GUIDELINES FOR TEACHERS - curriculumonline.ie · each group of second class children with a series...

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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.


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


Strand Shapeandspace

Strandunit 3-Dshapes

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexploretherelationshipbetween2-Dand3-Dshapes.


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.


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


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


Strand Number

Strandunit Fractions

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexpressimproperfractionsasmixednumbersandviceversa

andpositionthemonthenumberline.


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


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.


Strand Receptivenesstolanguage/Writing

Strandunit Writing:creatingandfosteringtheimpulsetowrite

Receptivenesstolanguage:creatingandfosteringtheimpulsetowrite

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoreceiveandgiveconstructiveresponsestowriting.


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


Subject English



Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage:developingcompetence,confidenceandtheability

towriteindependently

Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexperiencevariedandconsistentorallanguageactivityaspart

ofthepre-writingprocess.

Thechildshouldbeenabledtowriteindependentlythroughaprocessofdrafting,revising,

editingandpublishing.


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


Subject English

Strand Receptivenesstolanguage/Writing

Strandunit Writing:creatingandfosteringtheimpulsetowrite/Receptivenesstolanguage

Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexpressandcommunicatereactionstoreadingexperiences.

Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexperienceinterestingandrelevantwritingchallenges.

Thechildshouldbeenabledtoseehis/herwritingvalued.




Competenceandconfidenceinusinglanguage

Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoobservetheteacherimprovingwriting.


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.


Strand Myself

Strandunit Takingcareofmybody

Curriculumobjectives Thechildshouldbeenabledtoexplorethevariousthingsthebodycando.

Thechildshouldbeenabledtodevelopandpractisehygieneskills.


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


Subject Science

Strand Livingthings

Strandunit Plantandanimallife

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtodevelopanincreasingawarenessofplantsandanimals

fromwiderenvironments.


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


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


Subject Science

Strand Energyandforces

Strandunit Heat

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtobecomeawareofdifferentsourcesofheatenergy.


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


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


Strand Number

Strandunit Fractions

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtoidentifyfractionsandequivalentformsoffractions

withdenominators2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10and12.


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


Subject Science

Strand Energyandforces

Strandunit Sound

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtodesignandmakearangeofsimplepercussioninstruments.


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


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


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


Subject History

Strand Localstudies

Strandunit Mylocalitythroughtheages

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtostudyaperiodorperiodsinthehistoryofthelocalvillage,

town,cityarea,townland,parishorcounty.


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.


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?


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


Subject Science

Strand Livingthings

Strandunit Plantsandanimals

Curriculumobjective Thechildshouldbeenabledtogroupandsortlivingthingsintosetsaccordingtocertaincharacteristics.


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


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


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


Subject English


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.

�3

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



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


Subject English


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


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


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


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


recordedandwhere.

Formulatedifferenttypes

ofquestions.

Decidethetimingofquestions.

•

•

•

questionswhichsupporthigher-

orderthinking

timetousedifferenttypesof

questionswithdifferentchildren

•

•

Providesimmediatefeedback

onchildren’slearning.

Usuallyrequiresfewtangible

resources.

Modelsgoodquestioning

forchildren.

•

•

•

Teacherobservation Clarifythepurpose;decide


recordedandwhere.

Plansuitabletasksforthe

childrenbeingobserved.

Organiseactivitiesforthe

childrennotbeingobserved,

whichminimiseinterruption

totheteacher.

•

•

•

observationtemplates

orchecklists

timeduringclasstoobserve

•

•

Providesimmediatefeedbackon

children’slearning.

Canbeplannedorspontaneous.

•

•

Teacher-designed

tasksandtests

Clarifythepurpose;decide


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


• 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


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


solve show Doyouknowanotherinstancewhere…?

Couldthishavehappenedin…?

Canyougroupbycharacteristicssuchas…?

Whatfactorswouldyouchangeif…?

Canyouapplythemethodusedtosomeexperienceof

yourown…?

Whatquestionswouldyouaskof…?

Fromtheinformationgiven,canyoudevelopasetof

instructionsabout…?

Wouldthisinformationbeusefulifyouhada…?

use illustrate

construct complete

examine classify

apply demonstrate

calculate modify

Analysis


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


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


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?


Isthepaint

Thin? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thick?


Isthemoodofthepicture

Happy? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sad?


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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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