Guidance on Planning and Assessment of Religious Education
Key Stage 1 & 2
Summer 2009–Summer 2010
INTRODUCTION
The following document is a revision of the guidance entitled ‘Guidance on Revised Levels of Attainment and Assessment of ‘Here I Am’ which was sent out to primary schools in the summer of 2007.
Prior to the introduction of national levels of attainment for RE (2000) teachers using ‘Here I Am’ assessed all stages of the primary phase using end of topic expectations. The levels of attainment and developments within Early Years have now changed this.
The introduction of the revised levels of attainment for Religious Education (2007) provides Key Stage 1 & 2 with its own assessment regime. The revised RE level descriptors (2007) have become the sole means for the recording of assessment at Key Stage 1 & 2. In other words, topic expectations are no longer used for the recording of assessment in RE at Key Stages 1 & 2. Topic expectations are used along with learning objectives at the planning stage, but they do not (after level 2) always provide sufficient rigour to meet the standard required at level 3, 4 and 5. The level descriptors are the only national benchmark in RE. So teachers in Key Stage 1 & 2 will plan using the ‘Here I Am’ learning objectives, ‘Here I Am’ expectations and level descriptors, but assess and record using level descriptors.
KEY STAGE 1 & KEY STAGE 2 GUIDELINES
The following guidelines are intended to support the teaching, assessing and recording of attainment in Religious Education in Key Stages 1 and 2.
All teachers of RE in Key Stages 1 & 2 are required to assess each pupil and record their attainment in Religious Education.
Planning & Assessment of RE in Key Stages 1 & 2
‘What must I do, in this topic, to enable a pupil to achieve level x ?’
This question is central to the planning and assessment of RE. It brings into focus 2 key points:
a. Levels of attainment (2007), rather than the topic expectations of ‘Here I Am’, are the nationally agreed, educationally sound and therefore authoritative map through which progress in religious literacy must be assessed.
b. Assessment is not about end of topic testing, nor about investing all judgement in single pieces of work, but about viewing everyday teaching and learning as assessment opportunities.
To ask ‘what must I do, in this topic, to enable a pupil to achieve level x?’ at the planning stage demonstrates the teacher’s awareness of the two key points above. Consequently, when planning a ‘Here I Am’ topic teachers should use ‘Here I Am’ learning objectives and topic expectations, but must also use the level descriptors. This is because after level 2 the topic expectations of ‘Here I Am’ do not always provide sufficient rigour to meet the standard required at level 3, 4 and 5 and teachers need to plan assessment opportunities using the level descriptors at the planning stage.
Identifying assessment opportunities at the planning stage
In order to support the use of level descriptors at the planning stage there is a new planning format that adapts version (2) of the planning sheets on the Diocesan website. It is hoped that planning using this format will enable teachers to pitch their activities at the correct level for their pupils and plan more effective assessment opportunities at the planning stage (see Levels of Attainment in Religious Education p. 17). To be of real use the levels of attainment must be integrated into the whole planning process. In expressing their learning outcomes teachers should use the language of the level descriptors. For example, working with AT1 (iii) social and moral practices and way of life and targeting level 3 a teacher might express the intended outcome as ‘I will be able to say/write:
- why Catholics make the sign of the cross
- bless themselves
- genuflect
- give money to CAFOD
The driver word (‘give reasons’) is identified at the planning stage and helps shape the learning outcome and the activity. Similarly, asking ‘What must I do, in this topic, to enable a pupil to achieve level x?’ means that the teacher is in control of the assessment process. No longer is it about end-testing nor about trying to match work completed without reference to the level descriptors to an attainment strand and level. It is about providing opportunities for pupils to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills throughout a topic in light of the levels of attainment. Such an approach reveals that the main purpose of assessment is to improve standards, not to measure them.
Further support in the planning of ‘Here I Am’ topics is given in the form of planning sheets which map the end of topic expectations to levels of attainment (see below sheet ‘HIA Expectations & LoA’ pp.19-22 ). It will be noted that the third column has been narrowed and headed ‘Additional Notes’. Pupils in Key Stages 1 & 2 are not assessed using the end of topic expectations so these sheets are no longer required for the recording of topic expectations. The teacher may, if required, use the column to write notes pertaining to other strands of the attainment targets identified and such like. It is important to note that in Years 5-6 the topic expectations do not always reach the level pupils are expected to be working at. This is because ‘Here I Am’ expectations were written before the revised levels of attainment. Support in meeting this standards gap is provided in the topic related levels of attainment assessment documents on the website. It is expected that teachers will record the attainment of their pupils using AT record sheets. The AT pupil record sheet now incorporates ‘h, s, c’ (‘hesitant, secure, confident’ sub-levelling). Teachers will identify sub-levels within the range of work produced by the pupils. When moderating work, teachers will see below average, average and above average examples within a level. The language used to describe this sub-levelling is ‘hesitant’, ‘secure’, ‘confident’. (see p. 17 Levels of Attainment in Religious Education.
Assessing 5 strands of the attainment targets
Over the last two years the Office for Education and Schools has recommended an assessed topic that was linked to a strand of the attainment targets. In practice this works out as 3 assessed topics over an academic year. This means that teachers have some idea of the level of their pupils over 3 strands. However, when a teacher says that a pupil is level ‘2’ they need to be able to demonstrate that a particular pupil is level ‘2’ across the 5 strands. Therefore, alongside the evidence gained from formally assessed topics, teachers need to have evidence of the two strands not covered by the formally assessed topics. (A pupil may be working at two different levels when it comes to AT 1 & AT 2). Teachers can ensure there is evidence of attainment strands not part of the formally assessed topics through planning, gathering evidence from the full range of work produced by pupils together with staff records based on observations, and assessment design.
1. When planning a formally assessed strand, using the planning format recommended, the teacher will also identify activities within other attainment strands. These provide the teacher with opportunities to gather evidence of attainment in those other strands. This is particularly the case when planning those topics that are not part of the formal assessment cycle.
2. Having planned for the coverage of 5 strands over an academic year, teachers should be able to draw on an evidence-base which can take from the full range of work produced by the pupils and recorded observations of the teacher to enable a judgement that a pupil is more one level than another across the 5 strands (for more information on gathering evidence and making judgements see Levels of Attainment in Religious Education pp. 9-10).
3. A third way of incorporating evidence of more than three strands into an evidence-base is to think about assessment design. Designing tasks that require pupils to engage in more than one strand is possible once teachers get used to seeing links and relationships between the strands. AT 1 strand (i) is often related to AT 1 strand (ii) and (iii). When teaching a particular sacrament (AT 1 ii) there is often a link with a Bible story or event (AT 1 i): for example, Eucharist with the Last Supper or Reconciliation with Zacchaeus or the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The same is true when teaching the liturgical year (AT 1 iii). For example, Holy Week has direct links to Palm Sunday through to Easter etc. AT 1 (iii) can also be assessed at the same time as AT 2 (i) if pupils are encouraged to give a personal response.
The class teacher will provide 3 pieces of evidence for the RE portfolio in the 3 formally assessed strands, but must also have evidence of the 2 other strands.
The Office for Education and Schools will set an assessed topic per term for the academic year 2009-10, but it is the responsibility of the class teacher to ensure coverage of all 5 strands of the attainment targets over the year. Teachers should begin moving away from investing all assessment judgement in one activity or piece of work per term and instead view everyday teaching and learning in RE (planned in light of the level descriptors) as assessment opportunities. Following this approach, teachers will use the levels as ‘best-fit’ descriptions, deciding whether a pupil’s performance taken as a whole over a period of time has been more one level than another.
Children’s Targets
The children’s targets are to help children (and teachers) understand the level they are working at and the target they are aiming for. They can be used for display and in exercise books. They are a useful tool to aid the conversation between teacher and pupil and support self-assessment.
‘Driver Words’
AT 1 AT2
Level 1 recognise talk about
Level 2 describe ask & answer
Level 3 give reasons make links
Level 4 show understanding engage &
respond
Level 5 identify & explain expl ain