Suffolk Advisory Service
Assessment Team
The Secondary Strategy in Suffolk
© Crown copyright 2004
From the Secondary Strategy Materials published by the DFES
What is AfL?
AfL has been defined as:
the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their
teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to
go and how best to get there.
AfL gets straight to the heart of good teaching by:
helping teachers help pupils to take the next steps in their learning;
helping pupils help each other to take the next steps in their learning;
helping pupils help themselves to take the next steps in their learning.
AfL is founded upon the following 10 principles,1 namely, assessment for learning:
is part of effective planning;
focuses on how pupils learn;
is central to classroom practice;
is a key professional skill;
is sensitive and constructive;
fosters motivation;
promotes understanding of goals and criteria;
helps learners know how to improve;
develops the capacity for self [and peer] assessment;
recognises all educational achievement.
AfL is also central to the DfES core principles for teaching and learning. These principles underpin all the strands of the Key Stage 3 National Strategy and are described in more detail on pages 3 and 4 of the key messages leaflet Pedagogy and practice (DfES 0125/2003) which has been sent to all schools.
The principles of teaching and learning which guide the work of the Strategy are:
including all pupils in a culture of high expectations (no child left behind);
establishing the centrality of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum (reinforcing the basis);
infusing learning skills across the curriculum (enriching the learning experience);
promoting assessment for learning (making every child special);
expanding the teachers range of teaching strategies and techniques (making learning worthwhile and enjoyable).
Guided by these principles the AfL training materials provide practical strategies to help teachers develop their planning and teaching skills.
To help make explicit good AfL practice and help teachers recognise how this relates to good teaching and learning, the training units focus upon the key characteristics of assessment for learning2 namely, AfL:
is embedded in a view of teaching and learning of which it is an essential part;
involves sharing learning goals with pupils;
aims to help pupils to know and to recognise the standards they are aiming for;
involves pupils in [peer and] self assessment;
provides feedback which leads to pupils recognising their next steps and how to take them;
involves both teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting on assessment data [information].
Appendix 1.1 of unit 1 Assessment for learning in everyday lessons provides the research basis for the AfL training materials.
© Crown copyright 2004
AfL definitions and research findings terminology
Assessment of learning is also known as summative assessment.
Assessment for learning is also known as formative assessment.
The change in language is helpful in clearing up the confusion about the nature and purpose of each type of assessment.
Assessment of learning
Assessment of learning tends to be summative and is carried out periodically, e.g. at the end of a unit or year or key stage. The teacher undertakes this kind of assessment to judge how well a pupil is performing. Conclusions will probably be reported in terms of grades, marks or levels. These may be set alongside national standards, so that a pupil, school or teacher can evaluate their own performance against that of others. This also allows schools to track progress over time.
Because the results of assessment of learning are shared with other people, issues of validity and reliability are paramount. There is also an important balance between making assessments that are rigorous and yet manageable.
It has become more and more important for school managers to explore and understand relevant assessment data. Subject leaders in secondary schools, for example, need to interpret the performance of the pupils they receive and how they progress. This can help them to identify trends, set realistic targets and identify the needs of pupils.
Assessment of learning is well established and there is now a broad consensus regarding its nature, summative purposes and importance. It is not always recognised, however, that by sharing expectations and targets with pupils, assessment of learning can contribute to assessment for learning. For example, pupils can be given the opportunity to:
mark, moderate and review test papers;
review their performance against the test criteria and set personal targets;
devise future test questions.
Assessment for learning
Assessment for learning is formative in nature and takes place all the time in the classroom. Here are three useful definitions.
In assessment for learning, the learners task is to close the gap between the present state of understanding and the learning goal. Self-assessment is essential if the learner is to do this. The teachers role is to communicate appropriate goals and promote self-assessment as pupils work towards the goals. Feedback in the classroom should operate from teacher to pupils and from pupils to teacher.
Sadler, R. (1989)
In this paper assessment refers to all those activities undertaken by teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998)
Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.
Assessment Reform Group (2002)
The key message is that AfL is about using the information gained to improve learning.
The following provides the highlights of research findings and references for further reading.
Inside the black box
The publication Inside the black box (1998)5 is an influential pamphlet that summarises the main findings arising from 250 assessment articles (covering nine years of international research) studied by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam. The document is well known and widely used, and acts as a touchstone for many professionals in the field of assessment.
Inside the black box identifies five key factors which improve learning through assessment:
providing effective feedback to pupils;
actively involving pupils in their own learning;
adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment;
recognising the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-esteem of pupils, both of which are crucial to learning;
considering the need for pupils to be able to assess themselves and to understand how to improve.
The research also identifies a number of risks with regard to assessment:
valuing quantity and presentation rather than the quality of learning;
lowering the self-esteem of pupils by over-concentrating on judgements rather than advice for improvement;
demoralising pupils by comparing them negatively and repeatedly with more successful learners;
giving feedback that serves social and managerial purposes rather than helping pupils to learn more effectively;
working with an incomplete picture of pupils learning needs.
Assessment for learning: beyond the black box
This publication of the Assessment Reform Group (1999) follows up the work of Black and Wiliam. It emphasises that good assessment for learning:
is embedded in a view of teaching and learning of which it is an essential part;
involves sharing learning goals with pupils;
aims to help pupils to know and to recognise the standards they are aiming for;
involves pupils in self assessment;
provides feedback which leads to pupils recognising their next steps and how to take them;
involves both teacher and pupils reviewing, and reflecting on, assessment information.
Working inside the black box
Working inside the black box (2002) picks up where Inside the black box left off. It sets out its main findings under four headings.
Questioning
More effort has to be spent in framing questions that are worth asking.
Wait time has to be increased to several seconds to give pupils time to think and everyone should be expected to contribute to the discussion.
Follow-up activities have to provide opportunities to ensure that meaningful interventions that extend pupils understanding take place.
The only point of asking questions is to raise issues about which the teacher needs information or about which the pupils need to think.
Feedback through marking
Written tasks, alongside oral questioning, should encourage pupils to develop and show understanding of the key features of what they have learned.
Comments should identify what has been done well and what still needs improvement, and give guidance on how to make that improvement.
Opportunities for pupils to follow up comments should be planned as part of the overall learning process.
To be effective, feedback should cause thinking to take place.
Peer and self assessment
The criteria for evaluating any learning achievements must be transparent to pupils to enable them to have a clear overview both of the aims of their work and what it means to complete it successfully.
Pupils should be taught the habits and skills of collaboration in peer assessment.
Pupils should be encouraged to keep in mind the aims of their work and to assess their own progress to meet these aims as they proceed.
Peer and self assessment make unique contributions to the development of pupils learning they secure aims that cannot be achieved in any other way.
The formative use of summative tests
Pupils should be engaged in a reflective review of the work they have done to enable them to plan their revision effectively.
Pupils should be encouraged to set questions and mark answers to help them, both to understand the assessment process and to focus further efforts for improvement.
Pupils should be encouraged through peer and self assessment to apply criteria to help them understand how their work might be improved.
Summative tests should be, and should be seen to be, a positive part of the learning process.
The underlying issues identified are:
learning theory teachers need to know in advance what sort of feedback will be useful, i.e. they need to understand how their pupils learn;
subject differences teachers need to have an understanding of the fundamental principles of the subject, an understanding of the kinds of difficulties that pupils might have and the creativity to think up questions which can stimulate productive thinking; such pedagogical content knowledge is essential in interpreting response;
motivation and self-esteem learning is not just a cognitive exercise, it involves the whole person; learning for learning rather than for rewards or grades;
a learning environment: principles and plans teachers need to have forethought of how to teach in a way which establishes a supportive climate;
a learning environment: roles and responsibilities teachers need to help pupils become active learners who can take increasing responsibility for their progress.