Assessment: Remembering More

The purpose of curriculum assessment is to inform teaching practice in order to obtain higher outcomes for our pupils. It is important that we regularly, formatively, assess the impact of our curriculum based on whether the pupils have learnt more and remembered more. By utilising the knowledge goals (where appropriate) all teachers are aware of the endpoints of a lesson or unit.

Assessment should:

1. Help learners to embed and use knowledge fluently

2. Assist staff to identify clear next steps for learners

3. Provide information that can help shape development of the curriculum

What we do to gauge whether learning has taken place:

Low stakes quizzes and recall questioning: learning is a change in long term memory. This means that we cannot assume that our pupils have ‘learned’ something unless, at some point later, they can show that they can remember it (Tom Sherrington, 2017). In our history, geography, science and art subjects’ teachers can use a range of recall tools and strategies to ascertain what pupils can remember. This allows teachers to know where gaps in their knowledge are and where further consolidation is required so that the learning becomes long-term and sustained. Recall tools can include our multiple-choice quizzes; prior learning questioning; and summary activities.

Knowledge Organisers: knowledge organisers capture some of the knowledge which will be taught during a unit. Knowledge organisers should be shared with pupils and parents and should be referred to at the beginning of every history, geography, science and art lesson so that they revisited and revised regularly. Pupils should be taught how to use the knowledge organisers for self-quizzing. Sections of the knowledge organiser can be blanked out so that pupils can retrieve core knowledge and add back in the relevant information.

Prior Learning: The purpose of the prior learning is to activate previously encountered knowledge from the same, or different, discipline or subject area. Each time a concept is encountered within a different context, not only is the concept more likely to be remembered, the understanding of that concept becomes more nuanced (Clare Sealy, 2017). The prior learning section of each lesson is the link to prior learning, allowing pupils to reflect on previous learning from last lesson/last week/last term/last year etc. It also encourages the pupils to consider what previous learning they may need in order to access subsequent learning.

How do you know pupils know more, and remember more in your subject in each?

What are standards like in your subject area? How do you know?

What does assessment look like in your subject? How do you monitor that all children meet the endpoints set out in the curriculum?