Assessing Pupils' Progress

Last updated March 11, 2019

Assessing Pupils' Progress (APP) has been developed for use in schools in England and Wales to enable them to apply Assessment for Learning (AfL) consistently across both the secondary and primary National Curriculum. APP assessment guidelines were finalised in 2008 for Mathematics, English, Science and ICT. Initial development of APP was undertaken by the National Strategies but is now overseen by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA). Currently the status of APP is that it is 'recommended' that schools use it but it is not statutory. With the change in UK government in May 2010, the status of APP could change. Ofsted said APP was unnecessary in 2010, and the APP documents have not been on the Department for Education's website since 2011. The coalition government has got rid of it.^[1]

A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university college or university, but these higher education institutions are usually not compulsory.

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

APP in Mathematics

APP for mathematics consists of 208 areas of Assessment Focus (AF) across levels 1 to 8, giving between 20 and 25 areas for a pupil to complete per level. The optional National Curriculum tests have tended to test a narrow part of the National Curriculum whereas APP gives a much broader picture. The Assessment Foci can be quite specific, such as "plot graphs of quadratic and cubic functions". Some areas are less traditional and have come as something of a surprise to those who have worked with them. For example, at Level 7 pupils are required to "find the locus of a point that moves according to a specific rule, e.g. the vertex of a square as it rolls along a line": an area that has certainly never been tested in a National Curriculum test.

In mathematics, the graph of a function f is, formally, the set of all ordered pairs (x, f ), such that x is in the domain of the function f, and, in practice, the graphical representation of this set. If the function input x, and the values f(x), are real numbers, the graph is a two-dimensional graph, and, for a continuous function, is a curve. If the function input x is an ordered pair (x₁, x₂) of real numbers, the graph is the collection of all pairs (, f ). These pairs can be identified with the ordered triples (x₁, x₂, f ). For a continuous function the graph of such a function is a surface.

Quadratic function polynomial function in which the highest-degree term is of the second degree

In algebra, a quadratic function, a quadratic polynomial, a polynomial of degree 2, or simply a quadratic, is a polynomial function with one or more variables in which the highest-degree term is of the second degree. For example, a quadratic function in three variables x, y, and z contains exclusively terms x², y², z², xy, xz, yz, x, y, z, and a constant:

Cubic function a polynomial function in a single variable where the highest exponent of the variable is 3

In algebra, a cubic function is a function of the form

How APP in Mathematics differs from traditional assessment

Formative Assessment has been defined as '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'. In the past the focus for assessment has often been summative assessment which is taken after a pupil has completed a unit of work, and often at the end of a school year. APP is formative assessment in that teachers can use it whilst an AF is being taught and use the results to inform their planning.

Educational assessment is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data on the knowledge, skill, attitudes, and beliefs to refine programs and improve student learning. Assessment data can be obtained from directly examining student work to assess the achievement of learning outcomes or can be based on data from which one can make inferences about learning. Assessment is often used interchangeably with test, but not limited to tests. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community, a course, an academic program, the institution, or the educational system as a whole. The word 'assessment' came into use in an educational context after the Second World War.

A teacher is a person who helps others to acquire knowledge, competences or values.

Summative assessment refers to the assessment of participants where the focus is on the outcome of a program. This contrasts with formative assessment, which summarizes the participants' development at a particular time. Summative assessment is widely taught in educational programs in the United States. Scriven claims that while all assessment techniques can be summative, only some are formative.

In practical terms, APP allows teachers to use evidence from their everyday teaching to assess a pupils capability on an AF. This can include evidence gathered by talking to pupils whilst they undertake group work, matching activities and team games. The use of mini-whiteboards and slides on an interactive white board are also becoming common. In addition, work done on more traditional worksheets can also count towards a teachers judgement. APP is not seen as a series of mini tests but as a means of giving pupils multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of work. In the secondary school phase, APP links closely to Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) where pupils are expected to show determination in solving problems and work as part of a team. APP also has close links with the 2010 GCSE specification and its increased emphasis on problem solving. There isn't, however, any intention that APP should be tackled through the use of coursework.

A whiteboard is any glossy, usually white surface for nonpermanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface allowing rapid marking and erasing of markings on their surface. The popularity of whiteboards increased rapidly in the mid-1990s and they have become a fixture in many offices, meeting rooms, school classrooms, and other work environments.

A worksheet, in the word's original meaning, is a sheet of paper on which one performs work. It is a printed page that a child completes with a writing instrument. No other materials are needed. It is "a sheet of paper on which work schedules, working time, special instructions, etc. are recorded. A piece or scrap of paper on which problems, ideas, or the like, are set down in tentative form." In education, a worksheet may have questions for students and places to record answers. In accounting, a worksheet is, or was, a sheet of ruled paper with rows and columns on which an accountant could record information or perform calculations.

In the United Kingdom, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification, generally taken in a number of subjects by pupils in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. State education in Scotland does not use GCSEs, instead its Scottish Qualifications Certificate operates National / Intermediate exams at the equivalent level, however, certain private schools in Scotland offer GCSEs, and the proportion of Scottish pupils taking GCSEs to facilitate admission to English universities is increasing.

Timeline for the deployment of APP in Core Subjects

All schools in England and Wales received training on APP during the academic year 2008/9. During 2009/10 schools have been expected to trial APP with at least one Year group with a view to fully embedding the approach from September 2010. Any school that has not fully embedded APP by September 2010 will be offered further training to enable them to do so.

An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study.

Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology. In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation or profession, observers of the labor-market recognize as of 2008 the need to continue training beyond initial qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People within many professions and occupations may refer to this sort of training as professional development.

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Related Research Articles

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Learning pathways through statutory assessment: Key Stages 2 and 3, also known as the Daugherty Report is a government review of the educational assessment system for Key Stages 2 and 3 in Wales. The review was commissioned by Jane Davidson of the National Assembly for Wales in June 2003 and undertaken by a group led by Professor Richard Daugherty from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

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References

↑ Speech by E Truss, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare to Reform 10 April 2014

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[1] Speech by E Truss, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare to Reform 10 April 2014