The Ark Assessment Toolkit
Ark Assessment Models
The purposes of assessment are to:
Support students’ learning through:
- additional retrieval practice to mitigate the forgetting curve
- additional opportunities to connect and apply their learning over time
- informing pupils’ next steps.
Enable adaptive teaching and effective planning through:
- enabling teachers to check pupils’ grasp of key lesson concepts and to check pupils are ready to move on
- supporting teachers and leaders in regularly identifying misconceptions and gaps in what pupils know, remember and can do
- informing adaptations to the curriculum, planning of re-teach and interventions
- measuring the impact of our intended curriculum, identifying areas for curriculum development
- identifying teachers’ and departments’ strengths to share and areas for development
Ensure every pupil is on track to meet the long-term curriculum goals through:
- quantifying pupils’ attainment at times when inferences will be valid and useful
- providing meaningful comparative external benchmarks of school data, where useful and appropriate.
- Prepare pupils for end-of-phase external examinations.
Assessment Calendars
Common Assessments
Achievement Review Templates
Extenral Exams
Research
Assessment leads meetings
The Ark Assessment toolkit
We have a range of assessment types to monitor the progress of our children. Each has a clear prime purpose, which drives the design of the assessment. All assessments can be used for both formative and summative purposes. Click into each assessment type to find out more
Checkpoint assessment
In-lesson assessment
Pre-unit assessment
Termly diagnostic assessment
End of year assessment & mocks
External Exams
Summative
Formative
Assessments which are designed to be predominantly summative are likely to:
- Involve more multi-faceted or open-ended questions to understand children's attainment in the subject as a whole.
- Sample a broad cross-section of the curriculum covered
- Be designed to get a snapshot of children’s attainment in comparison to their peers to quantify their attainment and progress.
Assessments which are designed to be predominantly formative are likely to:
- Involve mainly very granular questions to establish precisely what children can and cannot do.
- Be focused on the core most important residual knowledge to inform the re-visiting of content we need children to secure.
- Be designed to identify strengths, weaknesses and misconceptions to inform teaching.
In-Lesson Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
- Check children have understood key content and are ready to move on.
- Flag the most important concepts in the lesson to children.
- Inform next steps in the lesson and the focus of teacher support.
When should these assessments be used?
- At points in each lesson when we expect children to have grasped a key concept.
- At the end of every lesson.
How should these assessments be administered?
- There are a range of approaches. Teachers choose the most appropriate for their contexts and for the learning which is taking place. See examples under implementation.
How should the outcomes be used?
- During the lesson to inform next steps
- Between lessons to inform the planning of the next lesson.
In-lesson assessment strategies
Identify the core content of the lesson
Show call training
Select the appropriate strategy and questions
Intentional monitoring training
Plan which children to target
Mini whiteboards training
Cold call training
Evaluate outcomes in the moment
Chunk, chew, check training
Respond to outcomes through immediate whole class / individual intervention
Examples of implementation
Ark Shorts: Show call
Feedback
- Verbal feedback is given in the lesson to support children to adapt their thinking and improve their work.
- Feedback may be written in books but this is likely to be brief annotations.
Ark Shorts: Think pair share
Ark Shorts: Summarise
Pre-unit Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
- Check children have the pre-requisite knowledge needed to access the next unit.
- Inform teachers' planning of the next unit, ensuring gaps and misconceptions are addressed.
- Bring useful knowledge to the forefront of children's minds ready to be built on.
When should these assessments be used?
- Normally the week before a new unit of work.
- Exact timing depends on the school’s planning cycle.
How should these assessments be administered?
- In class or as homework.
- Closed book with children informed clearly of the purpose.
- Can be online, in exercise books or on mini whiteboards.
How should the outcomes be used?
- To inform adaptations in unit and lesson planning.
Pre-unit assessment examples
Understand the pre-requisite content
Example <Subject>
Design the assessment
Example <Subject>
Administer the assessment
Example <Subject>
Analyse outcomes
Provide feedback to children and adapt planning
Feedback
- Children receive feedback through self marking, teacher marking or reviewing their results online.
- Children should be told which content will be revisited in lessons.
- Children should be directed to resources to support them in content they need to revisit themselves.
Checkpoint Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
- Check children have understood the key content from a sequence of lessons.
- Support teachers planning of re-teach / additional support needed to overcome gaps and misconceptions.
- Consolidate children's knowledge and flag the most important things to remember.
When should these assessments be used?
- At the end of a sequence of lessons.
- Regularity varies dependent on subject and topic but normally every 5 – 10 lessons.
How should these assessments be administered?
- In class or as a homework activity.
- Closed book with children informed clearly of the purpose.
- Can be online, in exercise books or on mini whiteboards.
How should the outcomes be used?
- Inform planning of any re-teach required and to evaluate the impact of recent teaching.
Examples of checkpoint assessments
Understand the core content of the sequence of lessons
Example <Subject>
Design the assessment
Example <Subject>
Administer the assessment
Example <Subject>
Analyse outcomes
Examples of implementtions
Plan re-teach and / or next steps
what to do (Pioneer)
Feedback
- Children receive feedback through self marking, teacher marking or reviewing their results online.
- Children should be told which content will be revisited in lessons.
- Children should be directed to resources to support them in content they need to revisit themselves.
Termly Diagnostic Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
- Check children can remember content taught over a long period of time.
- Check how well children apply their learning in a subject-specific context.
- Inform adaptations to the next terms curriculum to address gaps and misconceptions.
- Consolidate children's knowledge of the most important content to remember.
- Evaluate the impact of teaching.
When should these assessments be used?
- At the end of a full term.
How should these assessments be administered?
- In class, in formal exam conditions but not in the hall
- Closed book with children informed clearly of the purpose.
- Online Multiple choice section and written application paper.
How should the outcomes be used?
- To inform planning of any re-teach required and to evaluate the impact of teaching over time.
Understand the progression of the subject over time
Examples of checkpoint assessments
Design the assessment
Administer the assessment
Analyse outcomes
Examples of implementtions
Plan re-teach and / or next steps
MCQ analysis and action planning
Class evaluation template
Feedback
Department evaluation template (Acton)
- Feedback should celebrate children's success and the learning they have secured so far.
- Children should be given clear areas for development which they should work on and be given opportunities to address in the next term.
Running in class assessmentst (Poneer)
Writing termly diagnostic assessmentsst (Poneer)
End of Year Assessment and Mocks
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
- Benchmark children's attainment in comparison to their peers.
- Quantify the progress that students have made over the course of the year.
When should these assessments be used?
- At the end of the academic year.
How should these assessments be administered?
- In the hall or in classrooms in full exam conditions.
How should the outcomes be used?
- Identify children who need additional support.
- Inform changes in teaching groups.
- Inform end of year parent reports.
- Inform annual planning (see the annual planning model).
Understand the progression of the subject over time
Examples of End of Year assessments
2022 Past common assessments
Design the assessment
Administer the assessment
Analyse outcomes
Implementation guidance
Adapt curriculum for the upcoming year
2023-24 Exam papers for mocks
Guidance - generating Age Related grades
Feedback
- Children should be given an indication of their attainment and progress. This is likely to go on childrens reports.
- Children should be given feedback on their areas of development and be provided with resources to address gaps over the summer.
External exams
Ark Schools use common exam boards in all large uptake subjects. This allows schools to collaborate on resources and share good practise.
Implementation
What, when and how
Assessment Toolkit
Ellen Clarke
Created on August 1, 2023
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Transcript
The Ark Assessment Toolkit
Ark Assessment Models
The purposes of assessment are to: Support students’ learning through:
- additional retrieval practice to mitigate the forgetting curve
- additional opportunities to connect and apply their learning over time
- informing pupils’ next steps.
Enable adaptive teaching and effective planning through:- enabling teachers to check pupils’ grasp of key lesson concepts and to check pupils are ready to move on
- supporting teachers and leaders in regularly identifying misconceptions and gaps in what pupils know, remember and can do
- informing adaptations to the curriculum, planning of re-teach and interventions
- measuring the impact of our intended curriculum, identifying areas for curriculum development
- identifying teachers’ and departments’ strengths to share and areas for development
Ensure every pupil is on track to meet the long-term curriculum goals through:Assessment Calendars
Common Assessments
Achievement Review Templates
Extenral Exams
Research
Assessment leads meetings
The Ark Assessment toolkit
We have a range of assessment types to monitor the progress of our children. Each has a clear prime purpose, which drives the design of the assessment. All assessments can be used for both formative and summative purposes. Click into each assessment type to find out more
Checkpoint assessment
In-lesson assessment
Pre-unit assessment
Termly diagnostic assessment
End of year assessment & mocks
External Exams
Summative
Formative
Assessments which are designed to be predominantly summative are likely to:
Assessments which are designed to be predominantly formative are likely to:
In-Lesson Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
- Check children have understood key content and are ready to move on.
- Flag the most important concepts in the lesson to children.
- Inform next steps in the lesson and the focus of teacher support.
When should these assessments be used?- At the end of every lesson.
How should these assessments be administered?- There are a range of approaches. Teachers choose the most appropriate for their contexts and for the learning which is taking place. See examples under implementation.
How should the outcomes be used?In-lesson assessment strategies
Identify the core content of the lesson
Show call training
Select the appropriate strategy and questions
Intentional monitoring training
Plan which children to target
Mini whiteboards training
Cold call training
Evaluate outcomes in the moment
Chunk, chew, check training
Respond to outcomes through immediate whole class / individual intervention
Examples of implementation
Ark Shorts: Show call
Feedback
Ark Shorts: Think pair share
Ark Shorts: Summarise
Pre-unit Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
When should these assessments be used?
- Normally the week before a new unit of work.
- Exact timing depends on the school’s planning cycle.
How should these assessments be administered?- In class or as homework.
- Closed book with children informed clearly of the purpose.
- Can be online, in exercise books or on mini whiteboards.
How should the outcomes be used?Pre-unit assessment examples
Understand the pre-requisite content
Example <Subject>
Design the assessment
Example <Subject>
Administer the assessment
Example <Subject>
Analyse outcomes
Provide feedback to children and adapt planning
Feedback
Checkpoint Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
When should these assessments be used?
- At the end of a sequence of lessons.
- Regularity varies dependent on subject and topic but normally every 5 – 10 lessons.
How should these assessments be administered?- In class or as a homework activity.
- Closed book with children informed clearly of the purpose.
- Can be online, in exercise books or on mini whiteboards.
How should the outcomes be used?Examples of checkpoint assessments
Understand the core content of the sequence of lessons
Example <Subject>
Design the assessment
Example <Subject>
Administer the assessment
Example <Subject>
Analyse outcomes
Examples of implementtions
Plan re-teach and / or next steps
what to do (Pioneer)
Feedback
Termly Diagnostic Assessment
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
When should these assessments be used?
- At the end of a full term.
How should these assessments be administered?- In class, in formal exam conditions but not in the hall
- Closed book with children informed clearly of the purpose.
- Online Multiple choice section and written application paper.
How should the outcomes be used?Understand the progression of the subject over time
Examples of checkpoint assessments
Design the assessment
Administer the assessment
Analyse outcomes
Examples of implementtions
Plan re-teach and / or next steps
MCQ analysis and action planning
Class evaluation template
Feedback
Department evaluation template (Acton)
Running in class assessmentst (Poneer)
Writing termly diagnostic assessmentsst (Poneer)
End of Year Assessment and Mocks
Implementation
Step-by-Step
What, when and how
What is the prime purpose of these assessments?
When should these assessments be used?
- At the end of the academic year.
How should these assessments be administered?- In the hall or in classrooms in full exam conditions.
How should the outcomes be used?Understand the progression of the subject over time
Examples of End of Year assessments
2022 Past common assessments
Design the assessment
Administer the assessment
Analyse outcomes
Implementation guidance
Adapt curriculum for the upcoming year
2023-24 Exam papers for mocks
Guidance - generating Age Related grades
Feedback
External exams
Ark Schools use common exam boards in all large uptake subjects. This allows schools to collaborate on resources and share good practise.
Implementation
What, when and how