Guidance on using English language assessments
This section offers guidance on using the national assessments for English
language. Click on any of the questions below to be provided with an answer.
Reading
Writing
What is the scope of
the reading assessments?
A National Assessment in Reading at Levels A to F comprises two units, one
based on a Narrative/Personal text and one on an Information text.
The units for each genre at each level will be selected automatically from the
assessment bank. Schools will only be required to choose the level of
assessment needed.
A reading assessment will consist of a passage and associated questions which
cover a range of reading skills appropriate to the particular level.
The two units should be taken within as short a period of time as is practical
eg. within 1-2 weeks.
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What preparations are
necessary prior to using the reading assessments?
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You should familiarise yourself thoroughly with all aspects of the reading
unit.
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Decide how best to introduce the unit, using your discretion as to the length
and nature of the introduction and preparation period for the unit.
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Assemble everything you will need, including a supply of pencils/pens and
rubbers.
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Make sure all the units are complete.
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Make sure that the furniture in the classroom is arranged to give every pupil
in the group the best chance to work individually, without feeling stressed or
crowded. Otherwise everything should be as normal as possible, including any
word-lists or aids usually displayed on the walls. NB Dictionaries must not
be used during a reading assessment.
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How should the
reading assessments be used with pupils?
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Introduce the unit in the preferred way.
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Help the pupils to find their way through the layout of the unit, passage and
questions.
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Go through the procedures for answering, doing examples where provided.
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Answer any questions about procedure.
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Satisfy yourself that everyone knows what to do. Emphasise that the pupils
should do their own work, not looking at the work of others, and that they
should read the passage and questions before writing any answers. Remind them
to use the passage to find, work out and check their answers.
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Stop a pupil when s/he has clearly done all that s/he can do. No absolute time
limit is set.
Additional Considerations for Level A
Silent Reading
Ask the pupils to read the passage on their own. Make it clear that they can ask for help if they are stuck, but that they should try to do as much as they can on their own.
Oral Support
Support should be given to pupils to encourage them to engage with the text.
Questioning should be used to support the pupil. Normal teaching strategies may be used to help pupils engage with words, phrases etc.
It should be remembered that Level A is awarded on the basis of a pupil’s reading and understanding of the original passage.
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How are National
Assessments in reading marked?
Marking will usually be carried out by the class teacher, using the marking key
supplied. Follow the marking key closely. Parts of answers which are bracketed
are optional, and need not be included by the pupil for the mark to be awarded.
If an answer is not included on the marking key, but you consider it to be
correct according to the passage, award a mark at your discretion. Spelling and
handwriting are not assessed. Similarly, if the method of answering is wrong,
but the answer itself is right, award the mark. Award only whole marks; there
are no half marks.
In general terms, pupils will need to answer two-thirds or more of the
questions correctly in each unit to show that they are secure at the level. The
threshold for each unit at the different levels is given in the following
table.
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A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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F
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Total marks
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21
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24
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24
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27
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30
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30
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Threshold score
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14
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16
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16
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18
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20
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20
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However, the threshold score should not be applied mechanistically
(see 1.8 above).
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Pupils who answer two-thirds or more of the questions correctly in each unit.
Such pupils have clearly demonstrated that they are secure at the level.
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Pupils who answer around two-thirds of the questions correctly in each unit.
It is possible that a pupil may be one or even two marks short of the threshold
for one of the units. If the teacher has sound evidence from classwork that the
pupil has been working consistently at the level then this score can be taken
as confirmation that the pupil is secure at the level. If the evidence from
classwork is not entirely sound, the teacher may decide to re-assess the pupil
(see below). If a pupil is one or two marks short of the threshold in both
units then the teacher will probably want to use an additional unit even if
there is sound evidence from classwork that the pupil has been working
consistently at the level. See below for use of additional units.
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Pupils who do not meet the minimum requirement set out above
Such pupils are not working confidently and consistently at the level.
Some may require only a little more time and support to be considered secure at
the level. However, those who answered fewer than half the questions correctly
will require more teaching and development of their skills before they attempt
another National Assessment.
When a pupil’s performance in the National Assessments does not provide
conclusive evidence that the pupil is working securely at the expected level
(see above), then the teacher may decide to use an additional assessment.
Re-assessment should only take place once difficulties have been identified and
addressed.
Within the National Assessment bank there is a facility for requesting a single
assessment unit – normally the unit in which the pupil’s performance has been
weakest. If the pupil reaches the minimum requirement in the additional
assessment, this will be taken as evidence that the pupil is secure at the
level.
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What are the
reading assessments like?
Examples of reading assessments are provided.
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My Old School is an example of a reading task at Level A.
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The Cat is an example of a reading task at Level B.
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RNLI is an example of a reading task at Level C.
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Julilly is an example of a task at Level D
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Taste of the Highlands is an example of a task at Level E
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Rocket Attack is an example of a reading task at Level F.
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What is the scope of
the writing assessments?
National Assessment in Writing at Levels A
to E comprises three pieces of writing:
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an extended piece of writing arising from class work – an imaginative story,
for example
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an extended piece of writing based on a task randomly selected from the
assessment bank and of a genre different from the writing done as part of class
work
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a writer’s craft task – a shorter, more focused piece of writing – randomly
selected from the assessment bank.
National Assessment in Writing at Level F comprises two pieces of extended
writing related to the strand Writing about Texts and a shorter
writer’s craft task.
How should the
extended writing tasks at Levels A-E be used?
For both pieces of extended writing, introduce the task in a manner which will
stimulate interest and activate prior knowledge. Ensure that the pupils are
given the appropriate support for the Level (see Levels of Support below).
The two extended pieces of writing will be assessed using the well-established national criteria for 5-14 writing. The writer’s craft task will be assessed using a set of criteria derived from the national criteria.
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Make sure that pupils understand the audience and purpose of their piece of
writing and that they are fully aware of the criteria to be used to assess
their writing.
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Distribute the task sheets and ask the pupils to write their names and the date
on the front cover.
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Direct the pupils to the Planning Page. Pupils may use the Planning Page
provided or take responsibility for their own planning. Remind the pupils to
make brief notes on the Planning Page. They do not need to write sentences.
Remind them that the Planning Page is for their own use, and will not be
assessed.
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Allow time at the end of the unit for pupils to check their work. Pupils may
use a dictionary, thesaurus and/or word bank to check their spelling.
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Answer questions only on procedure.
There is no set time limit for pupils. It is expected that each piece of
writing should be completed within approximately 120 minutes, not necessarily
consecutively or on the same day.
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How should the
extended writing task at Level F be used?
At Level F, both extended pieces of writing relate to the strand Writing about texts.
The pupil should first complete the class-based extended writing task relating
to the strand Writing about Texts . The Level F writing package should
then be downloaded from the item bank. The package will contain a sheet
detailing four extended writing tasks relating to Writing about Texts and
one shorter writer’s craft task.
Pupils are asked to select
one of the extended writing tasks to complete. Pupils may choose
the task to which they would prefer to respond. The class/group do not all have
to undertake the same task. However, the task chosen must be different from the
class-based task.
Pupils may refer to a copy of their chosen text during the assessment, but they
may not refer to any written work undertaken as part of the study of the text
or for revision purposes.
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Discuss the different purposes of writing about texts and the structure of a
written response to a text.
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Discuss the techniques familiar to the pupils with regard to writing about
texts, such as note-taking and presenting evidence.
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Ensure pupils have a full knowledge of the appropriate criteria used to assess
their writing.
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Ask pupils to choose one of the tasks, advising which one of the four tasks may
not be selected.
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Ask pupils to write their names, the date and the title and author of their
chosen text at the top of the first page. Ensure subsequent pages can be
identified.
Pupils are likely to write between 500 and 600 words. Although there is no set
time limit, it is envisaged that the task will be completed within
approximately 160 minutes, not necessarily in a single session or on the same
day.
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What support can
be given to pupils?
Pupils working at Level A should be given help with the choice of language,
content, planning and layout.
Pupils working at Levels B and C should be made aware of suitable choice of
language, content, planning and layout.
Pupils working at Levels D, E and F should take responsibility for planning,
choice of language, content and layout. Any bullet points provided in planning
sheets are for guidance only; pupils may prefer to devise their own plans
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How should the
extended writing be marked?
The class teacher should usually carry out marking, but other arrangements are
at the discretion of the Head Teacher or Principal Teacher. The Criteria for
the different writing tasks will be downloaded along with the tasks and
guidance for teachers. Pupils must achieve a minimum standard in all three
pieces of writing to confirm that a level has been achieved.
Here is some guidance on how to use the criteria to mark extended writing for
Levels A-F
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Read the assessment piece as a whole ensuring that it is appropriate to the
demands of the task. Form an initial judgement.
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Using the criteria specific to the particular assessment unit, check the
individual statements in the appropriate level column.
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If the writing meets all the criteria, the pupil has achieved the expected
level.
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If the writing does not meet all the criterion statements at
the expected level, it is still possible to achieve the expected level.
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Where only one criterion (ie. one bullet point) is not
achieved on either side, or even on both sides of the bold line, the writing
has
achieved the level.
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If, however, two criterion statements (ie. two bullet points)
are not met on any one side of the bold line, the writing has not
achieved the level.
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Where a pupil has a specific learning difficulty and an Individualised
Educational Programme has been drawn up, the spelling criteria need not apply.
A level of achievement should be given with an indication that spelling has not
been assessed,
A pupil who does not reach the expected
level on one of the tasks should be re-assessed using an additional task of the
same genre from the bank. Re-assessment should only take place once
difficulties have been identified and addressed.
Pupils who do not meet the minimum
requirement in extended writing for Level F may repeat the same task using a
different text or choose a different task
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Where can I
find the criteria for assessing pupils' extended writing?
Both pieces of extended writing are
assessed using the same criteria as were used for assessing National Tests.
When you download a writing assessment , the writing criteria appropriate to
your extended writing task will be generated automatically. If you would like a
complete set of the national criteria for assessing writing, please click on
the relevant link below.
What are the
extended writing tasks like?
Examples of extended writing assessments
are provided.
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What is the writer’s
craft task?
The purpose of this task is to allow pupils to show, in writing, their
understanding of the writer’s craft at the relevant level. The writer’s craft
task relates to the strand within the outcome of Reading, Reading to reflect on
the writer’s ideas and craft (National Guidelines, English Language 5-14, pages
16 and 17). These tasks involve pupils in responding to a piece of
text through discussion with the teacher, and then continuing the text using
the features of the original as a model.
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How should the
writer’s craft task be used?
Introduce the task as described below. Ensure that the pupils are given the
appropriate support for the level (see Levels of Support above). Make
sure that pupils understand the purpose of their piece of writing and that they
are fully aware of the criteria to be used to assess their writing.
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Read aloud the starter text (pupils
working at the upper levels may prefer to read the text silently) and ask
pupils to identify some of the features particular to the kind of writing eg.
horror, science fiction, comedy.
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Through questioning, establish
involvement with the text eg. Who are the characters? What is happening? Where
is the story taking place?
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Through further questioning appropriate
to the level, identify features of the writer’s style ie. the
choice of language, content, sentence structure, punctuation and tone, used to
tell the story.
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Ask the group for a few suggestions as to
what might happen next. Give pupils a short time to think alone and / or to
share thoughts in pairs / groups. They may make notes if they want to.
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Pupils working at Levels A and B may
suggest a few words with which to make a word bank on the board. Do not write
sentences.
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Tell them that they are going to write
the next part of the story in the same style as the writer. Tell the pupils to
pay close attention to how the writer has told the story so far, and remind
pupils of the suggestions they made about the style in the earlier discussion.
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Reinforce that they are not being
asked to finish the story, or to bring it to any conclusion. This is a short
piece of writing.
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Encourage pupils to look at the passage
again before they start to write.
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What support can be
given to pupils?
Pupils working at Level A should be given help with the choice of language and
content.
Pupils working at Levels B and C should be made aware of suitable choice of
language, content, sentence structure and punctuation.
Pupils working at Levels D - F should take responsibility for choice of
language, content, sentence structure and punctuation
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How should the writer’s
craft task be marked?
Refer to Criteria for Marking Writer’s Craft document (PDF
version). Read the piece of writing, ideally more than once. A pupil
needs to be able to fulfil most of the description for a particular level for
the level to be awarded. If there is a problem with spelling or punctuation,
for example, a level may still be achieved. If there is more than one weakness,
however, it cannot be said that the pupil is confidently working at that level.
A pupil who does not reach the expected level should be re-assessed using an
additional writer’s craft task from the bank. Re-assessment should only take
place once difficulties have been identified and addressed.
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What are the
writer's craft tasks like?
Examples of writer's craft assessments are provided.
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