Chuir sí an
tseacláid i mála. Chuaigh sí abhaile. Fuair sí paipéar agus rinne sí cárta. Ansin scríobh sí air.
(Taispeánannsíabhfuilscríofaaicidonrang). Tháinig Mamaí isteach. Thug Caitríona an cárta do
Mhamaí. Thug sí an seacláid di freisin. Dúirt sí, ‘Breithlá Shona’, a Mhamaí. Bhí áthas ar Mhamaí.
Bhris sí an tseacláid agus thug sí píosa do Chaitríona.
Cloiseannanmúinteoircuidmhaithbotúnándéanamh,goháiritheósrudénachbhfuilanleagan
ceartdenabriathraáusáid.Achnílsíbuarthafaoiseo.Tasísástafaoiláthairgobhfuilnacailíníag
caint,agusagbainttaitnimhasandráma.Tugannanmúinteoirfaoidearanacailíníalabhraíonngo
minicagusiadsiúdabhíonnciúin.Meallannsíiadsanchuniarrachtadhéanamh.Tugannsíseans
dóibhanmhímadhéanamhnuairabhíonnséarsiúlarís.
Standardisedtesting
Whatisstandardisedtesting?Standardisedtestsareusedtomeasureachild’sreadingand
mathematicalskills,andtodeterminechildren’sprogressin
thoseareas.Informationfromthetestsisimportantgiventhe
vitalroleofliteracyandnumeracyinenablingchildrentoaccess
thefullcurriculum.
Astandardisedtestisanassessmentinstrumentthatcontains
standardisedproceduresforitsadministrationandscoringand
fortheinterpretationofitsresults.Inotherwords,thetestis
administered,scoredandinterpretedthesamewaynomatter
whenorwhereitisused.Anumberofstandardisedtestsavailable
toIrishschoolshavebeennormedontheIrishprimaryschool
population.Teacherswillbefamiliarwiththese.Normedmeans
thatthetestsallowtheteachertocompareachild’sperformance
onthetestwiththeperformanceofchildrenofthatclasslevel
orageinIrishprimaryschools.Thetestitemsalsorelateto
thecontentofthePrimary School Curriculum.Whenusedin
combinationwithinformationfromotherassessmentmethods
standardisedtestresultscontributetotheaccuracyofthe
teacher’smonitoring,andassistinidentifyingtheneedsof
individualchildren.
Howisassessmentinformationgatheredandrecordedusingstandardisedtesting?AllIrishprimaryschoolsarerequiredtoadministerstandardised
testsinEnglishandmathematicstotheirpupilstwiceduring
theirprimaryschoolyears—attheendoffirstclassorbeginning
ofsecondclassandattheendoffourthclassorbeginningof
fifthclass.Thetestsareusuallyadministeredbytheclassteacher
underconditionsspecifiedinthetest’smanual,inordertoensure
thatthetestresultsarevalid.Itisimportanttopreparewellfor
theadministrationofthetests.Thetestmanualprovidesdetailed
instructionsinthisregard,butitisofparticularimportanceto
ensurethattheclassroomconditionsandtimingaresuitable,and
thatallnecessarymaterialsarepreparedinadvance.
Teachersmarkandscorethetestsassetoutinthetestmanual.
Themanualalsocontainsatemplateforrecordingstandardised
testinformation.Theindividualchild’stestresultsarealso
recordedinhis/herPupilFile.(SeeSection4,p.79formore
informationonthePupilFile.)Recordingtheseresultsonthe
child’sschoolReportCardisdiscussedlaterinSection4also.
Howaretheresultsofstandardisedtestsinterpreted?Theteacherneedstobefamiliarwithkeyconceptssuchas
rawscores,standardscores,percentileranks,andSTenscores
wheninterpretingandrecordingtestresults.Theseconceptsare
explainedinthetestmanualandtheyarealsosummarised
inTable1.
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Itisimportanttousearangeofassessmentinformationwhen
makingdecisionsaboutachild’sprogressandachievement.The
teacher’sregularobservationofthechild’sclassroomperformance
andparticipation,aswellasotherrecordedevidenceofthechild’s
learning,shouldcomplementthestandardisedtestscore.Teachers
often(butnotalways)findthatstandardisedtestresultsconfirm
theirjudgementsandobservations.Itisalsoimportantforclass
teacherstoconsultwithrelevantlearningsupportand/orresource
teacherstoprovideafullerpictureofthechild’sprogress,strengths
andweaknesses.Thisisparticularlyimportantwhenpreparing
reportsforparents.
Teachersareadvisedagainstover-relianceuponasingletest
score.Cautionisadvisablebecausethefollowingfactorsneedto
beconsidered:
• Astandardisedtestmaymeasureachild’sperformanceon
thattestonthatday,butthisisnotacertainmeasureofa
child’sability.
• Thereisamarginoferrorinstandardisedtestswhichmeansthat
theresultmaybeinerrortoacertaindegreeaboveor
belowthechild’stestscore.
• Children’sperformanceontestsbecomesmorestableovertime.
• Extraneousfactorscanaffectthechild’sperformanceonthe
test,forexamplethechildmayhavebeenunwell,orparticularly
nervous.
• Coachingachildforthetestwilldistorttheoutcomes.
• Despitetheteacher’svigilance,copyingcanoccur.
• Achild’sleveloflanguagedevelopmentisasignificantfactor
intestperformance.Forexample,achildwithpoorreading
skillsmayhavedifficultyinreadingthetextofmathematical
questions.ForchildrenwhosefirstlanguageisnotEnglish,the
testmaybeinappropriate.Thetestmanualwillprovidedetails
ofthesituationswherethetestsarenotsuitable.(Teachersmay
alsorefertotheDESCircularletter0138/2006ofDecember
2006,Supporting Assessment in Primary Schools.)
Howcanstandardisedtestresultsbeused?Theresultsofstandardisedtestsaregenerallyusedinprimary
schoolsinIrelandforthefollowingpurposes:
• toidentifychildrenwithlearningdifficultiessothatappropriate
supportscanbeputinplace,including,ifnecessary,learning
supportprovision.Whilethetestoutcomesmayserveaninitial
screeningfunction,additionaldiagnostictestingwillberequired
todeterminethechild’sspecificlearningneeds.(Teachersshould
refertoLearning Support Guidelines(DES,2000)).
• toidentifychildrenwithexceptionallyhighscoressothat
appropriatelearningexperiencescanbeprovidedforthem.
(TeachersmayfindtheGuidelines for teachers of exceptionally
able students,(NCCA,2007)usefulinsupportingthese
children.)3
• toreporttoparentsontheirchildren’sachievementandprogress.
StandardisedtestingisgenerallyseenasAoL,indicatingthechild’s
performanceattheendofaperiodoflearning.Standardisedtests
areadministeredbysomepost-primaryschoolswhenchildren
aretransferringfromprimaryschool.Inthiscase,thetestresults
maybeusedtoallocatechildrentoclassgroupingsortoidentify
childrenrequiringsupports.Theadvicethatcautionshould
beexercisedwhenmakingdecisionsonthebasisofasingle
standardisedtestscoreisevenmorepertinentherewhenthe
stakesarehigher.
StandardisedtestsmayalsobeusedforAfL,providinginformation
totheteacherthatisusefulinplanningfurtherlearninginliteracy
andnumeracy.Forexample,teachersmaylookatasetof
classresultstoseewhetheranysignificantpatternsorfeatures
areapparent,especiallyinthedistributionofthescores.These
patternscanprovidetheteacherwithinformationtoadapt
his/herteachingmethods,differentiationstrategies,contentof
thelearningexperiences,andsoontomeetthechildren’slearning
needsmoreeffectively.School-wideresultsarealsousefulasthey
mightindicatetheneedforattentiontoparticularskillsorareasof
learningacrossdifferentclasslevels.
Sampleactivity2.19onthenextpageshowshowaparticularset
ofstandardisedtestresultsinEnglishreadingareinterpreted.
3 TheNCCAplanstopublishtheseguidelinesinautumn2007.
Table1:Overviewofconceptsassociatedwithstandardisedtestscores
Nameofscore Whatthescoremeans
Rawscore Thisisasimplecountofthenumberofitemsforwhichthechildhassuppliedcorrectanswers.
Itisoflittleuseinreportingonachild’sperformance.
Standardscore Standardscoresaretransformationsofrawscores,andusuallyrangebetween55and145,withanaverageof100.
Percentilerank Thepercentilerankindicatesthepercentageoftherelevantclassoragegroupwhichhasscoredequalto
orlowerthanthischild’sscore.Itdoesnotmeanthepercentageoftestitemsthechildansweredcorrectly.
STenscore STenscoresareaten-pointscalewith1representingthelowestcategoryand10thehighest.
Thesearederivedfromstandardscores.(SeeTable3,p.63fordescriptorsforexplainingSTenscores.)
�� �3
Sampleactivity2.19 Interpretingstandardisedtest resultsinEnglishreading
Curriculumarea Language
Subject English
Classlevel Thirdandfourthclasses
Itcanhappenthatachild’sscoresinReadingVocabularyandReadingComprehensionshow
apparentlylargedifferencesas,forexample,inStephenO’Brien’stestresultsshownbelow
(fromthirdclass).
ReadingVocabulary ReadingComprehension TotalReading
RS SS PR RS SS PR RS SS PR
25 109 73 14 93 32 39 102 55
NotingthedifferencebetweenStephen’sscores,histeachercheckedtherelevanttestmanualto
helpherinterpretthescores.
Althoughtheteacherrealisedthatsuchdifferencescanoccurbychance,shewonderedwhetherthis
indicatedthathehadareadingdifficulty.YetStephen’sTotalReadingStandardScorewas102,which
suggestedhewasanaveragereader.HereitisusefultolookatthedifferencebetweentheStandard
Scores.Iftheydifferbymorethan15points—astheydoinStephen’scaseinReadingVocabulary
andReadingComprehension—thenarealdifferenceinachievementispossible.Furthertestingmay
beadvisabletodeterminewhetherStephendoesneedsupport.ItshouldalsobenotedthattheTotal
Readingscorecanbeagoodindicatorofachild’slearningneeds,asittotalsthescoresforboth
VocabularyandComprehension.
Howshouldtheresultsofstandardisedtestsbereportedtoparents?Reportingtoparentsisaboutsharingassessmentinformation
forthebenefitofthechild.Itisimportantthatteachersdevelop
thelanguagetomakestandardisedtestresultsaccessibletoall
parents.Itcanbeusefultoexpressthechild’sperformanceonthe
standardisedtestasbeingconsistent withornot consistent withthe
child’sprogressasassessedinotherwaysbytheteacher,including
tasksandtests,aswellasobservation.(SeeSection2,pp.14-58
forinformationonotherassessmentmethods.)
Apercentilerankmayseemappealingforitsapparentsimplicity,
butexplainingthedifferencebetweenapercentageandapercentile
toparentsisnotalwayseasy.Asimilarchallengearisesin
explainingtherelationshipbetweenrawscoresandstandardscores.
STenscores,whichbandarangeofpercentilescorestogether,may
bemoreeasilycommunicatedandinterpreted.(ThetermSTenis
derivedfromStandard TEN.)Itisimportantthattheteacherrefers
totherelevanttestmanualasitcontainstableswhichexpressthe
child’sperformanceinthesedifferentways.
Verbaldescriptorsareusefulwhensharingstandardisedtestresults
withparentsandexplainingtothemwhatthescoresindicateabout
theirchild’sachievement.Tables2and3onp.63giveoverviewsof
testscoresandwhattheyindicateaboutthechild’sachievement.
Testmanualsalsoprovideteacherswithdescriptors,andagainitis
importantthattheteacherreferstotherelevantmanualwhenusing
thesedescriptors.Inthecaseofsometeststhedescriptorsare
linkedtostandardscorerangeswhichteachersmaybefamiliarwith
throughpsychologists’reports.ThedescriptorsusedinTable2reflect
thoseusedinthestandardisedtestsnormedontheIrishprimary
schoolpopulation.
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Table2:Interpretingstandardscoresforparents
StandardScoreRange Descriptor Coverage
130andabove Wellaboveaverage/Extremelyhigh 2%
120-129 Aboveaverage/High 7%
110-119 Highaverage 16%
90-109 Average 50%
80-89 Lowaverage 16%
70-79 Belowaverage/Low 7%
Below70 Wellbelowaverage/Extremelylow 2%
Table3presentsanalternativerepresentationofscoresinfive
ratherthansevencategories.Eachbandaboveandbelowthe
averagedenotesone-sixthofpupilswhiletheaveragebandinthe
tableaboverepresentsone-thirdofpupils.
Table3:InterpretingSTenscoresforparents
StandardScoreRange STenScoreRange Descriptor Coverage
115andabove 8-10 Wellaboveaverage Topone-sixthofpupils
108-114 7 Highaverage One-sixthofpupils
93-107 5-6 Average Middleone-thirdofpupils
85-92 4 Lowaverage One-sixthofpupils
84andbelow 1-3 Wellbelowaverage Bottomone-sixthofpupils
Whicheverscoreisusedforreporting,itismoreimportanttomake
parentsawareofthesignificanceofthescorethantoprovideafull
understandingofthemeansbywhichitwasderived.
Thisapproachtorepresentingthescoreshastheadvantageof
equatingtheSTenscoreswithadescriptorthatmayprovidea
familiarbasisforreportingchildren’sachievementtotheirparents.
Sampleactivties2.20and2.21onthefollowingpagesshowhow
teachersmightreportindividualchildren’sscoresonstandardised
teststotheirparents.
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Sampleactivity2.20 Reportingstandardisedtestresultsinmathematics
Curriculumarea/Subject Mathematics
Classlevel Fifthandsixthclasses
NiallcompletedastandardisedtestinmathematicsinMayattheendoffifthclass.
Hisscoreswereasfollows:
Rawscore Standardscore Percentilerank STenscore
72 116 86 8
WhenNiall’smothercalledtotheschooltocollecthisendofyearreporttheteacher,Éamonn,
explainedthetestresultstoher.HetoldherthatNiallhaddoneverywellasaSTenscoreof8wasa
highaverageresult.Thisscorewasconsistentwiththeresultsofstandardisedtestsovertheprevious
yearsaswellaswithNiall’sperformanceonclassroomtestssetbytheteacher.
Éamonnhadavailedofthediagnosticelementofthestandardisedtest.Hehadcalculatedthe
‘%correct’foreachsectionofthetestandwasthereforeabletoidentifyproblem-solvingasanarea
thatrequiredsomeattentionforNiall.Thistalliedwithhisnotesofregularclassroomobservations.
Niall’smotheraskedwhethershecouldhelpNiallathomeinanyway.Éamonnexplainedsome
problem-solvingstrategiesthatNiallusedinclassandcouldbeencouragedtouseinhishomework.
Headdedthathewouldforwardhisadviceonthis,aswellasthetestresults,toNiall’steacher
forthefollowingyear.
Sampleactivity2.21ReportingstandardisedtestresultsinEnglishreading
Curriculumarea Language
Subject English
Classlevel Firstandsecondclasses
CiaracompletedastandardisedreadingtestinEnglishattheendoffirstclasswhenshewas6years
and10monthsold.
Class-basedscores Age-basedscores Readingage
RS SS STen PR RS SS STen PR RS RA
18 77 3 6 18 87 4 19 18 5.08
Mrs.Rooneycheckedtheappropriatetestmanual.Shediscussedherconcernswiththeschool
principal.TheynotedthatCiara’sage-basedscoreswerehigherthanherclass-basedscores.They
realisedthatthishappenedbecauseCiarawasyoungerthanaveragefortheendoffirstclassandage-
basedscorestakeaccountofwhetherachildisyoungerorolderthantheaveragefortheirclasslevel.
ThetestresultsshowedclearlythatCiarawasstrugglingwhencomparednationallytootherchildren
infirstclass.Mrs.Rooneyandtheprincipalrecognisedthatitwasperfectlyvalidtoconcentrateon
thelowerofthetwoscoreswhenrecommendingthatCiarawouldhavefurtherdiagnostictesting.Mrs.
RooneythenmetCiara’sfather.
Sheexplainedthetestresultstohim.ShesaidthatCiara’sresultsindicatedthatshemightneed
learningsupportinEnglishasherscoreswouldbeclassifiedasloworlowaverage.Mrs.Rooneysaid
thatCiarawouldmeetwiththelearningsupportteacherafterthesummerholidaysfordiagnostictests,
whichwouldgiveaclearerpictureofherlearningneedsinthisarea.
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Acontinuumofmethods
Thissectionpresentedacontinuumofeightassessmentmethods
fromchild-ledmethodssuchasself-assessmentandconferencing
tomoreteacher-ledmethods,includingteacher-designedtasksand
tests,andstandardisedtests.Eachofthesemethodscanprovide
informationtohelptheteachercreateanaccurateaccountofthe
child’slearningacrossthecurriculumforbothAfLandAoL.
Table4providesasummaryofsomeofthepointsforconsideration
whenusingtheeightmethods.Theplanning and organising column
Table4:Somepointstoconsiderwhenusingtheeightassessmentmethods
Planningandorganising Resources Strengths
Self-assessment Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Agreecriteriaforsuccess.
Developchildren’s
self-reflectionskills.
•
•
•
promptquestionsandtools
forchildren
timeforchildrentoreflect
ontheirwork
•
•
Promotesthechild’s
independenceandmotivation.
Providesinformationfrom
thechild’sperspective.
•
•
Conferencing Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Organiselearningactivitiesfor
therestofthechildren.
Developchildren’s
self-reflectionskills.
Identifyappropriatelanguage.
•
•
•
•
sample(s)ofchildren’swork
timetotalktothechild,parent
orcolleague(s)
•
•
Providesinformationfrom
thechild’sperspective.
Buildshome-schoollinks.
Fosterscollegiality–learning
andsharingwithcolleagues.
•
•
•
Portfolioassessment Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Developchildren’s
self-assessmentand
conferencingskills.
•
•
materialsand/orsoftwareto
createtheportfolios
storagespace
timetotalktoeachchild
abouthis/herportfolio
•
•
•
Promotesthechild’s
independenceandmotivation.
Supportsself-assessment.
Providessamplesofchildren’s
workasevidenceoflearning.
Providesinformationfromthe
child’sperspective.
•
•
•
•
Conceptmapping Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Developchildren’sconcept
mappingskills.
Selectappropriatemaps.
•
•
•
materialsand/orsoftwareto
createtheconceptmaps
timetointerpretthemaps
•
•
Providesvisualrepresentations
ofhowandwhatchildrenthink.
Providesevidenceofchanges
inchildren’sthinkingovertime.
•
•
referstoshort-termactivitiessuchasclarifyingthepurposeofthe
assessment,andtomorelonger-termactivitiessuchassupporting
developmentalprocessesandexperiencesforchildren.The
resourcescolumnreferstotangibleresourcessuchassamplesof
children’swork,aswellastoorganisationalresourcessuchastime.
Finally,the strengths columnpresentssomeofthebenefitsofusing
eachmethod.
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Planningandorganising Resources Strengths
Questioning Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Formulatedifferenttypes
ofquestions.
Decidethetimingofquestions.
•
•
•
questionswhichsupporthigher-
orderthinking
timetousedifferenttypesof
questionswithdifferentchildren
•
•
Providesimmediatefeedback
onchildren’slearning.
Usuallyrequiresfewtangible
resources.
Modelsgoodquestioning
forchildren.
•
•
•
Teacherobservation Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Plansuitabletasksforthe
childrenbeingobserved.
Organiseactivitiesforthe
childrennotbeingobserved,
whichminimiseinterruption
totheteacher.
•
•
•
observationtemplates
orchecklists
timeduringclasstoobserve
•
•
Providesimmediatefeedbackon
children’slearning.
Canbeplannedorspontaneous.
•
•
Teacher-designed
tasksandtests
Clarifythepurpose;decide
whatinformationwillbe
recordedandwhere.
Preparetestquestionsandtasks
whichdemonstrateparticular
understandingorskills.
•
•
resourcesforteacher-designed
tasksandtests
timeduringclasstoobserve
tasks
•
•
Providesevidenceoflearningin
context(tasks).
Providessamplesofchildren’s
workasevidenceoflearning
(tests).
•
•
Standardisedtesting Clarifythepurpose;agreewhen
duringtheyearthetestswillbe
taken;decidewhatinformation
willberecordedandwhere.
Readthetestmanual.
Choosetheappropriatedayand
time,andorganisetheclass.
Planactivitiesforchildrennot
takingthetest.
•
•
•
•
testbookletperchild
testmanual
timetoadministerthetest
timetomarkandinterpret
theresults
•
•
•
•
Indicatesachievementcompared
toperformancenationally.
Helpstoidentifychildren’s
individuallearningstrengthsand
weaknesses.
•
•
SECTION 3
A CLOSER LOOK
AT AFL AND AOL
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Section3AcloserlookatAfLandAoLThissectioncomparesandcontraststhetwoapproachesto
assessment(presentedinSection1),AfLandAoL,according
totheactivitiesincludedinthedefinitionofassessmentin
Section1andbelow.AsoutlinedinSection1,theseactivities
overlapandoftenhappensimultaneously.
Assessmentistheprocessofgathering,recording,
interpreting,using,andreportinginformationabout
achild’sprogressandachievementindeveloping
knowledge,skillsandattitudes.
Samplesofclassroompracticeareincludedinthissectionalong
withreferencestotheassessmentmethodsdescribedinSection
2.Discussionbeginswiththefirstassessmentactivity,gathering
assessment information.
1.GatheringassessmentinformationGatheringinformationforAfLisgenerallypartoftheclassroom
routine,anddoesnotbreaktheflowofteachingandlearning.To
thechild,aquestionandanswersessionwiththeteachercan
beaconversation,buttheskilledteachercangleanvaluable
assessmentinformationfromitaboutwhatandhowthechildis
learning.Alearningsupportteacherforreadingexplains,I am
constantly observing and listening to the children and I regularly
make changes to my plans to take account of what I have seen
and heard.Inthefollowingexamplesteachersdescribehowthey
gatherassessmentinformationunobtrusively,anduseittofurther
children’slearning.
During the second lesson on the notation of tenths as decimals
I asked the children to shade in point five on their worksheet
figure. When I had reviewed a selection of attempts I realised
that the majority of the class had not grasped the concept. I
proceeded to revise the basic concept using labels applied to
coloured cardboard strips. This was much more effective, as I
discovered from later questioning. (Teacher,Thirdclass)
In reading the children’s written English work I noted some
grammatical errors that were being made by a number of
children. I planned a series of activities aimed at correcting
these errors, targeting one error each week. (Teacher,Fifthclass)
Noticing the poor nutritional quality of some children’s lunches,
I planned a series of lessons integrating SPHE and Science—
designing and creating a healthy snack.(Teacher,Seniorinfants)
AfLalsoinvolvesthelearneractively.Theteachercansharethe
learningintentionwiththechildren,whichinvolvesthechildren
discussingwiththeteacherwhatitisthattheyareabouttolearn.
Inaddition,thechildcanconsiderwiththeteacherwhatthe
learningcriteriaare.Forexample,theymightidentifythekey
elementsofgoodstorywritingusingarubric.Theseelementsof
AfLofferwaysofinvolvingthechildinreflectingonandassessing
his/herownwork.
Bycontrast,AoLgenerallytakesplaceattheendofalearning
period.Theteachercanuseavarietyofassessmenttoolsincluding
spellingtestsorstandardisedtests.Theteachercanalsouse
methodssuchasquestioningandobservationofachild’slearning.
Theteacherleadstheassessmentandthechildisawarethat
he/sheisbeingassessed.Below,teachersdescribesomewaysthey
gatherinformationthroughAoL.
After a series of lessons on the Normans I brought my fifth
class to visit our local Norman castle. We had prepared for the
visit and looked for some of the main details in the building.
When we returned to class I asked the children to draw their
impression of the castle, showing as many of these details as
they could recall.(Teacher,Fourthclass)
Tar éis sraith ceachtanna ar an saol sa chathair d’iarr mé ar na
daltaí cur síos a dhéanamh ar phictiúr den sráid chun a gcumas
labhartha a mheas. (Múinteoir,Rangasé)
When we had worked with long multiplication for some weeks
I set the class a number of problems requiring them to use the
operation. It showed me that, while the majority of the class had
a sound understanding of the use of long multiplication, their
computation needed more work. (Teacher,Fifthclass)
2.RecordingassessmentinformationThepurposeofanassessmentdetermineswhatandhow
informationisrecorded.Theteachercanmakeimmediateuse
ofmuchoftheinformationgatheredfromAfLinstructuring
andsupportingthechild’slearning.Theteachercanjudgewhat
assessmentinformationisimportantforrecordinginhis/her
notes.Forexample,theteacherwouldnotrecordtheminutiaeof
aclassdiscussionbutmightnotetheunexpectedlyenthusiastic
contributionofachildwhorarelyparticipated.Similarly,the
teacherisunlikelytonotedetailederrorsinmathematicsworkbut
mightrecordthatmuchoftheclassshowedevidenceofrequiring
additionalsupportincomputationskills.Thechildtoocanrecord
informationabouthis/herprogressinlearning,forexampleaspart
ofportfolioassessment.
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InthecaseofAoL,theresultsoftestsattheendofalearning
periodareusuallyrecordedbytheteacher,usedtowritereports,
andstoredinthechild’sPupilFile.Examplesofassessment
informationrecordedinthiswayincludestandardisedtestresults
andchildren’sscoresonteacher-designedtests.
3.InterpretingassessmentinformationTheteacher’sknowledgeofthechildreninhis/herclassinforms
his/herinterpretationofinformationfromAfL.Theteacherdecides
whatinformationisvaluableandhowitcanbeusedtoenhancethe
child’slearning.InformationgainedfromAfLcanyieldadetailed
pictureofthechild’slearningandenabletheteachertomakemore
informeddecisionswhenplanningfordifferentiatedlearning.
Childrenandtheirparentscanalsocontributetotheinterpretation
ofassessmentinformation.Skillsofself-assessmentshouldbe
developedinallchildrensotheycanassesshowwelltheyhave
masteredskillsandknowledge.(SeeSection2,pp.14-22).When
theteacher’sfeedbackemphasisescriteriaforsuccessfullearning
ithelpsthechildtoassesshis/herownwork,andgivesthechild
directionforfuturework.Parentscanalsohelpbuildamore
completepictureofthechildasalearnerbytalkingtotheteacher
abouthowthechildlearnsathomeandaboutintereststhechild
pursuesoutsideschool.Itcanalsobeusefulfortheteacherto
knowthenatureofhomeworksupportprovidedbyparents.
TheinterpretationofinformationfromAoLcandependonthe
natureoftheparticulartestorassignment.Instandardisedtestsof
literacyandnumeracy,forexample,meaningsareattachedtothe
scoresthatchildrenachieve.Statisticaltablesranktheindividual
child’sscorerelativetonationalnorms,ortoclass-relatedor
age-relatednorms.Theteacherusestechnicalknowledgeto
interpretthesenorms,aswellashis/herprofessionaljudgement.In
interpretingtheinformation,theteachermakesvalidandreliable
judgementsbasedonsufficientevidence.(SeeSection2,pp.60-65.)
Forinstance,achild’sscorethatisstronglyatvariancewiththe
child’spreviousgeneralperformanceinthatsubjectmeritscloser
inspection.Theteachercanalsoseektheviewsofcolleagues
ininterpretingtestscores.Helpingparentstounderstandthe
informationisanotheroftheteacher’sprofessionalresponsibilities.
4.UsingassessmentinformationTheprincipaluseofinformationfromAfListoimprovethe
child’slearningonadailybasis.Whentheteachernotesachild’s
difficultiesastheyoccur,orgainsinsightintoachild’spreferred
waysoflearning,theteachercanusethisinformationtoadapt
his/herteachingtosuitthechild,asillustratedbelow:
I find that when I watch the children at work I learn something
about their learning. It may be that Ciara opts out when I
set groups to work, or Shane’s question tells me he hasn’t
understood what I have just taught. I might plan to spend more
time with Shane during a follow-on activity in the next lesson.
(Teacher,Secondclass)
AfLshouldactivelyinvolvethechildaswellastheteacher.In
additiontosharingthelearningintentionandsharingthelearning
criteria,theteacheralsoprovidesfeedbacktothechildren.
Feedbackthatfocusesonthelearningortaskinhandindicates
nextsteps,pointstoachievementandchallenges,andhasa
positiveimpactonchildren’slearning.
When I get my work back from Mrs Ryan she always marks
something good I have written, but as well, she tells me some
way I can make my writing better the next time. I like to know
how I can improve my work.(Cathy,Fourthclass)
Developingtheskillsofself-assessmentinchildrenisagradual
processthatcanbeginatanearlyage.Whentheteacherasks
childreninaninfantclasswhattheylikeabouttheirworkorthe
workofotherchildrenhe/sheistakingthefirststepsindeveloping
thechildren’sassessmentskills.
Allassessmentinformationshouldleadtoimprovementinthe
child’slearning.Justhowtheinformationisusedisrelatedto
theoriginalpurposeoftheassessmentactivity.Thepurposeof
AoLisoftenusedtodeterminetheextenttowhichcurriculum
objectiveshavebeenmet.Theteachercanusethisinformationin
differentwaysinplanningthenextstepsinthechild’slearning.For
instance,theassessmentinformationmayindicatethatrevisionof
contentisrequiredinaparticularmathematicalconcept,orthat
greateremphasisneedstobeplacedoncomprehensionskills.This
informationisusefultotheteacherwhenitisgatheredduringthe
courseoftheschoolyear.Informationgatheredattheendofthe
yearisalsousefultotheteacherinplanningtheprogrammefor
thenextyear.Aggregatedinformationfromstandardisedtesting
caninformwhole-schoolplanninginliteracyandnumeracy.
Aprincipalcomments:
I reviewed the results of the standardised tests carried
out in maths along with the staff member who has
responsibility for the Mathematics Curriculum. It was
clear that computation skills were not strong across
the school so we invited in the Cuiditheoir who helped
us as a staff to formulate strategies to improve the
situation. We are implementing these this year, focusing
intervention on first to third classes.
InformationfromAoLisusedtocompileachild’sreport,whichcan
informdiscussionbetweenteacherandparentsaboutthechild’s
learningstrengthsandweaknesses.
5.ReportingassessmentinformationTeachersandchildrenoftenshareinformationfromAfLonadaily
basis.Childrenconstantlycommunicateinformationtoteachers.
Itcanbeachallengeforteacherstotuneintochildren’smultiple
channelsofcommunicationandunderstandwhattheinformation
meansforeachchild.Developingself-assessmentskillsandregular
useofportfolios,rubricsandlearninglogs,empowerschildrenas
communicatorsofassessmentinformation—informationtowhich
teacherscanrespond.(SeeAppendixA,pp.84-85.)
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Forexample,someofthisinformationiscommunicatedtoparents
throughhomeworkandthiscanpromotecontinuityinlearning
betweenhomeandschool.Teacherscanhighlightforparents
somewaysinwhichtheycansupportthechild’slearningathome,
particularlythroughactivitiesinliteracyandnumeracy.Teachers
canalsocommunicateassessmentinformationregularlyto
children,parents,otherteachers,andotherrelevantprofessionals.
AoLinformationisgenerallycommunicatedthroughparent/teacher
meetings,reportcards,staffmeetings,andsoon.Teacherscan
interpretassessmentinformationforparents,highlightinghowit
canbeusedtoimprovethechild’slearning.Likewise,parentscan
respondtotheoutcomesofassessment.Thusthereisatwo-way
processbetweenteacherandparent.
There is a continuing process through which the child’s formal
learning experience in school interacts with the less formal
developmental experience of the home and the family.
(Primary School Curriculum, Introduction,p.21)
Thissectionhasdefinedanddescribedtwocomplementary
approachestoassessment,AssessmentforLearningand
AssessmentofLearning,whichbuildontheassessment
informationpresentedinthePrimary School Curriculum.Together,
thetwoapproachesprovideteacherswithevidenceofchildren’s
progressandachievementinlearning.Thisinformationenables
teacherstomakedecisionsaboutadjustingteachingtomeet
children’slearningneedsmoreeffectively.Inessence,AfLand
AoLenableteacherstocreatethemostsupportivelearning
environmentsinwhichchildrenaremoremotivatedtolearn.
SECTION 4
SCHOOL POLICY
ON ASSESSMENT
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Section4SchoolpolicyonassessmentThepurposeofthissectionistoassistschoolsinconstructingtheir
policyonassessment.TheEducationAct(1998)placesastatutory
obligationoneveryschooltodrawupaschoolplan.
The School Plan is a statement of the educational philosophy
of the school, its aims and how it proposes to achieve them. It
deals with the total curriculum and with the organisation of the
school’s resources … (DepartmentofEducationandScience,
1999,p.8)
Therefore,thedevelopmentofschoolpolicyonassessmentissetin
thewidercontextofschooldevelopmentandplanning,andfollows
theSchoolDevelopmentPlanningmodelasshowninFigure4.
Furtherinformationonthismodelisavailableonthewebsite
oftheSchoolDevelopmentPlanningSupport(Primary)(SDPS)at
http://www.sdps.ie.
Figure4:SchoolDevelopmentPlanningmodel
Theplanningprocessiscyclical,enablingschoolstoenterthe
processatthestagerelevanttotheirownuniquesituation.Some
schoolswillhavealreadydevelopedanassessmentpolicyandmay
beatthestageofreviewingtheirpolicyinlightoftheseguidelines.
Othersmaybeatthedesignstage.
Itisimportantthatallmembersoftheteachingstaffareinvolvedin
developing,implementingandreviewingtheassessmentpolicy.It
isalsoimportantthatthepolicyformulatedbyschoolsisevaluated
andreviewedregularlysothatitcancontinuallymeetthechanging
needsofschoolsandtheirchildren.Parentsshouldalsobeinvolved
intheassessmentpolicy.Thiscreatesasenseofownershiparound
thepolicyandallowsformoreeffectiveimplementation.Likeall
policies,aschoolpolicyonassessmentreflectsthecorevaluesand
ethosoftheschool.
Highlighttheschool’s
currentstrengthsand
identifyareas
requiringaction.
Assesstheeffectof
plannedchangeon
teachingandlearning.
Prioritise
Provideclearguidelines
onhowtoaddresspriorities
overtime–intheschool
developmentplan.
Implementthechanges
inresponsetothe
identifiedpriorities
assetoutintheplan.
Checkinonprogress
regularlyrelativeto
theplan.
Review
Identifytheareasinneed
ofimmediateattention.
Plan
Implement
Monitor
Evaluate
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ContentoftheassessmentpolicyTheEducationAct(1998)requiresschoolstoregularly evaluate
students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the
students and their parents.Infulfillingthisrequirement,schools
developassessmentprocedures,whichprovideanaccurateaccount
ofchildren’sprogressandachievement.Thehow,whenandwhere
oftheseproceduresareoutlinedintheschool’sassessmentpolicy.
Broadlyspeaking,theschool’sassessmentpolicycontainsawritten
statementofaims,andoutlineshowtheschoolwilluseassessment
tomeettheneedsofchildren,teachers,parents,andotherrelevant
parties.Itmayincludeanoutlineof
• howthepolicywasdeveloped
• thepolicy’srelationshiptotheschool’smission
statementandethos
• thepurposeofthepolicy
• staffrolesandresponsibilitiesforthepolicy
• thepolicycontent—theassessmentprocessintheschool
−thepurposesofassessment
−assessmentmethods(gatheringassessmentinformation)
−interpreting,recording,using,andreporting
assessmentinformation
• implicationsforstafftrainingandresources
• reviewandevaluationprocedures.
ThisisadaptedfromPrompt questions towards drafting an
assessment policyonthewebsiteofSDPS(Primary)at
www.sdps.ie/policies/Assessment.doc.
Theassessmentpolicyalsoneedstoclarifywhenandhowthe
schoolwilluseICTinassessingchildren’slearning,inrecording
andstoringassessmentinformation,andtherationalethatgoverns
thisprocess.
Promptquestionsthatcanfacilitatethedraftingofanassessment
policyareavailableonthewebsiteofSDPS(Primary)at
http://www.sdps.ie.Itisimportantthatthepolicyrefersexplicitlyto
alloftheaspectshighlightedabove.Thedetailoftheassessment
processintheschoolshouldbeakeyelementofthepolicy.(See
thefifthbulletabove.)Inthisregard,thepolicyneedstoanswer
thefollowingquestionsabouttheschool’spracticesinassessing
children’slearning:
• Whyshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed?
• Whatshouldbeassessed?
• Whenshouldassessmenthappen?
• Howshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed?
• Whereshouldassessmentinformationberecorded?
• Howshouldassessmentinformationberecorded?
• Withwhomshouldassessmentinformationbeshared?
• Howshouldassessmentinformationbesharedwithothers?
• Forhowlongshouldassessmentinformationbestored?
Theremainderofthissectionoftheguidelinesrespondstothese
questions.Theimplicationsoflegislationforpolicyandpracticeare
highlightedthroughout.(SeeAppendixC,pp.95-96foradetailed
summaryoftheimplicationsofthedifferentActsforschools.)
Whyshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed?AsoutlinedinSection1,assessmentispartofgoodteachingand
learning.Itprovidestheteacherwithinformationtomakedecisions
aboutwhatandhowthechildislearning.Thisinformationinturn
enablestheteachertoidentifythenextstepsinprogressingthe
child’slearningandadapthis/herteachingstrategiesand/orthe
learningactivities,asappropriate.Usingassessmentinformation
toinformteachingandlearninginthiswaycanmakelearning
amoreenjoyableandchallengingexperienceforthechild,and
cancontributetoamoreenrichingandrewardingprofessional
experiencefortheteacher.
Whatshouldbeassessed?Theschool’sassessmentpolicyshouldaddresseachcurriculum
area/subjectofthePrimary School Curriculum,andencompass
theknowledgethechildacquires,theskillsthechildlearns,the
attitudesandvaluesthechilddevelopsandthedispositionsthe
childshows.Itisimportantthatallcurriculumareas/subjectsare
assessedbyappropriatemethods.Certainmethodsaremoresuited
tocertainassessmentpurposesandtocertainsubjectsasisnoted
inSection2oftheseguidelines.
Decidingwhattoassessisbasedonthecurriculumobjectivesin
eachcurriculumarea/subjectandonwhattheteacherintendsto
helpthechildrentolearn.Theteacherusesappropriateassessment
methodstomeasuretheextenttowhichchildrenhaveachieved
theseobjectives.(Seeexamplesofassessmentmethodsin
Section2.)
Whenshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed?Assessmentisanongoingprocessthroughoutthechild’sprimary
schoolexperience.Thisprocessisshapedbythechild’sageand
stageoflearninganddevelopment.Thechild’sperspectiveon
theworldandonhis/herexperienceoflearningismoreholisticin
theearlyyearsofprimaryschool.Atthisstage,theseparationof
learningintodifferentsubjectsislargelyirrelevanttothechild.
Thecurriculumhighlightstheimportanceofconnectedlearning
experiencesfortheyoungchildandrecognisesthat,aschildren
getolder,subjectbasedlearningbecomesmoremeaningfulfor
them.Aschoolpolicyonassessmentshouldreflectthisgrowth
andchangeinhowchildrenapproachandexperiencelearning,and
theassessmentmethodstheschoolusesshouldvaryatdifferent
stagesofchildren’sdevelopment.Thepolicyshouldalsoensure
thatjudgementsofchildren’slearninganddevelopmentaremade
overaperiodoftimeratherthansporadically,andthatassessment
informationisusedtoprovideinterventionandsupportappropriate
tothechild’sstageoflearning.
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ArisingfromtheEducationAct(1998)andtheEducationfor
PersonswithSpecialEducationalNeeds(EPSEN)Act(2004),the
schoolneedstoensurethattheeducationalneedsofallchildren,
includingthosewithadisabilityorotherspecialeducationalneeds
areidentifiedandprovidedfor.Theschool’sassessmentpolicy
shouldthereforealsorefertotheroleofdiagnosticassessment,
andspecifythediagnosticinstrumentstobeusedaswellasthe
timescaleofinterventions.Similarly,theschool’sproceduresin
identifyingandrespondingtotheneedsofexceptionallyable
childrenshouldbespecified.UnderthetermsoftheEducation
forPersonswithSpecialEducationalNeedsAct(2004)eachchild
assessedwithaspecialeducationalneedshouldhaveapersonal
EducationPlan.Theschool’sassessmentpolicyshouldindicate
theproceduresfordrawingupandusingthisplantosupportthe
child’slearning.Thechild’sparents,theSpecialEducationalNeeds
Organiser(SENO)withresponsibilityfortheschoolconcernedand
such other persons as the principal considers appropriate(EPSEN
Act,2004,Section9(a))mustbeconsultedinthepreparationof
theEducationPlan.
Assessmentintheearlyyears
Assessmentintheearlyyearsisaninformalandnaturalpartofthe
teacher’sinteractionswithchildren.Muchassessmenttakesplace
throughobservationsofthechild,discussionswiththechild,and
activelisteningtothechildinavarietyoflearningsituations.
Becausetheearlyyearsprovidethefoundationforsubsequent
learningitisimportanttoidentifychildrenwhoexperiencelearning
difficultiesassoonaspossible.Tofacilitatethis,theschool
shouldimplementascreeningpolicyinthesecondschoolyear,
preferablybyFebruaryofthesecondterm.Screeninginvolves
teacherobservationofchildrenandtheadministrationofgroup
andindividualtestsofearlyliteracy,numeracyanddevelopmental
skills.Theinformationacquiredthroughscreeningtests,together
withday-to-dayobservationbytheinfantclassteacher,facilitiates
amoreaccurateassessmentofthechild’slearningstrengthsand
needs.Thisisparticularlyimportantinthecaseofyoungerchildren
whenlearningdoesnotnecessarilyfollowasequentialpattern.
Screeningfacilitatestheearlyidentificationoflearningdifficulties
andallowsforeffectivecommunicationwiththechild’sparents.
Earlyidentificationenablestheteachertoorganiseappropriate
supportsbasedontheStaged Model of Intervention(National
EducationalPsychologicalService)(seep.97).Thismodelinvolves
theteacherworkingwiththechild’sparents,consultingwiththe
NEPSpsychologist,and,wherenecessary,organisinglearning
supportorresourceteachingand/oraccesstovarioustherapies
forthechild.The Learning Support Guidelines(2000)provide
informationonthedevelopmentofawhole-schoolplanforlearning
support,andemphasisetheimportanceofimplementingearly
interventionprogrammes.
Moredetailedguidelinesonassessmentintheearlyyearswillbe
publishedaspartoftheFramework for Early Learning in2008.
Assessmentinmiddleandseniorclasses
Aswithyoungerchildren,assessmentmethodsusedwithchildren
inthemiddleandseniorclassesshouldbesetoutintheschool
policy.Inaddition,theschool’sstandardisedtestingarrangements
shouldbedocumented.Schoolsmustmeettheminimum
requirementofadministeringstandardisedtestsinliteracyand
numeracyattheendoffirstclass/beginningofsecondclassand
attheendoffourthclass/beginningoffifthclass.Theassessment
policyshouldstatewhattestswillbeused,whenthesetestswillbe
administered,andhowtheresultswillbeused.
Thetimingofthetests,whetherattheendoratthebeginning
oftherelevantclass,willbedictatedbythepurposeofthetests.
Ingeneral,theearlieranassessmentisconductedfordiagnostic
purposesthemorelikelyitistoleadtointerventionthatwillbenefit
thechild.Testingatthebeginningoftheyearenablesschools
todevelopappropriateinterventionsforcertainchildren,while
testingattheendoftheyearallowsschoolstomakeplacement
andprogressdecisionsbasedonassessmentresults.Althoughthe
variationinthetimingandsequencingthatteacherschoosewhen
coveringdifferentelementsofthecurriculumwithdifferentclasses
canposechallengesindecidingwhentestsshouldbeadministered
duringtheschoolyear,thepurposeoftheassessmentwillbethe
overridingconsideration.
Howshouldchildren’slearningbeassessed?Usinginformationgatheredfromavarietyofassessmentmethods,
overaperiodoftime,canhelptheteachertocreateadetailed
pictureofachild’sprogressandachievement.Asalreadynoted,
thisisparticularlyrelevantinthecaseofyoungerchildrenastheir
learningcanbehighlycontextualised,resultinginlessreliable
assessmentinformation(includingfromtestscores)thanisthe
casewitholderchildren.Knowledgeofthecontextinwhichthe
assessmenttakesplaceenrichestheteacher’sinterpretationof
theinformationgathered.Thismakesiteasierforhim/herto
understandthelearningprocessfromthechild’sperspective.
Section2oftheseguidelinesprovidesschoolswithinformation
onabroadrangeofassessmentmethods.Itisimportantthatthe
methodsselectedareappropriatetothepurposeoftheassessment
andtothechildren’sagesanddevelopmentalstages.TheEqual
StatusAct(2000)alsohasimplicationsforschoolsinmakingthis
selection.ThisActpromotesequalityandprohibitscertainkinds
ofdiscrimination,forexamplediscriminationonthegroundsof
religion,age,disability,ormembershipofanethniccommunity.
Therefore,themethodsofassessmentusedtogatherinformation
onchildrenmustnotinanywaydiscriminateagainstthem.Schools
needtobeawareoftheeffectsofcontext,cultureandlanguageon
assessmentandseektoensurethatassessmentsarecarriedout
incircumstancesthatareappropriateforchildren.Forexample,
staffsneedtoidentifyandaddressaspectsofassessmentthatare
particularlyrelevanttochildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds,
andprovideappropriatealternativesasrequired.Inthecaseof
somechildren,theteachermayhavetoexplorewaysofrecognising
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progressandachievementthataresufficientlysensitivetoeach
child’slevelofability.Thismightinvolveplacingagreatervalueon
howthechildexperiencesandrespondstoanactivity,orproviding
thechildwithadditionaltimetocompleteanactivity.Alternatively,
itmightinvolvethechildrequiringlesssupporttocompletean
activity.Moreinformationonassessmentforstudentswithgeneral
learningdisabilitiesisavailableinGuidelines for Teachers of
Students with General Learning Disabilities – Introduction (NCCA,
2007),andontheNCCAwebsiteat
www.ncca.ie/uploadedfiles/Publications/SEN_introduction.pdf.
Whereshouldassessmentinformationberecorded?InfulfillingtherequirementsoftheEducationAct(1998)schools
createandmaintainindividualrecordsofchildren’slearningwhile
theyareattendingschool.Theyprovideparentswithassessment
reportswhichcontainaccurateandclearlyaccessibleinformation
abouttheirchildren’sprogressandachievement.Threekindsof
recordsaremaintainedbytheschool:
• theteacher’sday-to-dayrecords
• thePupilFile
• theReportCard.
Teacher’sRecords
Theteachernormallykeepshis/herownday-to-dayrecordof
observations,remarks,incidents,etc.astheyoccurinthe
classroomandplayground.Thiskindofrecordprovidestheteacher
withadditionalinformationaboutthechild,whichhelpshim/her
tomeettheneedsofindividualchildrenmoreeffectively.Italso
informstheteacher’sclassroomorganisation.
PupilFile
ThePupilFileisusedbyteacherstorecordinformationon
allaspectsofthechild’slearninganddevelopment.TheFile
providesaconciseeducationalhistoryofthechild’sprogressand
achievementduringthecourseofeachschoolyear.Onefileper
childshouldbemaintained.Itshouldbeusedtostoredocuments
filledinbytheclassteacher,thelearningsupportteacher,andthe
resourceteacher(whereapplicable).Themainfunctionsofthe
PupilFileareto
• supportbothteachersandchildreninmonitoringand
structuringlearning
• provideinformationforteacherswhenpreparingreports
forparents
• provideinformationforteacherswhowillhavesubsequent
responsibilityforthechild’seducation.
ThePupilFiletakesaccountofthechild’sstrengthsandneeds,
theprogresshe/shehasmade,andanyareasoflearningand
developmentthatneedparticularattention.Otherusefuland
pertinentinformationmayalsobestoredinthePupilFile,suchas
homecontactdetails,enrolmentdata,schoolattendancerecord,
medicalhistory(whereappropriate),informationconcerning
experiencesatpre-school(ifmadeavailabletotheschoolon
transfer),andtheproductsofassessment(forexample,completed
standardisedtestbooklets).Theschoolmaychoosetocreatethe
PupilFileinwrittenform(hard-copy)orinelectronicform.Ifitis
storedelectronicallythefileshouldbebackedupwithahardcopy.
ReportCard
TheReportCardisanimportantelementofthePupilFileinwhich
salientinformationaboutthechild’seducationalprogressand
achievement(includinginterests,strengthsandneeds)isrecorded.
ThekeypurposeoftheReportCardistoshareassessment
informationwithparentsinanaccessibleformatsothatthey
canusetheinformationtohelptheirchildrentolearn,andthus
strengthenthelinkbetweenschoolandhome.
TheReportCardallowsfortherecordingofassessmentinformation
twiceayear.Thecardsarecompletedbyallwhoteachthechild
duringthecourseofhis/herprimaryschooleducation.Theresults
ofchildren’sassessmentsarerecordedtofacilitatethesharingof
themostrelevantandusefulinformationaboutachild’sprogress
andachievementwithparents,teachers,andotherprofessionals
concernedwiththechild’seducation.TheNCCAiscurrently
workingwithschoolstodevelopnationalreportcardtemplates.
How should assessment information be recorded?Assessmentinformationcanberecordedindifferentforms,
includingmarks,grades,checklists,profiles,andnarrative
comments.(SeeSection2.)Teachersneedtobearinmindthat
commentsshouldbeobjectiveandinstructive.Itisrecommended
thatcommentsenteredinthePupilFileandintheReportCard
shouldbephrasedinapositivemannerinordertosupportfurther
learninganddevelopment.Schoolsshouldkeepthepossible
readershipofthesedocumentsinmindwhencompletingthem.
TheassessmentinformationcontainedinthePupilFileandon
theReportCardshouldbereadilyaccessibleandcomprehensible
toallrelevantinterests.Thiswillentailclarityandconsistency
inrecordingandreportingassessmentinformationfromteacher
toteacherwithintheschoolandinreportingtoparentsatthe
differentstagesoftheirchildren’sprimaryschooleducation.
Similarconsistencyandclarityisneededinsharingassessment
informationbetweenschools,especiallysogiventheincreasing
mobilityoftheschoolpopulation.
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Withwhomshouldassessmentinformationbeshared?TheDataProtection(Amendment)Act(2003)establishesparents’
rightstoregularinformationontheprogressandachievementof
theirchildrenundertheEducationAct.TheActentitlestheparents
ofstudentsundertheageofeighteen(andstudentsthemselves
whenagedeighteenorolder)toaccessallpersonaldatarelating
tothesestudents,whetherstoredinanyelectronicformorinhard
and/ormanualcopyinastructuredfilingsystemintheschool.(Any
assessmentinformationorpersonaldatarecordedbytheschool,
includingbothformalschoolrecordsandlessformalrecords,
whetherinautomatedormanualform,comesunderthetermsof
thisAct.)
Legislationalsorequirestheschooltoreportassessment
informationwhenrequestedtootherteachers,otherschoolsand
thechildrenthemselves,whereappropriate.Theschoolisalso
obligedtoshareassessmentinformationwithotherindividuals
whoareinvolvedinthechild’seducation.TheseincludeDES
inspectors,NationalEducationalPsychologicalService(NEPS)
psychologists,SpecialEducationalNeedsOrganisers(SENOs),and
EducationWelfareOfficers,aswellasotherprofessionalssuchas
speechandlanguagetherapistsandoccupationaltherapists.This
sharingofinformationbetweenprofessionalsenrichesthechild’s
educationalexperiences.Indevelopingtheirpolicyonassessment
schoolsneedtooutlinehowtheywillensurethatafulland
accuratesummaryoftheprogressanddevelopmentofeachchild
isavailabletotherelevantpeoplereferredtoabove.
AppendixD(p.97)outlinestherolesofvariousorganisations
inworkingwiththeschooltosupportchildren’slearning.
Howshouldassessmentinformationbesharedwithothers?Assessmentinformationpresentedshouldbeaccessibletoall
relevantparties.Whenformulatingtheschool’sassessmentpolicy,
theschoolneedstobearthefollowinginmind:
• Towhomwilltheschoolreportassessmentinformation?
• Howwillassessmentinformationbereported?
• Howfrequentlywillassessmentinformationbereported?
• Whatterminologywillbeusedtoreportassessmentinformation
(thatis,whatterminologyisfamiliartomembersofstaffand
alsotoparents)?
Assessmentresultsshouldbereportedtoparentstwiceduringeach
schoolyear.Oneoftheseeventsshouldincludeawrittenreport,
preferablyattheendoftheschoolyear.Theothercanincludea
meetingorameetingandawrittenreport.Theschoolcandecide
themostappropriatetimesforthesereportsandmeeting,and
includethistimetableintheassessmentpolicy.Outsidethese
formalmeetings,teachersmayalsomeetparentsinformally.The
assessmentpolicyshouldoutlineclearlythedecisionstheschool
takesconcerningthefrequencyandmodeofreporting.
Schoolsmayfinditusefultoagreeaformatforparent/teacher
meetings.A Meeting guidecouldbedevelopedtosupportteachers
inconductingthemeetings.Thiscouldaddressissuessuchas
makingbestuseofthetimeavailable,presentingthechild’sreport
inaspositiveandconstructivealightaspossible,usinglanguage
thatallparentsunderstandandavoidingtheuseoftechnicalor
specialistterms,andprovidingguidelinestoparentsonwaysthey
cansupporttheirchildren’slearning.InsupplementingtheDVD
forparents,The What, Why and How of children’s learning in the
primary school(NCCA,2006),theNCCAwilldeveloparesourcefor
schoolstohelpparentsunderstandanduseassessmentinformation
tosupporttheirchildren’slearning.Thisresourcewillinclude
informationonunderstandingstandardisedtestscores.
Theprincipalshouldapproveaccesstoassessmentinformation
bypersonsotherthanthechild’sparents(asreferredtointhe
previoussubsection).Suchaccessmayneedtobeaccompaniedby
commentaryorinterpretationbyateacherorbytheprincipal.
Finally,proceduresfortransferringrelevantinformationbetween
primaryschools(ifthechildchangesprimaryschools),aswellas
transferringrelevantinformationbetweenprimaryandpost-primary
schools,shouldalsobeincorporatedintothepolicy.
Forhowlongshouldassessmentinformationbestored?Theschool’sassessmentpolicyshouldoutlinehowandwhere
assessmentinformationonindividualchildrenisstored.Children
canrequestassessmentinformationforanumberofyears(notyet
specifiedinlegislation)aftertheyleaveschools.Itisimportant,
therefore,thatschoolsstorethisinformationsafelytofacilitate
accesstoitbyformerpupilsatanystageuntiltheirtwenty-first
birthday.Theassessmentinformationcouldberequestedofschools
undertheDataProtection(Amendment)Act(2003).Information
storedoncomputersmustbeprotectedsothatthereisrestricted
accesstoit.Back-upsoftheinformationneedtobecreated,clearly
labelled,and,likewise,storedsafely.
APPENDICES
& BIBLIOGRAPHY
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AppendixAFurtherinformationonclassroomassessmentmethods
Thisappendixpresentssupplementaryinformationon
self-assessment,questioning,andteacher-designedtasksand
testsasoutlinedinSection2.Thisincludesinformationon
Self-assessment
• Rubrics
• Thumbsup/thumbsdown
• Trafficlights
• Plus,MinusandInteresting(PMI)diagrams
• Talkpartners/buddies
• Ladders
Questioning
• Typesofquestions
Teacher-designedtasksandtests
• Planningforaclassroombasedtask
• Typesoftestquestions.
AppendixBprovidessomephotcopiableresourcesforusewith
self-assessment,portfolioassessment,andteacher-designedtasks
andtests.TheNCCA’songoingworkinsupportingassessmentin
thePrimary School Curriculumwillbepublishedonlineonthe
ACTION(Assessment,Curriculum,andTeachingInnovationOn
theNet)websiteaccessedathttp://www.ncca.ie.
Ascoringrubric-writingtoexpresspersonalideas
Points Whatthepointsmean
3 • Development:consistentlydevelopsideasintoacomplete,well-developedwhole
• Organisation:sequencesinalogicalandeffectivemanner
• Focus on audience:anticipatesandanswerstheaudience’sneedsandquestions
• Language:consistentlyuseslanguagethatenhanceswriting.
2 • Development:partiallydevelopsideasbutdoesnotprovideacomplete,well-developedwhole
• Organisation:purposelyordersideasforthereadertofollow
• Focus on audience:usuallyanticipatesandanswerstheaudience’sneedsandquestions
• Language:frequentlyuseslanguagetoenhancethewriting.
1 • Development:rarelydevelopsideas,producespoorly-developedandincompleteideas
• Organisation:usuallyordersideasbutsomeinterruptionsintheflow
• Focus on audience:occasionallyanticipatesandanswerstheaudience’sneedsandquestions
• Language:sometimesuseslanguagetoenhancethewriting.
0 • Development:nodevelopmentofideasintoacompletewhole
• Organisation:rarelyevidenceslogicalorderingofideas
• Focus on audience:doesnotattempttoanticipateandanswertheaudience’sneedsandquestions
• Language:failstouselanguagetoenhancethewriting.
Self-assessmentRubrics
Section2providesexamplesofarubricbeingusedforself-
assessment(p.15)andforconferencing(p.25).Inbrief,arubric
isanassessmenttoolwhichdescribesvaryinglevelsofqualityin
aspecificpieceofwork.Itcanbeusedtoassesssimplelearning
activitiesaswellasmorecomplextasks.Itcanalsobeadaptedfor
useacrossclasslevels.
Arubriccanbedesignedbytheteacherhimself/herselfor
collaborativelybytheteacherandthechildren.Whenarubricis
introducedinitiallytoaclassitshouldbeinasimpleform,andbe
usedwithaparticularareaoflearninguntilthechildrenbecome
familiarwithitandhowitisused.Simplerubricsusingfacesor
othersymbolstoindicate‘levelsofsatisfaction’canbeusedwith
infantclasses.Childrencanbehelpedtoassesstheirownworkin
verysimplewaysbyverballycommentingonwhattheyhavedone,
sayingwhethertheyarepleasedwithit,whattheylikeordon’tlike
aboutit,orwhattheywouldliketodobetternexttime.Rubricscan
alsobeusedbytheteachertoinformthechildrenofthecriteriaby
whichtheirworkwillbejudged.
Arubrichastwoessentialfeatures:(1)alistofcriteria,i.e.the
importantelementsofthework,and(2)levelsofquality,i.e.what
theelementsoftheworklooklikeateachofthelevelsofquality.
BelowisanexampleofarubricdevelopedbyAirasian(2000)for
scoringpiecesofchildren’swriting.
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Thumbsup/thumbsdown
Thumbsup/thumbsdowninvolveschildrenindicatingtheirlevelof
understandingortheirfeelingsbyshowingtheirthumbspointing
upordown.
Trafficlights
Trafficlightsaresimilartothumbsup/thumbsdown.Theycan
helpchildrentoindicatetheirlevelofunderstandingorfeelingsby
showingtheappropriatecolouredcard:
• redcard=Idon’tunderstand.
• ambercard=I’mnotquitethereyet.
• greencard=I’vegotit!
Thechildrencanusethetrafficlightsatanytimeduringalesson.
Thistechniqueisparticularlyusefulduringgroupworkandwhole
classsessions,andalsowithyoungchildren.
Plus,MinusandInteresting(PMI)diagrams
PMIdiagramscanbeusedbychildrentoassesstheirownworkby
identifyingplus,minusandinterestingelementsoftheirwork.This
techniquecanhelpthemtoidentifywhatworkedandwhatdidnot
worksowellforthemintheirlearning.PMIdiagramscanbedrawn
asgraphs,chartsortables.BelowisanexampleofaPMIchart.
SamplePMIchart
Talkpartners/buddies
Usingtalkpartners/buddiesinvolveschildrensharinginformation
witheachotherabouttheirownlearning.Forexample,children
mightidentifythreenewthingstheylearned,whattheyfoundeasy,
whattheyfounddifficult,andsomethingtheywouldliketolearn
inthefuturewiththeirtalkpartners/buddies.Ideallythetalk
partner/buddywouldbesomeonewithwhomthechildisconfident
andhappytosharehis/herthoughtsandideas.
Ladders
Aladderisaself-assessmenttoolthatcanhelpchildrentorank,
prioritise,identifyareasofclarityandpartsoftheirworkwherethey
areexperiencingdifficulty.Childrenmakedecisionsabouttheir
learningbyrespondingtoquestionssuchas:
• Whatpartoftheworkwasthemostimportant?
• WhatpartoftheworkdidIunderstandbest?
• WhatpartoftheworkdidInotunderstand?
• Whatpartoftheworkwasdifficult?
Theyranktheresponsestothesequestionsontheladder.
Sampleladder
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QuestioningThefollowingtablesoutlinedifferenttypesofquestionsbasedon
Bloom’staxonomy(Krathwohl,2002),andprovidesamplesof
eachtype.
Bloom’staxonomyofquestioning
Knowledge
Questioncues Samplequestions
tell list Whathappenedafter…?
Howmany…?
Whowasitthat…?
Canyounamethe…?
Describewhathappenedat…
Whospoketo…?
Canyoutellwhy…?
Findthemeaningof…
Whatis…?
Whichistrueorfalse…?
define name
when where
identify show
state locate
relate who
Understanding
Questioncues Samplequestions
retell summarise Canyouwriteinyourownwords…?
Canyouwriteabriefoutline…?
Whatdoyouthinkcouldhavehappenednext…?
Whodoyouthink…?
Whatwasthemainidea…?
Whowasthekeycharacter…?
Canyoudistinguishbetween…?
Whatdifferencesexistbetween…?
Canyouprovideanexampleofwhatyoumean…?
Canyouprovideadefinitionfor…?
describe explain
discuss interpret
outline predict
restate compare
estimate contrast
Knowledge
Understanding
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
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Application
Questioncues Samplequestions
solve show Doyouknowanotherinstancewhere…?
Couldthishavehappenedin…?
Canyougroupbycharacteristicssuchas…?
Whatfactorswouldyouchangeif…?
Canyouapplythemethodusedtosomeexperienceof
yourown…?
Whatquestionswouldyouaskof…?
Fromtheinformationgiven,canyoudevelopasetof
instructionsabout…?
Wouldthisinformationbeusefulifyouhada…?
use illustrate
construct complete
examine classify
apply demonstrate
calculate modify
Analysis
Questioncues Samplequestions
analyse distinguish Whicheventscouldhavehappened…?
If…happened,whatmighttheendinghavebeen?
Howwasthissimilarto…?
Whatwastheunderlyingthemeof…?
Whatdoyouseeasotherpossibleoutcomes…?
Whydid…changesoccur?
Canyoucompareyour…withthatpresentedin…?
Howis…similarto…?
Whatwastheproblemwith…?
Whatevidencecanyoulistfor…?
compare contrast
investigate categorise
identify separate
order explain
connect infer
Synthesis
Questioncues Samplequestions
create invent Canyoudesigna…to…?
Whynotcomposeasongabout…?
Canyouseeapossiblesolutionto…?
Ifyouhadaccesstoallresourceshowwouldyoudealwith…?
Whydon’tyoudeviseyourownwaytodealwith…?
Whatwouldhappenif…?
Howmanywayscanyou…?
Canyoucreatenewandunusualusesfor…?
Canyoudevelopaproposalwhichwould…?
compose predict
plan construct
design imagine
propose devise
formulate combine
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Evaluation
Questioncues Samplequestions
judge select Isthereabettersolutionto…?
Judgethevalueof…?
Canyoudefendyourpositionabout…?
Doyouthink…isagoodorabadthing?
Howwouldyouhavehandled…?
Whatchangesto…wouldyourecommend?
Whatwouldyoupredict/inferfrom…?
Howeffectiveare…?
Whatdoyouthinkabout…?
Howwouldyoucreate/designanew…?
choose decide
justify debate
verify argue
recommend assess
rate prioritise
Teacher-designedtasksandtestsPlanningsheets
Planningsheetscanbeusefulwhenpreparingtousetasksasan
assessmentmethod.Asampleplanningsheetisshownbelowwith
aphotocopiableversionprovidedinAppendixB,p.94.
Class(es) Date Subject(s) Curriculumobjectives
Whatclass(es)arethe
childrenin?
Whatdatewillthechildren
completethetask(s)?
Whatsubject(s)isbeing
assessed?
Whichcurriculumobjectives
arebeingassessedthrough
thetask(s)?
Resources Time Organisation Actions
Whatresourcesdothe
childrenneed?
Howlongwillittaketocomplete
thetask(s)?
Whatclassroomorganisation
(whole-class,group,pair,or
individual)ismostsuitablefrom
thepointofviewofchildren’s
involvementandtheneedto
carryoutteacherassessment
effectivelyandefficiently?
Whatarethemainactionsthat
theteacherneedstotakefrom
theinitialpresentationtothe
children,throughthevarious
stagesofthetask(s),tothe
conclusion?
Teacher’snotes:
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Sampletestquestions
Examples1-11belowillustratearangeofquestiontypeswhich
teachersmayfindusefulindesigningpaperandpenciltests.
Example1:Closedtestquestions
Closedtestquestionsareusuallyusedtoelicitaspecific
responsethatiseithercorrectorincorrect,asinthefollowing
sample.
Sampleclosedtestquestion:2,4,8,…Whatwillthenext
numberbe?Theanswer10mightindicatethattheconnection
betweenthenumberswasthoughttobeasimpleincreaseof2,
insteadofdoublingthelastone.
Example2:Opentestquestions
Opentestquestionsallowawiderrangeofresponsesthan
closedquestionsasshowninthefollowingsample.
Sampleopentestquestion:NameoneoftheLoughsonthe
RiverShannon.
Example3:Multiple-responsequestions
Multiple-responsequestionselicitarangeofresponsesand
canbesolvedinavarietyofwaysasinthefollowingsample.
Samplemultiple-responsequestion:+=9
Example4:Freeresponsequestions
Freeresponsequestionsallowanevenwiderrangeofresponses
thanmultiple-responsequestions.Questionswhichrequire
narrativeresponsescanprovidetheteacherwithinformation
aboutthedepthandbreadthofthechild’sunderstanding,the
child’sthinking,andtheareaswherehe/shemaybenefitfrom
furthersupportorwork.
Samplefreeresponsequestion:Writeaparagraphaboutthe
purposeofthesoupkitchensintheGreatFamine.
Itisadvisabletostructurethequestioninordertoidentify
whetherthechilddisplaysrealunderstandingofthetopicor
issueaddressedinthequestion,ratherthanencouragingan
unstructuredreplythatmayhidegapsinthechild’sknowledge,
forexample:
Samplefreeresponsequestion:Namethreefactorsthatcon-
tributedtothedevelopmentoftheGreatFamine.
Example5:Correctingresponses
Aninterestingvariationoftestquestionsisfortheteacher
topreparewell-writtenbutconceptuallyflawedresponsesor
answersforthechildrentocorrectandedit.Theseresponses
maycontaincommonmisunderstandings,correctbut
incompleteresponses,orcompletelyincorrectfactsandideas.
Example6:Matching
Thematchingformatisaneffectivewaytotestthechild’s
recognitionoftherelationshipsbetweenwordsanddefinitions,
eventsanddates,categoriesandexamples,andsoon.
Example7:Multiple-choicequestions
Responsestomultiple-choicequestionsprovideinformationon
thechild’sabilitytodiscriminatebetweenthecorrectresponse
andincorrectalternatives.Assuch,thechild’sresponse
demonstrateshis/herabilitytorecognisethecorrectresponse
ratherthantoproduceit.
Samplemultiple-choicequestion:
297+352=649
Thenumberfactinboldtextistrue.
Whichoneofthefollowingnumberfactsistrue?
a)397+362=659
b)649–352=317
c)29.7+35.2=6.49
d)287+342=629
Example8:True-falsequestions
True-falsequestionscanbeusedtogatherinformationabout
commonmisconceptionsbychildren.
Sampletrue-falsequestion:
Lookatthesum.Istheanswertrueorfalse?
Putatick(√)intheboxifyouthinkyes, the answer is true.
PutanXintheboxifyouthinkno,theanswerisfalse.
18+23
311
Theteachermayaddan‘explain’columninwhichthechild
writesoneortwosentencesjustifyinghis/herresponse.
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Example9:Questionspresentedinanovelway
Presentingquestionsinanunconventionalformcanbeusedto
testchildren’sunderstandingofaparticularconcept.
Samplequestionpresentedinanovelway:
Toassessachild’sunderstandingofplacevalue
presenthim/herwithmisalignedcolumnsofnumbers.
435+24
Askhim/hertoreadthenumbersandthentowritetheanswer.
Whenfinishedaskthechildtoreadtheansweraloud.Ask
him/hertojustifytheanswerusingaprobingquestion,such
asdoes that sound right?
Example10:Scales
Scalescanbeusedtohelpchildrenrespondtoopenquestions.
Thisprovidessomestructureforchildrenwhilestillenabling
themtochoosefromarangeofresponses.
Belowisanexampleofascaletohelpchildrenrespondtoa
pieceofart.
TulipsbyAfternoonLight,unknown.
Lookcarefullyatthispainting.Recordyourresponsetoiton
a1-7scalebycirclinganumber.Forexample,whattimeof
thedayisitinthepainting?Ifyouthinkitismorning,give
ita1.Ifyouthinkitisnight,giveita7.Ifyouthinkitis
somewhereinbetween,choosea2,3,4,5or6.Writedown
areasonforyouranswerafteryouhavecircledanumber.
Whatkindoflightisinthepainting?
Bright? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dark?
Giveareasonforyourscore.
Aretheedgesofthings
Clearandsharp?1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Softandfuzzy?
Giveareasonforyourscore.
Isthepaint
Thin? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thick?
Giveareasonforyourscore.
Isthemoodofthepicture
Happy? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sad?
Giveareasonforyourscore.
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AppendixBPhotocopiableresources
Thisappendixprovidessomephotocopiableresourceswhichcan
beusedwithself-assessment,portfolioassessment,andteacher-
designedtasksandtests.Theseinclude
• AKnow,Wanttoknow,Learned(KWL)grid.Bycompletingthe
gridovertimethechildfocusesonwhathe/shealreadyknows,
whathe/shewouldliketoknow,andwhatnewthingshe/she
learns.(SeeSection2,pp.20-21forinformationonself-
assessment.)
• Areflectiontemplatewhichcanbeusedbythechildtohelp
him/herdecidewhetherornottoincludeaparticularpiece
ofworkinhis/herportfolio.(SeeSection2,pp.30-33for
informationonportfolioassessment.)
• Aplanningsheetwhichcanbeusedbytheteachertohelp
him/herprepareforusingtaskstoassesschildren’slearning.
(SeeSection2,pp.54-58forinformationonteacher-designed
tasksandtests.)
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KWLgrid
Child: Date:
K(What Iknow already)
W(What I want to know)
L(What I have learned)
Complete at the start of the lesson
Complete at the end of the lesson
Teacher’snotes:
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Reflectiontemplate
Child: Date:
Descriptionofthework:
WhatItriedtodo:
WhatIdid:
WhatIlearned:
WhatIlikeaboutthispieceofwork:
WhatIwouldneedtoworkon:
Teacher’snotes:
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Planningsheet
Class(es) Date Subject(s) Curriculumobjectives
Resources Time Organisation Whattodo
Teacher’snotes:
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AppendixCLegislativerequirementsofschoolsinrelationtoassessmentpolicy
Indevelopingaschoolassessmentpolicy,schoolsmustbeguided
byvariouslegislativerequirements.Atthetimeofpublicationthese
areenshrinedin
• theEducationAct(1998)
• theDataProtection(Amendment)Act(2003)
• theEqualStatusAct(2000)
• theEducation(Welfare)Act(2000)
• theEducationforPersonswithSpecialEducational
NeedsAct(2004)
• theFreedomofInformationActs(1997,2003).
Thisappendixhighlightstherequirementsforschools,atthetime
ofpublication,arisingfromeachofthesepiecesoflegislation.
EducationAct(1998)TheEducationAct(1998)requiresprincipalsandteachersto
regularly evaluate students and periodically report the results of the
evaluation to the students and their parents.Theimplicationsof
thisrequirementforteachersandschoolsinclude
• developingassessmentprocedureswhichprovideanaccurate
accountofchildren’sprogressandachievement
• creatingandmaintainingindividualrecords ofchildren’s
progressandachievementwhiletheyareattendingtheschool
• providingparentswithassessmentreportswhichcontain
accurateandclearlyaccessibleinformationabouttheir
children’sprogressandachievement.
TheEducationActalsoplacesaresponsibilityonschoolstoensure
that the educational needs of all students, including those with
a disability or other special educational needs are identified and
provided for. Specificresponsibilitiesforschoolsincludeidentifying
andrespondingtopupilswithlearningdifficultiesbyliaisingwith
theNationalEducationalPsychologicalService(NEPS),where
appropriate,andco-ordinatingthemonitoringofpupils’progress
andachievement(bytheclassteacher,thelearningsupport
teacher,theresourceteacher,andotherprofessionals).
DataProtection(Amendment)Act(2003)Anyassessmentinformationorpersonaldatarecordedbythe
school,includingbothformalschoolrecordsandlessformal
records,whetherinautomatedormanualform,issubjecttothe
termsoftheDataProtection(Amendment)Act(2003).Theright
ofparentstoregularinformationontheprogressandachievement
oftheirchildrenundertheEducationActissupportedbytheData
Protection(Amendment)Act(2003).Thelatterentitlesparentsof
studentsundertheageofeighteen(andstudentsagedeighteen
andover)toaccessallpersonaldatarelatingtothestudents,
whetherstoredinanyelectronicformorinhardand/ormanual
copyinastructuredfilingsysteminschool.Informationonthese
entitlementsisavailableonthewebsiteoftheDataProtection
Commissionerathttp://www.dataprivacy.ie.Inaddition,underthe
DataProtectionActs1988and2003,parentshavearighttoall
assessmentinformationabouttheirchildreninintelligibleform
andtheyhavetherighttoknowthesourceoftheassessment
information,forexampletheclassteacherorlearningsupport
teacher.
Thefollowingdesignatedpersonsarealsoentitledtodirectaccess
toindividual,grouporclassassessmentinformation:
• thechild’sclassteacher
• theclassteacher,withinthesameschool,towhomthe
childistransferring
• theprincipal
• learningsupportandresourceteachers
• theDESinspector
• theNEPSpsychologist
• theEducationWelfareBoardanditsofficers
• otherrelevantprofessionals(includingaSpecialEducational
NeedsOrganiser(SENO),anoccupationaltherapist,aspeech
andlanguagetherapist,ateacherofdeafchildren).
Inaddition,assessmentinformationonanindividualchildmaybe
providedtoanotherschool,primaryorpost-primary,towhichthe
childistransferring.
FurtherimplicationsoftheDataProtection(Amendment)Act
(2003)requireschoolstostateintheirassessmentpolicy
• whatinformationisbeinggathered,forexampleapercentileon
astandardisedreadingtestattheendofeachschoolyear
• whytheinformationisbeinggathered,forexampletoidentify
childrenwhowouldbenefitfromlearningsupport
• howtheinformationwillbegathered,forexamplethroughthe
useofstandardisedreadingtestsand/ordiagnosticreadingtests
• howtheinformationwillbestored,forexampleinhardcopyor
electronically.
Theschoolpolicyalsoneedstoidentifywherethefileswillbe
storedandforhowlong.
Abasicchecklisttoascertainifaschoolisfulfillingthe
requirementsoftheDataProtection(Amendment)Act(2003)is
availableonthewebsiteoftheDataProtectionCommissionerat
http://www.dataprivacy.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/
responsibilities/3k.htm&CatID=55&m=y.
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EqualStatusAct(2000)TheEqualStatusAct(2000)hasimplicationsfortheassessment
policyinschoolsinthatitpromotesequalityandprohibitscertain
kindsofdiscrimination,forexamplediscriminationonthegrounds
ofreligion,age,disability,ormembershipofanethniccommunity.
Therefore,theformofassessmentusedtogatherinformationon
childrenmustnotinanywaydiscriminateagainstthem.Teachers
needtobeawareofbiaswhenEnglishlanguageintelligencetests
areadministeredwithchildrenwhosefirstlanguageisnotEnglish.
Schoolsneedtobeawareoftheeffectsofcontext,cultureand
languageonassessmentandseektoensurethattheprocessesof
assessmentarecarriedoutincircumstancesthatareappropriate
forchildren.Forexample,staffsneedtoidentifyandaddressany
barrierstoassessmentforchildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds,
andprovideappropriatealternativesasrequired.Schoolsalsoneed
toensurethatthechosenmethodsofassessmentareappropriate,
giventheagesanddevelopmentalstagesofchildren.
FurtherinformationontheEqualStatusAct(2000)isavailableon
thewebsiteoftheEqualityAuthorityathttp://www.equality.ie.
Education(Welfare)Act(2000)Section28oftheEducation(Welfare)Act(2000)placesa
responsibilityontheprincipalofaschooltopassoninformation
regardingthewelfareofachildtootherprofessionalsinvolvedin
supportinghis/hereducation.TheEducation(Welfare)Act2000
(Section28)(PrescribedBodies)Regulations2005ensuresthat
informationcanbesharedinthefollowinginstanceswhenthe
purposeofsharingtheinformationistomonitorandfurtherthe
child’slearning:
• betweenschoolswhenachildtransfers(primarytoprimaryand
primarytopost-primary)
• betweenaschoolandtheNationalCouncilforSpecialEducation
whenseekingtheCouncil’sassistance
• betweenaschoolandtheNationalEducationWelfareBoard,
theDESInspectorate,theNationalEducationalPsychological
Service,andsoon.
EducationforPersonswithSpecialEducationalNeedsAct(2004)UnderthetermsoftheEducationforPersonswithSpecial
EducationalNeedsAct(2004)schoolsarerequiredtoassess
childrenwhoarejudgednottobebenefitingfromtheeducation
programmeprovidedbytheschool,inordertounderstandthe
reasonsforthis.Iftheassessmentestablishesthatthechildhas
specialeducationalneedstheprincipalisresponsibleforpreparing
an education plan for the appropriate educationofthechild.
He/shepreparestheplaninconsultationwiththechild’s
parentsandcanconsultwiththelocalSpecialEducational
NeedsOrganiser.
TheActoutlinesthecontentheadingsthattheschoolshoulduse
indevelopingtheeducationplan.Theseinclude
• thenatureanddegreeofthechild’s
− abilities,skillsandtalents
− specialeducationalneedsandhowthoseneedsaffect
his/hereducationaldevelopment
• thepresentlevelofeducationalperformanceofthechild
• thespecialeducationalneedsofthechild
• thespecialeducationandrelatedsupportservicestobe
providedtothechildtoenablethechild
− tobenefitfromeducationandtoparticipateinthelife
oftheschool.
− whereappropriate,tomakethetransitioneffectivelyfrompre-
schooleducationtoprimaryschooleducationorfromprimary
schooleducationtopost-primaryeducation.
Theeducationplanshouldalsoincludethegoalswhichthechildis
toachieveoveraperiodnotexceedingtwelvemonths.
FreedomofInformationActs(1997,2003)Insupportingchildren’slearninganddevelopmentschoolsstore
assessmentinformationandpersonaldataoneachchildinboth
formalschoolrecordsandlessformalrecords.Undertheterms
oftheFreedomofInformationAct(1997)andtheFreedomof
Information(Amendment)Act(2003)informationheldaboutan
individualmustbemadeavailabletothatindividualonrequest.
Inaddition,thepersonhasarighttohavetheinformationrelating
tohimself/herselfamendedwhereitisfoundtobeincomplete,
incorrectormisleading.He/shealsohasarighttoobtainreasons
fordecisionsaffectinghimself/herself.Schoolsarenotcurrently
includedunderthetermsoftheFreedomofInformationActs
(1997,2003).Werethistochange,theseActswouldhave
implicationsforaschool’sassessmentpolicyandpractices,
particularlyinthecaseofrecordingandstoringassessment
information.
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AppendixDRolesofexternalorganisationsinsupportingchildren’slearning
Indevelopinganassessmentpolicy,schoolsshouldconsiderthe
rolesofanumberoforganisationsinsupportingchildren’slearning.
Theseinclude
• theNationalEducationalPsychologicalService(NEPS)
• theNationalCouncilforSpecialEducation(NCSE)
• theNationalEducationalWelfareBoard(NEWB).
NationalEducationalPsychologicalServiceTheNationalEducationalPsychologicalService(NEPS)assists
theschoolinprovidingeducation to students which is appropriate
to their abilities and needs…(EducationAct(1998)p.9).A
closeworkingrelationshipbetweentheschoolandtherelevant
NEPSpsychologististhereforeessential.Schoolsneedtoname
theirNEPSpsychologistintheirschoolpolicyandelaborateon
assessmentapproachesandreferralproceduresoutlinedinthe
NEPSguidelinedocuments.Thereferralprocessoughttobe
includedintheassessmentpolicywithcopiesoftheforms,which
NEPSsupplies,filedwiththepolicy.Reasonsforreferralsneedto
bespecificandclear.
NEPShasdevelopedathree-stagemodelinordertohelpschools
accommodatechildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds.(SeeTable
5.)Thismodelshouldbeincludedintheschoolpolicysothatall
involvedareawareoftheirresponsibilitieswithregardtochildren.
FurtherinformationontheworkoftheNEPSisavailableonthe
websiteoftheDepartmentofEducationandScienceat
http://www.education.ie.
NationalCouncilforSpecialEducationTheNationalCouncilforSpecialEducation(NCSE)liaiseswith
schoolstomakesurethatchildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds
haveaccesstoeducationandrelatedsupportservices,usinga
networkofSpecialEducationalNeedsOrganisers(SENOs).
SENOsworkwithschoolsandparentsinsupportingtheeducation
ofchildrenwithspecialeducationalneedsinthefollowingways.They
• processschools’applicationsforresourceteachersupportand
decideonthelevelofsupportappropriatetotheschool
• processschools’applicationsanddecideontheappropriatelevel
ofspecialneedsassistantsupportforchildrenwithdisabilities
• examineschools’applicationsforspecialequipment/assistive
technology
• examineschools’applicationsfortransportarrangementsfor
childrenwithdisabilitiesandmakerecommendationstothe
DepartmentofEducationandScience
• identifytheappropriateeducationalsettingforindividual
childrenwithspecialeducationalneeds.
FurtherinformationontheworkoftheNCSEisavailableonthe
organisation’swebsiteathttp://www.ncse.ie.
NationalEducationalWelfareBoardTheNationalEducationalWelfareBoard(NEWB)isthenational
agencywithresponsibilityforencouragingandsupportingregular
schoolattendance.TheBoardwasestablishedtoensurethatevery
childattendsschoolregularly,orotherwisereceivesaneducation
orparticipatesintraining.TheBoardworkswithschoolstoassist
theminmeetingtheirobligationsundertheEducation(Welfare)
Act(2000)throughanetworkofEducationWelfareOfficers.
Incarryingouttheirwork,theseofficersmayrequireaccessto
assessmentinformationheldbytheschoolonaparticularchild.
FurtherinformationontheworkoftheNEWBisavailableonthe
organisation’swebsiteathttp://www.newb.ie.
Table5:Stagedmodelofintervention
ThreeStages,OneProcess
Stage1
WholeClass
Stage
Stage2
SchoolSupport
Stage
Stage3
Consultation/
AssessmentStage
Parents
Teacher(s)
Child
Consultationwith
NEPSpsychologist
Parents
Teacher(s)
Child
SupportTeacher(s)
Consultationwith
NEPSpsychologist
Parents
Teacher(s)
Child
Directinvolvement
ofNEPS
psychologist
OtherProfessionals
FollowingconsultationwiththeNEPSpsychologistacutecases
maybefast-trackedtoStage3.
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