The Scottish Government

In the late 1980s and early 90s, the 5-14 Development Programme ( http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/5to14/about5to14/index.asp ) led to the introduction of curriculum guidelines across the primary and early secondary years of schooling and a system of national testing in mathematics and English language (now National Assessments).

The expansion of the pre-school and nursery sector and the increased focus on standards across the school system led to a demand for more consistent and reliable information about pupils' performance and progress. In 1999, the Scottish Executive undertook a review of assessment in pre-school, primary and the early secondary years. The review identified two key assessment purposes. The first was concerned with the individual pupil and its purpose was to support learning, give feedback and identify the 'next steps' in learning. The second was that of accountability, to provide information for monitoring and evaluating by schools, local authorities and at national level. It concluded that a number of improvements would have to be made to existing practices in order that these twin aims of assessment could be realised.

Following the review, a SEED consultation exercise in 2000 identified a series of similar issues regarding assessment in schools (Hayward et al, 2000). The responses expressed concern that accountability (assessment for statistical and monitoring purposes) was dominating practice and becoming burdensome. Respondents asked for a common national format for record-keeping and reporting, and greater coherence within and across sectors. The view was that, at national level, the focus should be on key areas of learning, including numeracy and literacy, and that national tests should be improved in quality, leading to increased validity and reliability (although views were divided on how they might be improved).

In the Minister for Education's response to the consultation ( SEED, 2001), he stressed the importance of assessment in improving learning and achievement and the need for a system that is coherent and effective in promoting learning and progress. The Assessment Action Group was established later that year and the Assessment is for Learning Programme was instigated.

1.2 Assessment: theory and practice

Assessment, particularly testing, was a significant element in the 5-14 Programme in Scotland and the National Curriculum developments in the rest of the United Kingdom. The publication of Inside the Black Box (Black & Wiliam, 1998) indicated that the concerns raised in Scotland regarding assessment were held elsewhere. In particular, the authors argued that if the government, its agencies and the teaching profession were seriously concerned to raise standards, there were a number of aspects of current practice that needed to be rethought, particularly the role of assessment and, more specifically, formative assessment i.e. 'when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet the needs [of pupils]' (p2).

Inside the Black Box contributed significantly to the debate on testing and assessment and a considerable number of publications on assessment in primary and secondary schools subsequently appeared (Torrance & Pryor, 1998; Wragg, 2001; Clarke, 2001). Many of these were concerned with putting the key messages from the Black and Wiliam review into practice. In particular, Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall and Wiliam expanded on the Black Box publications, focusing on four themes:

• Questioning
• Feedback
• Sharing criteria with learners
• Self-assessment

(Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall and Wiliam, 2003).

The various publications and inservice/ CPD provision which followed identified a number of strategies for further development. Specific strategies were advocated for these aspects of the assessment process, such as 'wait time' when questioning (allowing pupils time to think and respond to questions) and 'two stars and a wish' for feedback (giving two positive points and making suggestions for one aspect that might be improved).

1.3 The Assessment is for Learning Programme

It was against this background that the Assessment is for Learning Programme was established with the key aims of:

• developing one unified system of recording and reporting within schools;
• bringing together current arrangements for assessment, and
• providing extensive staff development and support through its project-based approach.

It was anticipated that, if this were accomplished, the benefits would include:

• better feedback for pupils leading to improved achievement
• simplified systems and support for teachers, therefore reduction in workload
• clearer information for parents.

Essentially, the AifL Programme was designed to bring together the various purposes of assessment into a single coherent framework which would answer questions of accountability, standards and monitoring of progress and performance but which emphasised the role of assessment in supporting individual pupils' learning in the classroom. This meant reviewing existing practice, including national testing and monitoring procedures, as well as introducing and developing new ideas and strategies within schools. In the event, 10 projects were identified which, together, addressed the aims of the programme ( http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/assess /).

These projects were interlinked, covering aspects of formative and summative assessment, recording and reporting. The 'new' dimension was the emphasis on formative assessment which, while it had been advocated in Assessment 5-14 ( SOED, 1991), had made little impact on classroom practice (Swann & Brown, 1997). So, for the Assessment is for Learning Programme, the 'big ideas' about assessment are that learners learn best when...

• they understand clearly what they are trying to learn, and what is expected of them
• they are given feedback about the quality of their work, and what they can do to make it better
• they are given advice about how to go about making improvements
• they are fully involved in deciding what needs to be done next, and who can give them help if they need it.

( http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/assess/about/bigideas/index.asp )

The programme was novel in that it combined top-down and bottom-up development. Individual projects were determined at national level and developed within a national framework but the precise nature of the work undertaken within individual schools or school clusters was, in large part, determined by the staff in the schools, working with local authority personnel. Schools that participated were given financial support to use in ways they saw fit, e.g. supply cover, material resources, staff development. Most classroom-based projects were undertaken in ways that resembled action research, with planning, reviewing, reflecting and modifying phases, culminating in a case study report. This meant that plans changed as projects proceeded, both at local levels and in the overall management of the programme.

Support was to be provided by local authority personnel, project development officers and members of education faculties (or their equivalent) in the universities. This was another novel feature of the programme - the collaboration of policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. In addition, members of key educational organisations were involved on various projects at various levels. Consequently, management was complex.