As we begin the 2nd half of the summer term we are confronted by 4 scenario’s…
- End of year tests.
- Report writing.
- Teaching content and activities for the remainder of the term.
- Starting to think about next years “lot” that will be coming up into your class!
Its the last point that I am going to look at in this article after having been asked a question about starting the new year.
One of the things that you have to do as you complete this summer term is to gather together all the assessment folders and records that you have lovingly compiled through the year. These will relate to every child in your class and will, out of necessity be overly complex and thorough!
In addition to this, in most schools, you will also prepare some form of handover documentation as regards your class. Which basically tells the next teacher what your class have been like and who needs an inhaler and who can’t sit still…
All this stuff gets handed over before school ends for the summer so that the receiving member of staff has something to go on when preparing for the new year which starts in September.
Armed with all this information you can plan for the start of the year and make some initial differentiations for the class.
Starting the New Year:
The new academic year always seems to start on a Tuesday or a Wednesday – which is great but it gives a sort of “false start” to everything. There are so many logistical things to get started in the first few days that it leaves only a day or so to get the terms curriculum under way – it hardly seems worth it…..you know what I mean! (This is actually going to be the subject for an NQT article as many new colleagues are wondering about this first few days!)
Alongside all the logistics to get in place, I actually take the opportunity to find out what the children can actually do….in other words I carry out a series of tests!
So why do I do this? – well there are a few reasons, but the overwhelming one is that I need to know what each child can and can’t do – according my definitions of where they should be!
This is done in the first few day – it really depends on what is happening so early in the term – but the tests are fitted in during that split first week.
Testing the new class:
Now you may say that the class records will tell me about the child’s current level of achievement and their progress and yes I would agree with that. However with any new class I like to get some data on my terms and having snap tests gives me the immediate and relevant data that I need to start the year.
Data transfer varies across the school. Probably the most comprehensive data carried out and passed on is that from Reception to Year 1 . The nature of EYFS curriculum and the record keeping is very comprehensive and of course of a completely different nature; but it does give everything needed to the Y1 teacher. As classes move through the school, the nature of the data changes and becomes solely academic – with aspects similar to the EYFS reporting now being on an informal teacher basis.
What to test and why?
Its really up to you depending on what you wish to know and what you wish to do with the results. My main priority in testing is to be able to organise my initial groupings for the curriculum areas and in particular maths and Literacy and so it is on these areas that I concentrate. However there may be additional aspects that you wish to get a snap view on and which may be important in what you intend to do in starting the term.
These are the sort of tests I carry out.
- Maths – 2 tests to cover the basics of the previous curriculum, X tables
- Literacy – grammar, short comprehension, basic story writing, spelling.
- Handwriting – copied piece
Maths: – basic tests compiled by myself to cover the aspects of importance in the previous curriculum – these are designed to start with easier questions and gradually increase in difficulty to identify drop out points for each child. It is important to identify any areas of class weakness and also to note which individuals may be falling behind and need support. Times tables testing on what should be known also provides useful information.
Literacy: Again a range of straightforward tests that allow access to all the children but will identify drop out points for achievement. The comprehension piece has 3 levels of differentiated questioning which allows the same piece to be completed by all children. Basic grammar requirements can be easily tested and also identified in the story writing. Spelling levels gives grouping information for homework (use last years word lists) . The simple handwriting check not only identifies any problems but also serves as an indicator on speed which is always a problem with a new class as they struggle to keep up with the new workload and this has to be gradually improved.
Having done the tests what does this tell me?
You now have a set of results for your own tests which relate to each child and you can start to form your initial groupings for the curriculum. It may be that you wish to group children for certain aspects of Maths or literacy and these results will give you your STARTING group members. Of course the tests will only give you a snapshot of childrens abilities and once you get started on the curriculum you may find that some children may need to be moved either up or down…but at least you can get started!
It may also highlight some omissions in the understanding of certain curriculum areas and you will be able to note these for attention, revision, re-teaching whenever that particular aspect comes around. We all, of course, are convinced that the previous year has “taught them nothing!” but there actually may be areas of weakness amongst everything that do need attention!
Starting the term: Just to give a quick mention here as to the place of your tests amongst everything else that is happening. During the initial period of a new term, you will, as a teacher, be setting out your expectations as regards classroom management and behaviour management. I have no intention to go into any further detail as regards this here – suffice to say that the inclusion of early tests reinforces and bolsters the feeling of a new class and new teacher and that the climate has now changed! I will say no more!
As a busy summer term rushes ahead so our thoughts move towards finishing things off and our initial plans for the new school year. I always included testing in my early plans – maybe you will too?
Charles