Y2 Assessments: Is this normal/good practice?

[tepidcuppa]

Yesterday the Y2 children were all given tests in maths, writing and numeracy - booklets, which I believe were old SATS papers. They sat in silence at their tables to do them. The head and the deputy were in and out of the class while the tests were going on, so the kids had an idea that these were somehow special.

I asked the school about this and was told it was part of of a week of assessments of all the children in the school.

I was told the school had 'always done this' and yet had never heard of it before. I asked around and it transpires that they have never done a formal test like this in Y2 before (just Juniors) and in previous years there was only teacher assessment up until the KS1 SATS in May when there were very low key tests - done in a fun, non-scary way.

Can anyone help me understand what is going on? And most importantly: Is it all normal, good practice?

Oh I don't know, Feenie. I just know her teacher took her into a room on her own and did some stuff with her, and told me she'd done SATS for maths.

Hi Feenie

Maybe I'm reading the wrong bit from Effic -

I read Effic's point 2 as Teacher Assessment's can be moderated by SATs paper results at KS1.

Effic's point 2 below:

1. The school have to be able to justify and prove to external moderators (either their Local authority or peer review) how they have arrived at this level and what evidence they have used. This may include the SATs paper or tasks but it doesn't have to. Every four years, school will be checked by a local authority appointed moderator.

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Now I accept the 2nd half of this statement ...but doesn't have to - because I know that often teachers can argue that although performance wasn't good on the KS1 SATs exams, the child was not well that week/ family circumstance issues were going on, but gather documentation of work in class at a level to demonstrate performance generally at a higher level (thus Teacher opinion outweighing test). Possibly also working for demonstrating performance generally at a lower level - perhaps in situation of suspected but unproven cheating as an example.

All of this gels with what I understand to be the case at our school

but...

I am a mere parent. I really don't know what goes on very precisely.

It is in fact this 'mystery' approach to evaluation of pupil progress that I find most belittling as a parent.

I am adult enough to understand that progress isn't steadily linear.

I am aware that there will be points when learning plateaus.

I remain bemused that the information given to me is so vague, limited and always so qualified.

I know that there are other schools in this area where teachers send home marked work, give parents a stiff talking to about how their kid needs to do more reading and really sort themselves out on the x7 times table. Their open, their honest, they say things that aren't always pleasant to hear as a parent, they have high expectations and boy oh boy do they get the results as a school.

Would that as a profession teachers would all behave with so much candor and desire to see academic progress at primary school.

Stating that the evidence doesn't have to include a test/task is incorrect in any context. The result is still has to be part of the evidence, and it is incorrect to say a teacher may 'discount' it. It still has to be part of the evidence of the assessment journey, whether completed in September or June.

The only time test papers or writing tasks are not taken to moderation is if the child has not taken them. For example a child working at level 1 will not have taken the level 2 maths or reading comprehension papers. Or if, as was the case with my school a few years ago, the moderation takes place before the tests are taken. Most moderation takes place in the summer term, but we had ours in February. All I could take was their class work, my planning with notes of lesson outcomes and APP sheets.
The tests and tasks must be undertaken at some point during the school year, but if the LA calls a moderation before you've done them you can't be moderated on them!

True.

There have been several teachers posting on TES and MN over the years who do believe that the tests are no longer statutory, as mrz will confirm. We even had a LEA Literacy advisor on here telling parents that once!

"We even had a LEA Literacy advisor on here telling parents that once!" , but if your LA is like mine it doesn't surprise me ...

Having read the consultation document on the new approach to assessment I'm holding my breath regarding testing in Year 2. It did put

PSBD point 2. "The school have to be able to justify and prove to external moderators (either their Local authority or peer review) how they have arrived at this level and what evidence they have used. This may include the SATs paper or tasks but it doesn't have to. Every four years, school will be checked by a local authority appointed moderator ."

untrue ... as feenie has said it is in fact illegal NOT to administer the tests and it may be that in the posters LEA the school will be checked by a moderator it is not the case in my LEA where this is done EVERY year, either as a school visit or by providing the children's books at an external meeting.

I have a feeling moderating isn't quite as good here mrz!

We have to attend writing moderation meetings for writing - we take a couple of samples of work and argue the toss of levels with another 3 teachers and an advisor around the table (how rigorous!).

Other than that, we've had a couple of reading moderations over the last 10 years - just an advisor visiting the school, hearing a couple of children read and agreeing with our assessment!

Nothing else. Lucky we're honest!

Exactly! ... there isn't a national picture so saying "this is what happens" is misleading

Ours are every 3 years and are very rigorous, actually.

Indeed - cross posts mrz

Umm.
I also have to point out the different interpretation of an APP grid that the advisors on each table may have. One year, you leave the moderation meeting quaking with fear; the next year, you think assessments have been reasonable. There is no continuity at all.

The problems with this system become apparent when you have teachers bringing samples with no extended writing. You wouldn't believe how many schools are still following the old QCA - Katie Morag, Fire of London, etc. It is so sad that they have missed all the opportunities To be a bit creative with the curriculum before the portcullis drops again!

We don't use APP ... we use NC level descriptors

Do you still use the criterion scale, mrz?

Yes Feenie

Us too - was just looking on the Andrell pages to see if there was any news on updating it for the new curriculum, but there wasn't.

We have to use APP (or the county level descriptors, which are based on APP ) at our moderation meetings.
Each 'table' highlights a grid on the basis of a single piece of work (and have a flick through the rest of the book).

APP grids weren't designed to be used in this way.

I'm going to the Big Reading conference next week. The reading criterion scale has "grades" rather than levels

Nope, they weren't ipad!

That sounds interesting, mrz, let me know what the conference is like.

I went to the Literacy Trust conference a few weeks ago, it was excellent.