A learning centred approach to assessment
At the Midland Academies Trust the purpose of assessment is so that staff can judge the impact of their teaching on pupil learning. Our standards for assessment state that data is a by-product of assessment, not the purpose of conducting it.
We believe that feedback is at the heart of effective assessment.
- Our staff are not asked to routinely mark pupil work. Instead we expect them to regularly review the work produced as part of the planning and review cycle, and incorporate their findings into the next lesson.
- Our lessons are designed to provide immediate feedback where necessary – our teachers are expected to stop lessons to address misconceptions or gaps in learning at the point they arise wherever appropriate.
- Our pupils receive clear whole-class feedback at least every fortnight which tells them what they have mastered and unit-specific next steps. Teachers will use pupil work to exemplify these key points before setting ‘follow-up’ tasks to ensure that the feedback is understood and applied.
We find time for structured professional dialogue about the impact of our teaching on pupils.
- Our teachers have in-depth conversations about every pupil with a subject peer at least twice a year.
- Our leaders use this dialogue to make any needed changes to curriculum or planning at team or school level
- Our Trust values dialogue over data drops
We train our staff to become more expert at writing assessments.
- Our middle leaders and cross-Trust subject leads will receive ‘assessment essentials’ training from Evidence-Based Education in 2020.
- Our staff can apply to complete Assessment Lead training as part of Masters-level study.
- Our subject networks disseminate learning to upskill all teaching staff.