Measuring progress across the curriculum

For teachers in years 1 to 8, measuring progress across the curriculum is more problematic than in literacy and mathematics. Some learning areas are well supported by learning progressions, others less so. For some learning areas, schools will have to make decisions based on Achievement Objectives and available resources, and develop assessments accordingly.

This is an opportunity for schools to work collaboratively to develop their learning objectives and progress indicators. The Kāhui Ako is an ideal vehicle for this.

Schools will need to think carefully about which areas of the curriculum and at what levels they should assess. For example, curriculum and assessment emphases at year 1 and year 8 will probably be different. Emphases will be different for different contexts and schools. 

It's important that data about student progress and achievement can be collated and analysed at a class and cohort level, to allow for the identification of students who are not making sufficient progress or who have special needs. This data may also identify aspects of the curriculum that require attention: for example, extra professional learning and development in a particular curriculum area.

You can find lots of information on gathering and analysing data in the Using evidence for learning section of this website.

Schools may like to explore the Curriculum Progress Tools. These tools have been designed to support progress across the New Zealand Curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics. You can read more about these tools in the section titled Resources available in literacy and numeracy below.

Below is a collection of resources that schools or Kāhui Ako could use.

Science

Planning, teaching and possible assessment resources available:

• Science Online TKI
• Science Learning Hub

Assessment tools:

• Assessment Resource Banks
• Junior Science: Thinking with Evidence
• Science: Thinking with Evidence

Read this school story from Leeston School. It tells how the school uses rubrics to assess aspects of the Nature of Science (NoS).

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Social studies

Planning, teaching and possible assessment resources available:

• Social Sciences Online
• There are some assessment resources for years 4 to 8 available from the National Education Monitoring Project, since superseded by the NZMSSA. It is hoped that resources from the new project will be made available to schools soon. Although NMSSA tasks have not yet been made available for teachers, the reports from the monitoring study make interesting assessment reading.

Activities to support rich learning: Assessing progression in social studies - This paper by Samantha Sasse and Bronwyn Wood, published on ResearchGate, explores a new format for assessing primary social studies based on a review of 220 videos from NMSSA. The paper has since been published in SET 3, 2017 by NZCER.

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Technology

Planning, teaching and possible assessment resources available:

Technology Online provides a range of resources to assist teachers of technology:

• Indicators of progression have been developed in technology to help teachers mediate the achievement objectives into specific Learning Outcomes. The indicators can be used to plan learning experiences, aid in diagnostic assessment, and support formative interactions within the classroom to help scaffold student learning. They can also support summative assessment for reporting purposes. The indicators are indicative of the level expected by the achievement objective.
• Progress outcomes, exemplars and snapshots have been developed for the new Digital Technology section of the technology curriculum.
  • Computational thinking for digital technologies
  • Designing and developing digital outcomes

In this video, Cheryl Pym explains how to track student progress in technology.

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The Arts

Planning, teaching and possible assessment resources available:

• Arts Online TKI provides resources which can help teachers put together programmes of learning and assessment in the arts.

Read about how Owhango School is bringing the arts back into the curriculum.

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Health and Physical Education

Planning, teaching and possible assessment resources available:

• Health and Physical Education TKI provides resources which could help schools plan their teaching, learning and assessment programme.

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Key competencies

Rather than assessing key competencies as stand-alone capabilities, schools will want to investigate ways in which they can weave them into the learning areas so that they become an intrinsic part of the learning and assessment. In this article, Weaving a Coherent Curriculum, Rose Hipkins explores how to build capability by weaving curriculum design with key competencies.

Consult the Assessment tool selector and the Assessment resources maps for all available assessment tools in the various subject areas.

Literacy and mathematics remain the key areas for teaching, learning, and assessment as they are fundamental tools to enable students to access skills and knowledge across the curriculum. 

It's important that data about student progress and achievement can be collated and analysed at a class and cohort level, to allow for the identification of students who are not making sufficient progress or who have special needs. This data may also identify aspects of the curriculum that require attention: for example, extra professional learning and development in a particular curriculum area. You can find lots of information on gathering and analysing data in the Using evidence for learning section of this website.

To support teachers to better understand and use the broad statements in the curriculum, our profession has developed sound, research-based fine-grained progressions of learning in the foundation areas of literacy and mathematics.

However, think carefully about your purposes for assessment. Assess only when the information will be used to improve teaching and learning. 

Do not over assess.

Literacy

Progressions of learning: Progressions of learning act as planning, teaching and assessment resources.

There are several iterations of our understanding of the progressions of learning in literacy up to level 5 of the curriculum. 

Ready to Read series, Junior Journal, and School Journal. Lift Education have published articles on A better understanding of Ready to Read and A better understanding of the School Journal.

Other levelled reading series:

Literacy Learning Progressions

Language Learning Progressions

Curriculum Progress Tools - Learning Progression Frameworks and Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT)

Assessment tools: Several of the available assessment tools provide what next strategies so that they can be used as teaching resources as well as assessment resources. The following tools are the commonly used in New Zealand schools.

• e-asTTle reading and writing
• PAT reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, punctuation and grammar
• STAR – supplementary test of reading
• Observation survey of early literacy achievement (aka Six Year Net)
• Assessment Resource Bank (ARBs)
• Record of Oral Language
• Junior Oral Language Screening Tool.

Consult the Assessment tool selector for all available assessment tools in reading, writing and oral language.

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English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

ESOL Online TKI has a superb collection of resources for planning, teaching and assessing the capabilities of English language learners.

Impact of changed practices – details of the available processes and tools for measuring the progress of ELLS students.  

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Mathematics

Progressions of learning: Progressions of learning act as planning, teaching and assessment resources.

As in literacy, there are several iterations of the progressions of learning in mathematics up to level 5 of the curriculum. Maths progressions illustrate discrete skills that build on each other to show progression.

• Numeracy Project resources
• Curriculum Progress Tools - Learning Progression Frameworks and Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT)
• Resources on NZ Maths.

Assessment tools: Several of the available assessment tools provide what next strategies so that they can be used as teaching resources as well as assessment resources. The following tools are the most commonly used in New Zealand schools:

• e-asTTle maths
• PAT maths
• Numeracy Project assessment tools
• Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs).

Consult the Assessment tool selector for all available assessment tools in mathematics.