Assessment Unit

Effective assessment for school improvement

Effective assessment is at the heart of learning and teaching and fundamental to school improvement processes. The Assessment Unit provides guidance and support to schools in developing all aspects of their assessment practice and in meeting statutory assessment requirements.

Effective Assessment - Principles and Practice
This document provides an overview of all aspects of assessment and explores the relationship between assessment for learning (formative assessment) and assessment of learning (summative assessment). It considers what assessment looks like in the short, medium and longer terms and the interrelationship between formative and summative assessment over these different timescales. It is designed to support schools in evaluating and developing their assessment practice.

Effective Assessment – summarising, recording and tracking progress

This is a companion document to Effective Assessment – Principles and Practice and should be read in conjunction with that document. It focuses specifically on assessment of learning (summative assessment) and considers what the tracking of progress looks like over the short, medium and longer terms.

Copies of both of these documents have been provided to all schools and further copies can be ordered through the Assessment Unit on 303 8839.

The Unit's responsibilities include:

Advice and support for schools in meeting statutory requirements for assessment, recording and reporting, publication of results and target setting.

Managing the local authority’s duties in relation to statutory assessment procedures, including moderation processes for the Foundation Stage Profile and for Key Stage 1 assessments, agreeing special arrangements for the Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 tests, and carrying out monitoring visits for the tests at Key Stages 2 and 3.
The collection, analysis and reporting of performance data from end of key stage National Curriculum assessments and the Foundation Stage Profile, and the presentation of this data in various ways for schools and for the Education Service.

In addition, the Unit’s activities in conjunction with others in BASS and with the Research and Statistics Section include:

Guidance to schools on the development of all aspects of assessment practice, including assessment for learning (formative assessment).
Guidance and training on the use of performance data for monitoring, evaluation, target setting and tracking pupil progress.
Guidance on testing and examinations.