2. • Help us to refine our Growth & Threshold
model, by questioning us.
• Get you thinking about AWL without levels
in your own context.
• Help you to overcome any obstacles, if you
choose to implement it, in your own
school.
3.
4. Why scrap levels?
Group Director of Assessment Research and
Development, Cambridge Assessment
You Tube: National Curriculum: Tim Oates on
assessment
5. Why scrap levels?
1. Never meant to be a label – meant to
support progress.
2. Undue pace – focus on getting through levels
quickly, rather than embedding deep
understanding of key concepts.
3. Levels mean different things – marks on a
test, APP work best matched a descriptor or
‘just in….’
4. Successful nations don’t use them – children
capable of anything because of effort put
in…not because they are level 4, 5 etc.
13. “I’ve had a look through and we’re
definitely on the same page with
the approach.”
Dylan Wiliam (in response to looking at our
model)
14. Where we are
• May 2014 – DfE announced we were successful with bid.
• May 2014 – appointed assessment innovators to lead the
re-write of KS3 curriculum and assessment.
• September 2014 – teaching new KS3 curriculum to Y8
• October 2014 – parents evening session where AWL was
explained to parents
• November 2014 – first Y8 AWL tracking point (data
gathering)
• December 2014 – First Y8 reports went home
• Feb 2015 – 2nd set of Yr8 reports going home
• Feb 2015 – Final Growth & Threshold model was sent to
the DfE
• June 2015 – Last set of Yr8 reports going home
• June 2015 – Departments getting Yr7 and Yr9 schemes of
work finalised
15. Growth & Threshold Model
• What are the ‘big ideas’ in each subject?
• What do students need to master in order to
be successful in KS4?
• What does excellence look like?
• Use this to set the bar of expectation – with
progression through the thresholds.
• Focus assessment on what counts – key
knowledge and skills.
16.
17. June July July July July
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Y7
Y8
Y9
Y10
Y11
Knowledge &
Skills
18. June July July July July
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Y7
Y8
Y9
Y10
Y11
Knowledge &
Skills
Plan
backwards
19.
20. What are the ‘Big Ideas’?
e.g. In Science:
• Cells
• Particles
• Energy
• Forces
• Interdependence
These should shape your key knowledge
21.
22. Each unit of work starts with ‘Threshold
Assessment Table’
•Don’t assess everything.
•Select the key knowledge & skills in that unit of work,
that students need to be successful at the end of KS4.
•That becomes the focus of the assessment & feedback
for that unit of work.
27. Different from levels?
• Not assigned a target level – high expectations
for all – Growth Mindset.
• Assessment is based on progress made – so
celebrates effort of all students, with different
starting points.
• Our teachers set the standard of excellence
expected – reinforces our high standards.
• Not given feedback such as ‘you’re a 4a’ – but
focused on formative feedback that makes
students think about how to progress.
• Rubrics used for planning teaching and
progression – not assigning numbers.
31. Formative assessment
• Ongoing.
• All lessons.
• Use the threshold rubrics for personalised and
specific feedback.
• And to plan progression in teaching
Focus for
students is HOW
to improve, not
how much they
have to do to get
to the next
level/step/badge
32. Summative assessments
• 3 times a year.
• Format of assessment is appropriate to each
subject.
• Assessments assess all thresholds
– Students do assessment.
– Compare student performance to baseline
threshold.
– Report progress made.
33. Good progress
Expected Progress
Exceptional
Progress
Less than expected
progress
Baseline Threshold
+1
0
+2
-1
Using the
thresholds for each
assessment, where
is the student
relative to their
baseline threshold?
Above
baseline
threshold
Below
baseline
threshold
Threshold Assessment
Planning backwards – what are the key knowledge and skills needed
in each threshold, in each year, to ensure progression?
How will they be assessed?
How will the thresholds be ‘moderated’?
34. • Allows underachieving students to be identified and interventions planned.
• Allows performance of classes/ subjects to be monitored - % of students
making good, expected, less than expected progress.
• Ensures students of all abilities can be praised for the effort and progress
they are making – in the same way.
• Supports long term goals – and monitoring progress towards them.
35.
36.
37. Assessment Innovators
• Humanities – Ben Crockett
• Art & Design – Emma Wade
• PE & Performing Arts – Jack Corbett
• English – Jo Grimwood
• Maths - Sam Down & Emma Mason
• Science - Simona Trignano
• Computing – Chloe Gardner
• MFL – Pam Graham
38. Impact since September
• Level of challenge in Y8 lessons has increased
dramatically.
• Response to feedback
•
• Celebrate the success of all students who are
making good progress, irrespective of their
starting points
• Focus interventions meaningfully for
students in all of the thresholds.
39. Overcoming barriers
• Change of mindset – mostly for staff.
• Exceeding excellence.
• Avoiding the temptation to link it to a future GCSE grade.
• High ability students fixed mindsets coming to the fore.
• Moderating the level of challenge in the thresholds within
subjects, but also between subjects.
40. Some key points/ questions we are still
thinking about:
• How will standardisation of the thresholds within and between
subjects happen?
• Will students/ parents be told forecast grades in Yr 9?
• Should the ‘baseline threshold’ be reviewed each year?
• Will the thresholds be the same in each subject?
• What else is reported at each Tracking point eg effort/behaviour?
• What about Growth mindset in KS4? Should they have target grades
or not?
