De-coding Assessment Criteria Outstanding (1) A Use of assessment criteria within long/medium/short term plans of the teaching and learning journey Long- Links made between KS3 and KS4 to master required skills Medium- Individual SoW shaped by assessment criteria reinforcing and developing skills Short- Clarity of teacher explanation and student understanding of method of assessment/assess ment criteria within lesson.
Use of assessment criteria within questioning and verbal feedback Teacher reference to assessment criteria within questioning
Link between assessment criteria and final learning outcomes Teacher’s ability to model final learning outcome and make connections with assessment criteria
Teacher ability to create and lead on learning activities that embed the marking criteria and provide understanding of how students are assessed Teacher’s capacity to enable students to decode and understand the assessment criteria and utilise this knowledge in the work they produce.
Long- There is clear evidence that the long term learning journey is one that offers opportunities for students to reinforce, strengthen and build on key skills. The skills being mastered are a challenging development of preceding skills, extending previous knowledge. This balance of reinforcement and challenge provides students with the confidence to not only actively engage with the task but to take risks, deepening their knowledge and supporting exceptional progress. Medium- The scheme of work provides the students with absolute clarity regarding the skill/skills to be mastered. Each lesson builds on these skills and the formative assessments are planned so effectively that students are able to use these assessment opportunities to significantly improve their knowledge and application of the skill. The final summative assessment demonstrates exceptional progress and prior misconceptions are no longer apparent. Short- The teacher’s instructions are delivered in an enthusiastic and engaging manner and as a result all students fully understand the purpose of the task and are excited by it. The teacher instils a true appreciation of the validity of the task. Students have absolute clarity regarding how they are going to be assessed and are highly effective at drawing on this knowledge to significantly improve the quality of the learning outcome.
Good (2) B
Satisfactory (3) C
Inadequate (4) D
Long- It is evident that the required KS4 skill set has been carefully considered and mapped out. It is evident through the overview that KS3 SoW take the KS4 skills into account. The required skills are effectively introduced in the earlier years, reinforced in the middle years and mastered in the final years. Students are able to link prior knowledge to the current skill being mastered and this provides a level of confidence that enables students to make good progress.
Long- There is evidence of mapping from KS3 to KS4. This can at times be inconsistent in quality and there is not always a logical approach to how the skills are developed. Students demonstrate a capacity to link previous knowledge with the newly taught skill however there is not always a sense that the application of the new skill is becoming more sophisticated. . Medium- A SoW is in place and formative and summative assessment tasks have been preplanned, however the formative assessments do not always reinforce a specific skill set and therefore only enable students to make satisfactory progress in the summative assessment.
Long- There is no evidence of a long term learning journey. SoW do not reinforce skills and there is no evidence of opportunities for students to establish and develop skills. Lessons are disjointed and unrelated and this impacts on student confidence, equipping them only to carry out basic tasks that do not enable them to succeed and make the expected progress.
Medium- The Sow consistently builds on the required skill set. Each lesson breaks down the skills so that they can be mastered effectively. Clear formative and summative assessment tasks are built into the SoW and there is evidence that these tasks offer opportunities for students to build on the skill and make good progress. Short- The teacher introduces the purpose of the lesson clearly and as a result students understand and are able to articulate the purpose of the task. Students have a clear sense of why they are being asked to master the required skill and are able to communicate this also. Students accurately identify how they are being assessed and use this information to make good progress.
Medium- Where there are SoW formative and summative assessments are not clear. There is no staged approach to the students’ learning and no evidence of a specific focus that is reinforced. This limits the progress made.
Short- The introduction includes a commentary on the purpose of the lesson which the majority of students understand. The teacher draws briefly on why they are they mastering the skills in focus. Students have an understanding of the assessment criteria and do offer some useful ideas that relate to it, as a result most students make at least satisfactory progress.
Short- The opening is uninspiring and does not capture the interest of the students. It is not clear what the purpose of the learning task is and students do not have a sense of why they are being asked to master this particular skill. Students’ lack of clarity regarding the purpose, validity and assessment of the task means they are unable to respond to the task, making little or no progress.
The teacher utilizes questioning to reinforce how students are assessed. There is a continual, motivating reference to the assessment criteria. Students are frequently told how their response to a question relates to the assessment criteria. Where appropriate further questioning is used to encourage students to extend their response. All students respond to this highly effective use of questioning demonstrating a thorough understanding of the assessment criteria. The teacher’s expert use of further questioning also enables students to confidently explore their ideas and demonstrate a deeper, more sophisticated understanding. The teacher clearly explains to students how the second, developed response would achieve a higher mark.
The teacher manipulates and shapes questions to check/assess student understanding. There is a good attempt at using questioning as a tool to enable student familiarity with the assessment criteria. The teacher frequently enables students to extend their response by explaining carefully how they can develop their answer. Most students respond to this deeper level questioning demonstrating a sound understanding of the assessment criteria and an improved response.
The teacher attempts to use questioning as a method of establishing and reinforcing the assessment criteria. There are occasions when the teacher links the students’ response with the assessment criteria. They are less successful at encouraging students to develop their response through reference to the assessment criteria.
Questions are used crudely to check student understanding. There is no evidence of them being used as a tool to develop a student’s response. The way questioning is utilized results in a reluctance to participate in this method of assessment. There is no evidence of a link between the style of questioning and the relevant assessment criteria.
The teacher confidently takes on an expert role and demonstrates the final learning outcome with expertise and confidence. Students have absolute clarity regarding the standard required due to the teacher’s ability to deconstruct it. A specific focus is placed on how the marking criteria and the final learning outcome relate. As a result, students are inspired to and have complete clarity regarding how to produce a piece of work equal in competency, mastery and flair.
Students are clear on what the final outcome should look like. The teacher models the outcome confidently. Students are clear regarding what is expected due to the teacher’s ability to deconstruct it. The teacher discusses how the marking criteria and the final learning outcome relate. This enables students to produce a good quality piece of work.
The teacher does attempt to deconstruct the final product with students capturing the interest of some. There is an attempt at unpicking how the piece of work relates to the marking criteria and this enables some students to make satisfactory progress when completing the summative learning task.
There is no clarity regarding what the final outcome looks like. The teacher is unclear on the expected standard and does not relate the final learning outcome to the marking criteria. As a result students are unable to deconstruct the product or skill they are to reproduce and as a result their journey takes longer and the outcomes they produce demonstrate little or no progress.
The teacher establishes a learning climate in which all students feel valued. As a result students have a profoundly positive attitude to learning. This nurtured attitude results in all students having the ability to confidently articulate the skills they are currently developing, how they are being assessed on these skills, and the strategies they have been advised to implement in order to develop them.
The teacher establishes a learning climate in which students feel respected. As a result students enjoy the learning experience. This positive attitude results in all students frequently demonstrating good communication skills, including the ability to articulate the skills they are currently developing and how they are being assessed on these skills. Most have the capacity to discuss strategies that have been suggested in order to develop their work.
The teacher attempts to establish a learning climate in which most students feel respected. There is a well ordered atmosphere in the classroom and students are able to articulate the skills they are currently developing and how they are being assessed on these skills. They find it more difficult to articulate the strategies they have been advised to implement in order to develop them.
Teaching is dull and fails to capture students’ interest and enthusiasm. There is no evidence of planned assessment activities. As a result many students are unwilling to work without constant supervision. There is no connection between the nature of the activity and the way students are assessed. Timing is ill-judged resulting in students disengaging.
Teaching methods are varied, well timed and work is taught in an engaging way. There is a clear correlation between the nature of the activity and the way the final outcome is being assessed. As a result students work productively and show considerable interest in assessment activities.
The teacher seeks to make work interesting and is successful some of the time. The pace at times does prevent a better rate of progress. There is some evidence of enjoyment. Students understand what to do and enjoy participating in suitable assessment activities.
Teaching is stimulating and inspirational. As a result all students are engrossed in appropriately pitched work and demonstrate exceptional levels of enjoyment. The carefully considered tasks encourage students to have a clear understanding of the marking criteria and as a result they skilfully utilise this knowledge offering valuable contributions to the learning experience and producing well-considered work that enables them to make significant progress.
Greater effort is exerted on managing behaviour than on learning. Classroom management is ineffective and as a result students are unable to articulate or are not prepared to offer contributions and do not make the expected progress
Teacher facilitation of student self/peer assessment Teacher facilitation of self and peer assessment and use of student work to enable progress.
The teacher makes insightful decisions regarding when to build individual and peer assessment into the learning journey to support learning. Students utilise the marking criteria in a highly effective manner identifying areas of strength, areas for development and are confidently able to grade the work accurately. Within the exercise book there is strong evidence of peer/self-assessment as the norm. The teacher is able to carefully use examples of students work to inspire and motivate others to produce their best possible piece of work, fluidly linking the model to the assessment criteria. This results in students producing work that demonstrates significant progress.
Teacher use of assessment criteria during written and feedback Clarity regarding reference to assessment criteria during written evaluation.
All students’ written work shows evidence of effective formative marking that enables them to confidently know the current level they are working at and how they improve. The teacher expertly translates the assessment criteria for the ability range and next steps are clear, concise and achievable - defined by the assessment criteria. The teacher takes the time to model examples to offer additional clarity. There is strong evidence that feedback is acted upon in the summative assessment enabling exceptional progress. Final comments include a grade and a formal comment clearly justifying this grade. This comment will link to assessment completed prior to the summative assessment.
There are frequent and successful attempts at self and peer assessment. It is evident from the written and verbal feedback that students are capable of accurately grading the piece, identifying strengths and can identify an area for development. There is evidence that most students are involved in helping to peer assess and assess their own work. The teacher is able to recognise and utilise students work to support others. This is achieved through specific verbal commentary that highlights the successes of the piece according to the assessment criteria. The teacher times the interjections appropriately enabling students to learn and improve their own work as a result of it.
All work is marked and as a result most students know how well they are doing and how to improve their work. There is evidence that comments attached to formative assessments enable progress. Targets are specific and differentiated effectively for each individual student. The comments are acted upon by most students and progress is evident in the summative assessment. Marking of the summative assessment includes a grade and a formal comment clearly justifying this grade. This comment will link to assessments completed prior to the summative assessment.
Occasional use of self and peer assessment is evident in the book. Students do attempt to grade work and are able to identify strengths. Due to a lack of understanding of the assessment criteria they find it more difficult to suggest ways to improve the piece of work. Where this is done it is too generalised. Teaching interventions are well timed and enable students to make at least satisfactory progress. The commentary is positive but not always specific enough. Students appreciate being highlighted however, they struggle to fully appreciate how the strengths in the piece link to the marking criteria.
All students’ work is marked and some students are aware of the overall quality of what they have done and how to improve during the formative assessments. There is some evidence that comments are acted upon to help some students to improve. Marking of the summative assessment includes a grade and a formal comment clearly justifying this grade. This comment may not necessarily link to assessments completed prior to the summative assessment.
Self and peer assessment is not used effectively to move students forward. Students are unable to grade a piece of work and do not have the necessary skills to identify strengths or targets that link to the criteria. The teacher intervention is not effective in enabling students to make progress. The majority of students do not feel valued and support enables only a minority to feel they are achieving. The teacher does not offer specific enough feedback when highlighting students’ work. As a result students make little or no progress.
Students’ work is infrequently marked. Where targets are set for they are too easy, too hard or too general and the marking does little to help students to improve. There is evidence of vague assessment comments such as ’good’ ‘need to improve’ without diagnostic content. Mistakes are frequently unchecked or ignored. There is no link between target setting and students improving.