End of Term Assessments
All schools will use some form of end of term or end of topic assessment to assess the children’s learning at the end. This is normally carried out through the children completing a worksheet, piece of writing or activity from which they will be given a level against the National Curriculum level descriptors or EYFS early learning goals. End of term assessments ‘can be used to produce evidence that children have been working at a particular level or can help to identify individual or group difficulties within the class’ (Cooper, 2012:49).
Example
Example
This is an example of an end of term assessment carried out in a reception class. The children had been learning about planting beans to link in with the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk.' The child has managed to identify a lot of sounds in the words and used their phonic knowledge to sound the words out. They have also managed to write the instructions in the correct order and remembered to number the instructions as well. During the assessment the child was sat with an adult and talked through what they wanted to write and were encouraged to sound out the words independently to get a clearer understanding of their phonic knowledge. Although this is only a snapshot of the child's ability it can still say a lot about the child's ability at the present time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of end of term assessments?
There are many advantages and disadvantages to using end of term assessments.
Advantages
· It’s an effective way to check children’s progress throughout a term
· Can be used to check against other targets e.g. number formation or letter
formation especially in the early years.
· It’s a simple way to show other adults who work with the child what they have achieved and what they are capable of.
Disadvantages
· Puts a lot of pressure on children to do well in a short space of time.
· May not be an accurate assessment of their ability for various reasons. For example illness, nervousness, problems at home etc.
· Only a snapshot of the child’s true ability which means it may not be an accurate
assessment.
· Can encourage teacher’s to start ‘teaching to the test’ as ‘teachers often feel under considerable pressure to ensure their pupils do well in these assessments’ (Hall, 2007, cited in Moyles,
2009:202).
Advantages
· It’s an effective way to check children’s progress throughout a term
· Can be used to check against other targets e.g. number formation or letter
formation especially in the early years.
· It’s a simple way to show other adults who work with the child what they have achieved and what they are capable of.
Disadvantages
· Puts a lot of pressure on children to do well in a short space of time.
· May not be an accurate assessment of their ability for various reasons. For example illness, nervousness, problems at home etc.
· Only a snapshot of the child’s true ability which means it may not be an accurate
assessment.
· Can encourage teacher’s to start ‘teaching to the test’ as ‘teachers often feel under considerable pressure to ensure their pupils do well in these assessments’ (Hall, 2007, cited in Moyles,
2009:202).