How are school leaders feeling about assessment and
accountability?
New arrangements for assessment remain a concern for school leaders.
Managing internal assessment after the removal of National Curriculum
levels proved difficult for more than three-quarters (77%) of school
leaders over the 12 months preceding our survey. One-third (34%) of
leaders are still not confident that their school’s internal assessment
system is accurately assessing and tracking pupil progress.
Primary leaders are not convinced by the new National Curriculum
tests at Key Stages 1 and 2, from 2016. More than nine in 10 (93%) do
not believe that these will have a positive impact on pupil attainment at
their school, and some voiced frustration about the delay in availability
of guidance and exemplification materials. These concerns chime with
union criticisms of the new primary assessment system for raising
expected standards of achievement without allowing schools enough
time or support to adapt6.
I am confident that my school’s internal assessment systems
are accurately assessing and tracking pupil progress
following the removal of National Curriculum levels
65%
Agree
N/A
1%
34%
Disagree
NUT – http://www.teachers.org.uk/education-policies/primary/key-stage-1-and-key-stage-2assessment-bad-plan-chaotically-implemented
6
36
State of Education Survey 2016 | www.thekeysupport.com
The difficulty for schools is that no-one knows what
the impact will be of their own assessment systems or
the new testing because we have not yet experienced
it. We are working in the dark at the moment.”
School leader
Secondary school leaders are also unconvinced about the reforms to
GCSEs, with three-quarters (74%) saying that they do not believe the
reforms will have a positive impact on their pupils’ attainment.
There is strong feeling about the proposal to reintroduce formal,
externally marked testing of seven year-olds, with more than nine in 10
(91%) primary school leaders opposing this. Over three-quarters (78%)
of secondary leaders state that they, too, aren’t in favour, despite it
having no immediate bearing on them.
Looking ahead to the new performance measures being implemented
as part of accountability reforms, we see a split in opinion between
primary and secondary school leaders.
The majority (80%) of primary leaders do not think that changes to
attainment and progress measures for primary schools from 2016 will
more accurately reflect their school’s overall performance. In contrast,
secondary leaders are mostly positive about the new progress 8
measure, with seven in 10 (69%) agreeing that it will more accurately
capture the overall performance of their school.
School improvement and inspection
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of school leaders do not think that there
is enough support for schools deemed to be ‘inadequate’.
School leaders also show dissatisfaction with the government’s
approach to improving standards in these schools: nine in 10 (90%)
disagree with forced academisation and nearly two-thirds (64%)
Find further comment at www.thekeysupport.com/blog