Hackney Learning Trust have worked extensively to help schools with the assessment of reading. The removal of levels has made assessing children’s reading more complex as previously reading attainment was judged by national curriculum level e.g. a child reading books levelled at 3a was judged to be a 3a reader. With the revised curriculum teachers are having to judge children against end of year / phase objectives and ensure that there is progression in the texts they are reading. At Key Stage 2, there is no agreed book banding and different schemes make text selection and evaluation challenging.
Our guidance enables schools to target the two assessment areas in reading – book level (word reading) and understanding. It will help your school develop agreed expectations of text level for each year group and encourage a deeper whole school knowledge about how to assess reading. For example, ensuring that children deepen their understanding on an age appropriate text before moving on and the importance of hearing children read.
Our training pack can be purchased individually and can support staff to deliver CPD sessions and develop new standards. Additionally, HLT staff can deliver A.R.T CPD sessions and work with your school to ensure the guidance is implemented effectively.
We provide a pack of materials that can be used to help your school be confident in the selection and assessment of age related texts. The pack includes a comprehensive guide to age related texts, a detailed PowerPoint presentation and associated learning activities which can be used to deliver staff CPD on age related texts and an ART exemplar book list. The guidance includes:
- key questions to ask about book selection
- related text and age related exemplars
- advice on selecting age appropriate books
- guidance assessing children through hearing them read and tracking reading
- resources to support children self-select texts
- advice on promoting reading for pleasure
Hackney is highest performing local authority in the country in each of the core subjects of reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 1.
Department of Education (DfE) data, September 2016