The Assessment Framework and a Development Pathway

Planning for Success

In the recent past, ‘teaching to the test’ was the norm, as testing was all that mattered. It was discouraged because the tests were considered one-dimensional and did not reflect the needs of the students and their career pathways. Now it is embraced again. Why? Because the ‘test’ is now a high-quality, fit-for-purpose instrument that provides valuable information on the learning that is occurring, the quality of the teaching and whether the positive attitudes to learning are being integrated into the school learning experiences.

For this reason, designing them is a demanding task but a very effective way of improving the rates of student growth and forms part of the ambition of designing an effective and efficient Assessment Framework that helps articulate a whole school assessment policy.

An assessment framework in a school context refers to a set of guidelines, procedures, and tools used to evaluate and measure student learning and progress over time. The assessment framework typically includes a range of assessments such as formative, summative, and diagnostic assessments, which are administered throughout the school year to gather information about students' knowledge, skills, and understanding.

Assessment frameworks may be based on programme, state or national standards, which define the knowledge and skills that students are expected to acquire at each grade level. The assessment framework also typically includes performance metrics and benchmarks, which are used to measure students' progress against these standards.

Assessment frameworks play a critical role in helping teachers to monitor student progress, identify areas of strength and weakness, and adjust instructional strategies accordingly. They also help schools to measure and track overall student achievement and provide valuable data to inform curriculum development and resource allocation decisions.

An Assessment Framework requires an understanding of the development a student is expected to undergo when engaging in the course’s learning experiences. This must be captured and used to develop strategies that support this development.

A development pathway is a structured approach that helps teachers plan to support students develop a range of skills and competencies over time. It involves identifying the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students need to acquire at different stages of their educational journey, usually over the course, and providing them with defined, targeted learning experiences to support their growth and development.

This can be further extended by using a variation of Spaced Learning that supports intentional learning, an IRRE approach (Introduction, Re-engagement, Reinforcement, Extension). This builds upon the insights of Spaced Learning. Spaced learning is a learning technique that involves breaking up learning sessions into smaller, spaced-out intervals with breaks in between. This approach is based on the idea that by spacing out study sessions, the brain has time to consolidate and reinforce the information, which leads to better retention and recall of the material over the long term. Spaced learning can utilize a variety of educational opportunities, including classroom experiences, online learning, and personal study, and has been shown to be an effective way to improve memory and learning outcomes. The IRRE approach requires that students are consistently exposed to specific aspects of learning that support understanding and the effective communication of this understanding. This leads to the design of a Development Pathway that intentionally maps out the skills development and progressive conceptual awareness required to complete the course and to maximise each student’s potential.

A development pathway may be designed around a particular subject or set of subjects, or it may be focused on developing broader skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. It may also incorporate assessments and evaluations to help track progress and identify areas where additional support may be needed.

In practice, a development pathway might involve creating a curriculum that is sequenced to build upon foundational knowledge and skills, providing targeted instruction and support to help students reach specific learning objectives, and offering opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in authentic contexts.

Ultimately, a development pathway is a way to help students progress towards mastery of the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.

A Development Pathway is an additional planning document that sits behind your course outline. In essence, it maps out the development of a student's skills.

Development Pathway is established so you can focus on the specific elements that are mapped out and ensure they occur in an intentional manner.

The initial Inquiry (or Driving) Question for this consideration is simple, using the Backwards by Design approach; an approach that starts by requiring a student to be in their development in order to complete the assessments successfully.

Reading the Rubrics, working back through to initial engagement to establish a development pathway. Some diagnostic assessments will be required to establish where the students are at in the early stages of the course.

What is Spaced Learning?

Spaced learning is a learning technique that involves breaking up learning into multiple, short, focused sessions with breaks or time gaps in between. This approach is based on the idea that spacing out learning sessions over time can improve memory retention and recall compared to a single long session.

Spaced learning involves repeating material over spaced intervals, with each interval being progressively longer than the previous one. This technique is effective in educational settings, such as classrooms and online learning platforms, to help students learn and retain information more effectively. It can be applied to various types of learning, from language acquisition to memorization of historical facts or scientific concepts.

Then decide on the following.

• How do you introduce them to these skills?

• How do you check where students are now?

• What check-ins do you do to provide adjustment and possibly support?

Where are they at?	Where do they need to be?	How will they get there?	How will you/ they know?

Ongoing Possibilities:

• Tasks/Activities that decontextualise the skills and then contextualise them.

  • For example, when introducing the skills of analysis and evaluation, ask students to decide why one fast-food restaurant is better than another. By providing a framework for this decision-making (price, type of food, number of options, specials, location, speed of preparation, quality, and advertising). Then relate the process to determining the best interpretation of a novel.

• Specific skills development (using the ‘Training for a Marathon’ principles).

  • For example, break a skill down into components and engage with them individually before slowly building up the capabilities of a student.

• Implementing the ‘Introduce, Re-engage, Reinforce, Extend’ (IRRE) approach by ensuring the students return to a topic (knowledge and understanding) or skill through short, focused revision tasks that allow reconnection.

  • For example, short ‘tip of the iceberg’ tests with selective and strategic coverage of previously taught subtopics, focusing on key or challenging aspects of that sub-topic.

• Use teacher demonstration to shift thinking agency from the teacher as an expert to the student as an apprentice (‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ routine).

  • For example, when introducing a new technique for statistical analysis a teacher can ‘walk and talk’ the students through the new process (‘I Do’). When looking at statistical analysis, this could involve walking and talking them through the following process: identifying the problem or research question it is applicable to; describing the chosen technique; discussing the advantages and limitations of the technique; providing examples and analysing them; comparing with existing techniques with a pros and cons approach; providing key guidance on when to implement the use of the technique. By thinking out loud at each stage (not necessarily in one session) you are providing them with an insight into the mental procedures required for informed decision-making. You can then move to visible thinking routines using class discussions to move through the ‘We do’ and then to ‘You do’ assessing whether or not they have acquired the required understanding.

• Student Sample Analysis (skills and structural requirements of an essay).

  • For example, providing an extract of a student sample, such as an introduction and then guiding them through a ‘feature analysis’. This analysis focuses on whether they can identify the key features of a successful essay.

• Storytelling and a mnemonic strategy (exploratory/explanatory narratives, making meaning).

  • For example, providing a list of key information and requiring a student to ‘tell a story’ that connects this information correctly.

• Metacognitive Modelling during teacher presentation.

  • For example, use connective reinforcement language for thinking/writing strategies – ‘from here to here’ - during teacher presentations or in response to a student question.

• Low-stakes assessment (‘over the shoulder’, immediate feedback).

  • For example, set a series of questions to be written in class and complete a ‘Feedback Circuit’ and informally check student responses. If needed return to the teaching of what is being taught/assessed.

• Concept and Skills Check-ins via classroom discussions.

  • For example, present an issue or problem to be solved and ask for contributions via a Think/Pair/Share cycle.

• Use of Bell Work/Exit Tickets as re-engagement/reinforcement activities.

  • For example, provide a Bell Work on Entry that has multiple choice options based on the last lesson’s work. Just before the end of the lesson, provide a Trident Diagram or a picture of an Olympic medal presentation podium which asks the student to identify and rate the three most important takeaways from the lesson.

• Complete a deep reading of a text or article with a single open inquiry question.

  • For example, undertake a deep reading with only one inquiry question. At each stage, the student must identify what they have learnt and how it has impacted their understanding.

• Compare and Contrast two positions using the AQI framework.

  • For example, when evaluating two philosophers and their positions, set up an analytical framework of ‘Assumptions, Quality of Argument, and Implications’ to analyse each philosopher and place them side-by-side. In table groups, students discuss the validity of each aspect of each position and draw a conclusion about the more effective argument.