5. Making judgements using the flow chart

When making periodic teacher assessment judgements using the APP approach there is a process to follow.

For each attainment target there are a number of specific steps to take when making your overall teacher assessment judgements. These are set out in the flow-charts which follow.

Collect together:

?pupils’ work that demonstrates independence and choice;

?any other evidence, such as teachers’ own knowledge, plans or notes;

?assessment guidance materials:

- level judgement flow chart;

- assessment guidelines

Identify level borderline for attainment target (AT)

Look through the work for each assessment focus (AF) and highlight the applicable criteria

Consider which level offers the ‘best fit’ and tick the appropriate level related box for each AF

Make an overall level judgement 14 Reading: making a level judgement

Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils’ reading into level judgements.

You will need:

?evidence of pupil’s reading that shows most independence

?other evidence about the pupil as a reader, e.g. notes on plans, pupil’s own reflections, your own recollections of classroom interactions

?a copy of the assessment guidelines for the level borderline that is your starting point.

Step 1 Making best fit judgements
Draw on what you know about the pupil’s reading to decide if it best fits the criteria for the lower level or higher level within each AF on the guidelines.
A best fit does not mean that the pupil fulfils every aspect of the criteria for an AF:
?if you find you cannot make a judgement in any AF, enter a tick (?) in the box for ‘insufficient evidence’ (IE). Recording IE has implications for planning
?if there is some evidence, but not in your judgement enough to warrant highlighting of any of the criteria, tick (?) in the below the level (BL) box for the AF
?when you are confident which criteria are the best fit, highlight them.
?
Step 2 Working through the AFs
For pupils at the level 1/2 and 2/3 borderline start with AF1
Enter a tick (?) in the box in the cell that relates most closely to the pupil’s reading in AF1. Now do the same for AF2.
For pupils at level 3 and above, AF1 is assumed. Start with AF2.
Enter a tick (?) in the box that relates most closely to the pupil’s reading in AF2.
For all pupils, repeat the process for AF3-AF7
For each AF in turn, decide whether what you know about the pupil’s reading best fits the criteria above or below the line. Enter a tick (?) in the box that relates most closely to the pupil’s reading in the AF.
?
Step 3 Making an overall level judgement
For level 1:
?‘1s’ in AF1 and AF2 and,
?some level 1 highlighting in AF3.
For level 2:
?‘2s’ in AF1 and AF2 and,
?some level 2 highlighting in AF3.
For level 3:
?‘3s’ for AF2 and AF3 and,
?level 3 for at least one other AF.
For level 4:
?‘4s’ for AF2 and AF3 and,
?level 4 for at least one other AF (chart continues to higher levels).
?
Step 4 Refining your judgement
Look across the AFs and decide whether the level is ‘Low’, ‘Secure’ or ‘High’:
?Low, if there is highlighting above and below the line or the evidence is thin
?Secure, if across the AFs, the criteria for the level are mostly highlighted
?High, if across the AFs, all criteria for the level are highlighted.
Enter a tick (?) in the box that relates most closely to the pupil’s reading overall.

Writing: making a level judgement

Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils’ writing into level judgements. You will need:

?evidence of pupil’s writing that shows most independence, e.g. from a range of subjects, outside the supportive context of the literacy hour

?other evidence about the pupil as a writer, e.g. notes on plans, pupil’s own reflections, your own recollections of classroom interactions

?a copy of the assessment guidelines for the level borderline that is your starting point.

Step 1 Making best fit judgements
Draw on what you know about the pupil’s writing to decide if it best fits the criteria for the lower level or higher level within each AF on the guidelines.
A best fit does not mean that the pupil fulfils every aspect of the criteria for an AF:
?if you find you cannot make a judgement in any AF, enter a tick (?) in the box for ‘insufficient evidence’ (IE). Recording IE has implications for planning
?if there is some evidence, but not in your judgement enough to warrant highlighting of any of the criteria, tick (?) in the below the level (BL) box for the AF
?when you are confident which criteria are the best fit, highlight them.
?
Step 2 Working through the AFs
Start with AF5, followed by AF6
Look through the work to decide if it is best described as meeting the criteria for the lower level or higher level within AF5 and AF6 on the guidelines sheet. Then, decide whether what you know about the pupil’s writing best fits the criteria above or below the line. Enter a tick (?) in the box that relates most closely to the pupil’s writing in AF5 and AF6.
Now repeat the process for the following pairs of assessment focuses:
?AF3 followed by AF4
?AF1 and AF2
?AF7 and AF8.
For levels 1, 2 and 3 make a judgement for handwriting using the criteria on the sheet.
?
Step 3 Making an overall level judgement
For level 1:
?‘1s’ in three of AF6, AF5, AF1 and AF2;
?AF8 or AF7 at level 1
?plus some highlighting in level 1 criteria for handwriting.
For level 2:
?‘2s’ in three of AF6, AF5, AF1 and AF2;
?‘2s’ in two of AF7, AF8 and handwriting.
For all other levels:
?four out of AFs 1 to 6. Use the judgement you have made in AF7 and AF8 to help confirm your overall judgement.
?
Step 4 Refining your judgement
Look across the AFs and decide whether the level is ‘Low’, ‘Secure’ or ‘High’:
?Low, if there is highlighting above and below the line or the evidence is thin
?Secure, if across the AFs, the criteria for the level are mostly highlighted
?High, if across the AFs, all criteria for the level are highlighted.
Enter a tick (?) in the box that relates most closely to the pupil’s writing overall.

Mathematics: making a level judgement

Use these steps to formalise your assessments of pupils’ mathematics into attainment target level judgements.

You will need:

?evidence of pupil’s mathematics that shows most independence, e.g. from work in other subjects as well as in mathematics lessons

?other evidence about the pupil as a mathematician, e.g. notes on plans, pupil’s own reflections, your own recollections of classroom interactions, oral answers given during mental starters

?a copy of the assessment guidelines for the level borderline that is your starting point.

Step 1 Making best fit judgements
Within each assessment focus, draw on the pupil’s work and other evidence including what you know about the pupil’s mathematics. Use the criteria in the assessment guidelines to decide which level provides the ‘best fit’.
?
Step 2 Work through Ma2 Number
Begin with the assessment guidelines for Ma2 Number
Look at the criteria within each AF. Decide which level describes the pupil best.
Record the level for each AF in the appropriate box.
If you feel the pupil is operating below the level in any assessment focus, check the criteria on the assessment guidelines for the level below (or, if using the level 1 / level 2 guideline, tick the box ‘below level 1’).
Record ‘insufficient evidence’ (IE) if you do not know enough about this aspect of the pupil’s mathematics to make a judgement. This has implications for planning.
?
Step 3 Making an overall level judgement for Ma2 Number
Now make your level decision for Ma2 Number:
?your AF judgements give an impression of the best-fit level for Ma2
?read the complete level descriptions for both levels to confirm your impression of the best fit level for Ma2.
Decide whether the level is Low, Secure or High. Do this by thinking about what the pupil demonstrates:
?how much of the level?
?how consistently?
?how independently?
?in what range of contexts?
Tick the relevant Low, Secure or High box for the level.
?
Step 4 Repeat the process for Ma3, Ma4 and then Ma1
For the Ma1 judgement, consider how the pupil uses and applies the mathematics of Ma2, Ma3 and Ma4.