National Curriculum assessment

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The National Curriculum assessment usually refers to the statutory assessments carried out in primary schools in England, colloquially known as standard assessment tasks (SATs). [1] The assessments are made up of a combination of testing and teacher assessment judgements and are used in all government-funded primary schools in England to assess the attainment of pupils against the programmes of study of the National Curriculum at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 where all pupils are aged 6 to 7 and 10 to 11 respectively. Until 2008, assessments were also required at the end of Key Stage 3 (14-year-olds) in secondary schools after which they were scrapped.

Contents

History

The assessments were introduced following the introduction of a National Curriculum to schools in England and Wales under the Education Reform Act 1988. As the curriculum was gradually rolled out from 1989, statutory assessments were introduced between 1991 and 1995, with those in Key Stage 1 first, following by Key Stages 2 and 3 respectively as each cohort completed a full key stage. [2] The assessments were introduced only for the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. The first assessments in Key Stage 1 were a range of cross-curricular tasks to be delivered in the classroom, known as standardised assessment tasks - hence the common acronym 'SATs'. However, the complexity of the use of these meant they were quickly replaced by more formal tasks. [2] The assessments in Key Stages 2 and 3 were developed using more traditional tests.

In all 3 Key Stages, tests became the main form of statutory assessment, but a separate strand of Teacher Assessment was also used. This allowed teachers to make judgements about pupils they taught, based on their knowledge of the pupil's learning and attainment against the attainment targets contained within the national curriculum. The results of both tests and teacher assessments were reported using a common scale of attainment levels, numbered 1 to 8 across the three key stages, with the national expectation that pupils would achieve Level 2 at the age of 7; Level 4 at the age of 11; and Level 5 or 6 by the age of 14.

This model continued, with minor adjustments to reflect the changing content of the National Curriculum, up to 2004. From 2005, the role of the tests was downplayed at Key Stage 1, with tests being used only internally to support teacher assessment judgements. [3] Further changes came in 2008 when the government announced that testing in Key Stage 3 was to be scrapped altogether. [4]

In 2013, then Education Minister, Michael Gove announced that when the new version of the National Curriculum was introduced to schools from 2014, the system of attainment levels would be removed. [5] As a result, since 2016, the old system has levels that are no longer used as part of statutory assessment. Instead, tests and teacher assessments now follow different models at each key stage.

Current Assessment

National Curriculum Assessments are now carried out only at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. At both key stages the process includes a combination of tests and teacher assessment judgements. The first round of assessments in the new model was undertaken in 2016.

Key Stage 1

There are two elements to the statutory assessment process in Key Stage 1: tests and teacher assessment. The tests are used only to support teacher's judgement; it is the teacher assessment which is recorded as the statutory outcome. Statutory assessment takes place in reading, writing, mathematics and science. For each subject, teachers use the available evidence to reach one of a number of judgements, based on the national assessment framework. The judgements available for reading, writing and mathematics are as follows:

In science, the only judgement available is 'Working at the Expected Standard', or alternatively an indication that the child has not yet met the expected standard for his/her age. Each judgement band is illustrated in the Teacher Assessment framework documentation by a number of descriptors of performance. To achieve a given standard, pupils must achieve all of the descriptors within that band. For pupils with Special Educational Needs a separate judgement may be made using a separate grading system known as P-levels.

Judgements in reading, writing and mathematics are supported by test papers which are administered during May of Year 2. The reading and maths tests are statutory for schools. Schools can choose to use an optional Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test to support judgements in writing. There is no test available for science. [6]

Key Stage 2

During May of Year 6, the final year of Key Stage 2, children in state-funded schools (and independent schools if they so choose) undertake three National Curriculum Tests: Reading; Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling; and Mathematics. Writing is assessed solely based on teacher judgement against the assessment framework, following the recommendations of the 2011 Bew Review. [7] Science tests are taken biennially by a selected sample of pupils to monitor national performance in science; the results of these tests are reported to their future secondary schools and parents by June. The test is taken in May. [8]

In addition to the tests, teachers are required to provide teacher assessments in the core subject areas of reading, writing, mathematics and science. As at Key Stage 1, these judgements are based on a framework of descriptors, for which a child must meet all requirements to be awarded the band grade. The judgements available at Key Stage 2 differ for the subjects because of the different roles played. Writing has most available judgements as it is part of the statutory accountability judgement. Reading and mathematics have fewer judgements as the statutory focus is on the test scores. Science has only one available judgement, as at Key Stage 1. The grades available, therefore, are:

Broad abilityMathematicsReadingWritingScience
Above ExpectedWorking at the Expected StandardWorking at the Expected StandardWorking at Greater Depth within the Expected StandardWorking at the Expected Standard
Expected StandardWorking at the Expected standard
Below ExpectedHas Not Met the Expected StandardWorking Towards the Expected StandardHas Not Met the Expected StandardHas Not Met the Expected Standard
Growing Development of the Expected StandardGrowing Development of the Expected StandardGrowing Development of the Expected Standard
Early Development of the Expected StandardEarly Development of the Expected StandardEarly Development of the Expected Standard
Foundations for the Expected StandardFoundations for the Expected StandardFoundations for the Expected Standard
Below the Standard of the pre-Key StageBelow the Standard of the pre-Key StageBelow the Standard of the pre-Key Stage

Other assessments

The National Curriculum only extends to pupils in Years 1 to 11 of compulsory education in England. Outside of the statutory National Curriculum assessment in years 2 and 6, the only other centrally collected assessment data is from GCSE exams, usually taken in Year 11, and from the phonics screening check in Year 1. [9] For pupils in other year groups there are no centralised assessments, although schools are free to use tests and examinations either of their own making, or purchased from a supplier.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, where children are aged under 5, assessment takes place using a separate framework. [10]

There is also a times table test in Year 4 which was held for the first time in 2022 after COVID-19 delayed the original idea.

Criticisms

The two main teaching unions spearheaded a boycott of the tests in 1993. [11]

In a 2008 report evaluating and analysing National Testing, the House of Commons, the Select committee and the Department for Children, Schools and Families registered its concern with the current testing arrangements in state schools. It raised concerns that the "professional abilities of teachers" were under-used and that the high-stakes nature of the tests led to "phenomena such as teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum and focusing disproportionate resources on borderline pupils." They further recommended that the multiple uses of National Curriculum assessment – for local accountability, national monitoring, and individual progress measurement – be separated into different forms of assessment. [12]

Two leading unions, the NUT and the NAHT (though not the NASUWT), voted to boycott the tests in 2010, which resulted in a quarter of schools not administering the tests. [13] These unions wanted to see the tests replaced by teacher assessment. [14]

Parents and children have also proposed the idea of the SATs being scrapped [15] due to causing too much pressure on young children.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GCSE</span> British public examinations, generally taken aged 15-16

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in England</span>

Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education. Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public education and state-funded schools at a local level. State-funded schools may be selective grammar schools or non-selective comprehensive schools. All state schools are subject to assessment and inspection by the government department Ofsted. England also has private schools and home education; legally, parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.

Education in Scotland is provided in state schools, private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. Mandatory education in Scotland begins for children in Primary 1 (P1) at primary school and ends in Fourth Year (S4) at secondary school. Overall accountability and control of state–education in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government, and is overseen by its executive agency, Education Scotland, with additional responsibility for nursery schools being the joint responsibility of both Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. Scotland's private schools are overseen by the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Children in Scotland sit mandatory National Standardised Assessments in Primary 1 (P1), Primary 4 (P4), Primary 7 (P7) at the end of primary school, and Third Year (S3) in secondary school, which assist in monitoring children's progress and providing diagnostic data information to support teachers' professional judgement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curriculum</span> Educational plan

In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's instructional goals. A curriculum may incorporate the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives. Curricula are split into several categories: the explicit, the implicit, the excluded, and the extracurricular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comprehensive school</span> Type of school

A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria, usually academic performance. The term is commonly used in relation to England and Wales, where comprehensive schools were introduced as state schools on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965.

The National Curriculum for England is the statutory standard of school subjects, lesson content, and attainment levels for primary and secondary schools in England. It is compulsory for local authority-maintained schools, but also often followed by independent schools and state-funded academies. It was first introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988 as simply The National Curriculum and applied to both England and Wales. However, education later became a devolved matter for the Welsh government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills</span> Former Texas state standardized test

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) was the fourth Texas state standardized test previously used in grade 3-8 and grade 9-11 to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. It is developed and scored by Pearson Educational Measurement with close supervision by the Texas Education Agency. Though created before the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, it complied with the law. It replaced the previous test, called the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), in 2002.

Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the term also refers to the first three years of secondary education.

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Primary education in Wales has a similar structure to primary education in England, but teaching of the Welsh language is compulsory and it is used as the medium of instruction in many schools. The introduction of the Foundation Phase for 3- to 7-year-olds is also creating increasing divergence between Wales and England.

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In an educational setting, standards-based assessment is assessment that relies on the evaluation of student understanding with respect to agreed-upon standards, also known as "outcomes". The standards set the criteria for the successful demonstration of the understanding of a concept or skill.

The Cambridge Primary Review (CPR), following a lengthy period of consultation and planning, was launched in October 2006 as a fully independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England. The Review, directed by Professor Robin Alexander, has been supported since its inception by grants from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The scope of the Review and the depth of its evidence have made it the most comprehensive enquiry into English primary education since the Plowden Report of 1967. Between October 2007 and February 2009 the Review published 31 interim reports, including 28 surveys of published research, 39 briefings, 14 media releases and several newspaper articles. The Review's 608-page final report Children, their World, their Education: final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review was published on 16 October 2009, together with an 850-page companion volume, The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys. Both books are published by Routledge.

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.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was a multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conclusion of each school grade. The initiative was sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State-funded schools (England)</span> School in England which provides education to pupils between the ages of 3 and 18 without charge

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comprehensive school (England and Wales)</span> Term for a non-selective secondary school in England and Wales

A comprehensive school, or simply a comprehensive, typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria, usually academic performance. In England and Wales comprehensive schools were introduced as state schools on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965. They may be part of a local education authority or be a self governing academy or part of a multi-academy trust.

The National Curriculum of Northern Ireland identifies the minimum requirements of skills for each subject and the activities to develop and applied the skills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science education in England</span> Overview of science education in England

Science education in England is generally regulated at all levels for assessments that are England's, from 'primary' to 'tertiary' (university). Below university level, science education is the responsibility of three bodies: the Department for Education, Ofqual and the QAA, but at university level, science education is regulated by various professional bodies, and the Bologna Process via the QAA. The QAA also regulates science education for some qualifications that are not university degrees via various qualification boards, but not content for GCSEs, and GCE AS and A levels. Ofqual on the other hand regulates science education for GCSEs and AS/A levels, as well as all other qualifications, except those covered by the QAA, also via qualification boards.

References

  1. ↑ "The Education (National Curriculum) (Assessment Arrangements for English, Mathematics and Science) (Key Stage 1) Order 1991". Legislation.gov.uk. 26 July 1991. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 Hutchinson, Dougal (1994). How reliable in National Curriculum Assessment?. National Foundation for Education Research. pp. 6–10. ISBN   0700513590.
  3. ↑ "Primary School tests toned down". BBC News website. BBC. 15 September 2004. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Tests scrapped for 14-year-olds". BBC News website. BBC. BBC News. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Assessing without levels". Archived Content: Department for Education. Department for Education. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "2017 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA)" (PDF). Standards and Testing Agency. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "Independent Review of Key Stage 2 testing, assessment and accountability" (PDF). Department for Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "2017 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA)" (PDF). Standards and Testing Agency. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "New phonics check will identify thousands of children needing extra reading help - News stories - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Department for Education. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Early years foundation stage - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Department for Education. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Sats story". TheGuardian.com . 24 August 2004.
  12. ↑ "Conclusions and Recommendations". Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families Third Report. UK Parliament. 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "'A quarter of schools' boycotted Sats tests". BBC News. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  14. ↑ Shepherd, Jessica (16 April 2010). "Headteachers vote to boycott Sats tests" . Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "Labour will abolish Sats exams in primary schools, Jeremy Corbyn says" . The Independent. 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
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