Table Of ContentAssessment and Learning
in the Primary School
Assessmentofwhatchildrenhavelearnedhasbecomeanevermoreimportant
matterandthisbookaddressesbothformalandinformalwaysofassessingchild-
ren’s work and progress. Assessment is now regarded as a high stakes issue:
schools, teachers, individual pupils are often judged by the results of national
tests and public examinations. Pupils’ learning is frequently neglected in the
debatesothisbookputswhatchildrenactuallylearnrightatitscentre.Thebook
isdividedintosixunits,whichaddresstopicssuchas:
• principles and purposes of assessment
• written, oral and practical evaluation
• self-assessment and self-evaluation
• the whole school approach
• staff development and appraisal
Theinclusionofmanypracticalactivities,discussiontopics,photographs,car-
toons and case-study examples makes this a very user-friendly book for both
trainee and experienced teachers in primary schools.
TedWraggisProfessorofEducationatExeterUniversityandtheauthorofover
40 books. He has directed numerous research projects, analysed hundreds of
lessons and writes a regular column for theTimes Educational Supplement.
Successful Teaching Series
Thissetofpracticalresourcebooksforteachersfocusesontheclassroom.The
firsteditionswerebestsellersandtheseneweditionswillbeequallywelcomed
by teachers eager to improve their teaching skills. Each book contains:
• practical,writtenandoralactivitiesforindividualandgroupuseatall
stages of professional development
• transcriptsofclassroomconversationandteacherfeedbackandphoto-
graphs of classroom practice to stimulate discussion
• succinct and practical explanatory text
Titles in theSuccessful Teaching Seriesare
Class Management in the Primary School
E. C. Wragg
Class Management in the Secondary School
E. C. Wragg
Assessment and Learning in the Primary School
E. C. Wragg
Assessment and Learning in the Secondary School
E. C. Wragg
Explaining in the Primary School
E. C. Wragg and G. Brown
Explaining in the Secondary School
E. C. Wragg and G. Brown
Questioning in the Primary School
E. C. Wragg and G. Brown
Questioning in the Secondary School
E. C. Wragg and G. Brown
The first editions were published in the Leverhulme Primary Project Classroom
Skills Series.
Assessment and Learning
in the Primary School
E. C. Wragg
L E DGE/F
T A
U L
M
O
E
R R
Taylor&Francis Group
London and New York
First published asAssessment and Learningin 1997
by Routledge
This new revised edition first published 2001
by RoutledgeFalmer
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by RoutledgeFalmer
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
2001 E. C. Wragg
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wragg, E. C. (Edward Conrad)
Assessment and learning in the primary school / E. C. Wragg
p. cm. – (Successful teac hing series)
“First published as Assessment and learning, 1997” – T.p. verso
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Educational tests and measurements. 2 Education,
Elementary–Evaluation. I. Wragg, E. C. (Edward Conrad).
Assessment and learning. II. Title. III. Successful teaching series
(London, England)
LB3051 W674 2001
372.126–dc21 00–051802
ISBN 0-203-16420-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-25834-7 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–24957–0(Print Edition)
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
Aims and content 1
UNIT 1 The manifold nature of assessment 5
Types of assessment 7
What is assessed? 13
Written and discussionactivity1 14
Pitfalls in assessment 14
Written and discussion activity2 17
UNIT 2 Principles and purposes of assessment 19
Principles of assessment 19
Discussion activity3 26
Purposes of assessment 27
Discussion activity4 30
UNIT 3 Informal methods of assessment 31
Questioning 32
Practical activity5 34
Observation and monitoring 37
Practical activity6 39
Fair opportunities 39
vi CONTENTS
UNIT 4 Formal methods of assessment 41
Test construction 42
Practical and discussion activity7 47
Types of formal assessment 48
Practical and discussion activity8 52
Public and national examinations 54
UNIT 5 Assessment in action 57
Subject assessment 57
Practical and discussion activity9 64
Self-assessment 65
UNIT 6 Whole school issues 71
Marking 72
Written and discussion activity 10 79
External inspection and public accountability 80
References 85
Preface
Improvingthequalityoflearninginprimaryschools,andpreparingchildren
for what will probably be a long and complex life in the twenty-first century,
requiresthehighestqualityofteachingandprofessionaltraining.TheSuccessful
TeachingSeriesfocusesontheessenceofclassroomcompetence,onthoseprofes-
sionalskillsthatmakearealdifferencetochildren,suchastheabilitytoexplain
clearly,toaskintelligentandthought-provokingquestions,tomanageclasses
effectively and to use the assessment of progress to enhance pupils’ learning.
‘Success’ may be defined in many ways. For some it is seen purely in test
scores,forothersitisabroaderissue,involvingthewholechild.Inthisseries
we report what teachers have done that has been judged to be successful or
unsuccessful.Todothisseveralcriteriahavebeenused:headteachers’assess-
ments,pupilprogressmeasures,esteemfromfellowteachersorfromchildren.
Skilfulteachersensurethattheirclasseslearnsomethingworthwhile;unskilful
teachersmayturnoffthatdelicatetrip-switchinchildren’spsychewhichkeeps
their minds open to lifelong learning.
Experiencedteachersengageinhundredsofexchangeseverysingledayof
theircareer,thousandsinayear,millionsoveraprofessionallifetime.Teaching
consistsofdozensoffavouredstrategiesthatbecomeembeddedindeepstruc-
tures, for there is no time to re-think every single move in a busy classroom.
Manydecisionsaremadebyteachersinlessthanasecond,sooncethesedeep
structureshavebeenlaiddowntheyarenotalwaysamenabletochange,evenif
a school has a well-developed professional development programme.
Reflecting on practice alone or with colleagues does enable teachers to think
about what they do away from the immediate pressures of rapid interaction
and speedy change.
Rejectingthenotionthatthereisonlyonewaytoteach,thisseriesofbooks
explores some of the many strategies available to teachers, as well as the pat-
terns of classroom organisation which best assist pupil learning. It demon-
stratesthatteachers,evenwhenworkingtopredeterminedworkschemesand
viii PREFACE
curricula,mustforgetheirownwaysofteachinginthelightofthecontextin
whichtheyoperateandtheevidenceavailabletothemfromdifferentsources.
Theseriesisrootedinclassroomobservationresearchoverseveraldecadesand
is designed to assist teachers at all stages of their professional development.
Theseriesalsocontainsanelementthatisunusualinmostofthebooksthat
are aimed at helping teachers. Some of the activities assume that teaching
should not just be something that teachers do to their pupils, but rather with
them, so the exercises involve teachers and their classes working together to
improveteachingandlearning;pupilsactingaspartners,notmerelyaspassive
recipientsofprofessionalwizardry.Thusthebooksonclassmanagementcon-
sidersuchmattersasself-discipline;thoseonquestioningandexplaininglook
atpupilsinteractingwitheachother;thoseonassessmentaddresshowchildren
canlearnfrombeingassessedandalsohowtheycanappraisetheirownwork.
Whenchildrenbecomeadultstheywillhavetobeabletoactautonomously,so
itiscrucialthattheylearnearlytotakemoreandmoreresponsibilityfortheir
own progress.
The books are useful for:
• practising teachers;
• student teachers;
• collegeanduniversitytutors,localandnationalinspectorsandadvisers;
• school-based in-service co-ordinators, advisory teachers;
• school mentors, appraisers and headteachers.
Liketheothersintheseries,thisbookcanbeusedaspartofinitialorin-service
programmes in school. Individuals can use it as a source of ideas, and it is
helpful in teacher appraisal, in developing professional awareness both for
those being appraised and for their appraisers. The suggested activities have
been tried out extensively by experienced teachers and those in pre-service
training and have been revised in the light of their comments.
Theserieswillprovokediscussion,helpteachersreflectontheircurrentand
future practice and encourage them to look behind, and ask questions about,
everyday classroom events.
Acknowledgements
Mythankstothemanymembersofmyresearchteams,especiallyGillHaynes,
Caroline Wragg, Rosemary Chamberlin, Felicity Wikeley, Kay Wood, Sarah
Crowhurst, Clive Carré, Trevor Kerry, Pauline Dooley, Allyson Trotter and
BarbaraJanssen.Betweenthem,theyhaveobservedovertwothousandlessons
andinterviewedteachers,pupils,parentsandclassroomassistantsinhundreds
of primary and secondary schools.
I should also like to express my gratitude to the many teachers who teach
successfully on a daily basis. A number of the teachers shown at work in the
booksintheSuccessfulTeachingSeriesarerecipientsofPlatos,whicharegivento
the national winners at the annual Teaching Awards ceremony.
ThephotographsinthisbookweretakenbyFredJarvisandTedWragg.The
cartoons are by Jonathan Hall.
