Assessment for learning guide

This resource supports your school with the local curriculum design and review process.

Teacher sits and reads a book with her students.

About this resource

This resource focuses on informal assessment practices in the classroom to support teaching and learning. It provides guidance and resources for selecting appropriate assessment tools to ensure equitable and positive outcomes for all students. Teachers use observation, learning conversations, and high-impact assessment tools to notice and respond to students' progress across the curriculum. This resource is from the Leading Local Curriculum Guides series of resources. See the resource carousel for more.

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Assessment for learning guide

Assessment for learning: Using the right tools and resources to notice and respond to progress across the curriculum

This guide is focused on informal assessment for learning in the classroom to inform teaching and learning. It includes help with selecting appropriate assessment tools for equitable and positive outcomes for all ākonga.

Use this guide to:

support your ongoing review of assessment policies and procedures
lead conversations with your staff – to review your local assessment practices and decide which ones are working well and which can be improved.

The guide contains guidance, review questions, activities, examples, and resources to enable deep discussions within your school about assessment for learning. The start of the year is a good time to begin conversations with your staff that can continue throughout the year.

Mā te whiritahi, ka whakatutuki ai ngā pūmanawa ā tāngata
Together weaving the realisation of potential.

Students and teachers use assessment for learning in the classroom

Teachers support learners to notice how they are going with their learning – where they are at, where to next, and whether they know how to get there (knowing who and what can help). Learners use this personalised feedback to help set goals and explore any misunderstandings. Teachers notice whether there are patterns in the class, such as common next steps or misunderstandings and adjust their teaching accordingly.

Much of this noticing is through the observation of learning processes and in conversations between teachers and learners. Every now and then, it is appropriate for teachers to use a high impact assessment tool – one that is researched and reliable – to guide the next teaching and learning.

These practices are even more important now that our approaches to teaching and learning have become so varied. Inquiry learning, project-based learning, cross-curricular learning, play-based learning – these all require excellent curriculum and assessment knowledge and constant attention to student actions so that teachers can "notice, recognise, and respond" to the needs of all their students.

Diagram of Teacher judgments decisions made in relation to national curriculum

Text version

Diagram in the shape of a circle with three equal segments, and an inner circle section.

Outer orange circle contains text: NATIONAL CURRICULUM.

Segments clockwise from top.

Top segment:

Image of an eye.

Title: Observation of learning processes.

Text: Evidence obtained from informal assessment opportunities, incorporating the observation process such as:

Student workbooks
Focused classroom observation
Tasks eg: Maths tasks, Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs)
Running records
Student peer assessment.

Right hand segment.

Image of two speech bubbles.

Title: Learning conversations.

Text: Evidence arising from learning conversations, such as:

Conferencing
Interviewing
Questioning
Explaining
Discussing.

Left hand segment.

Image of a tick inside a box.

Title: Use of high impact tools.

Text: Evidence obtained from assessment tools, see these on page 6.

All segments have an arrow shape pointing into another circle that contains the text: Teacher judgments. Decision made in relation to National Curriculum.

Think about these questions as you lead your review

How well does effective "of the moment" assessment for learning practice underpin teaching and learning in our school?
Are we over-assessing?
How well can we locate any student’s performance across the breadth of the curriculum and along a continuum of curriculum levels?
How are student agency and assessment capability being grown across the school? Can all our students answer the following questions:
- What are you learning?
- Why are you learning it?
- How well are you doing?
- Where do you need to go next?
How confident are we about the quality of the overall teacher judgments across our school?

Three highschool students working in a class together

Activity – Supporting student agency and assessment capability

Work in small groups to draw up two lists of the expectations. You would have of students with (a) learner agency and (b) assessment capability. Combine the lists to form a Venn diagram to illustrate and consolidate your shared understandings of the two terms – what they have in common and their differences.
Now think of specific students you are teaching this year. Use the diagram’s indicators and descriptions of being assessment capable to identify which students are assessment capable and which ones are not? For example, which ones consistently know what they are learning, why, how they are going, and what to do next?
Think, pair, share: What can you do in your classroom to increase your students’ assessment capability? You may want to design a matching Venn diagram that shows teacher actions.
Look at what you’ve planned for next week and identify what you could do to support the less assessment-capable students.

Example of using assessment for learning practices improving student NCEA outcomes

Assessment for learning in practice in a year 11 classroom – a teacher's story (see the School stories section)

Ben Keyte, sole-charge physical education teacher at Excellere College, tells how the use of fundamental assessment for learning strategies in his classroom helped his year 11 students with NCEA success.

Further resources for guidance

Trends in assessment: An overview of themes in the literature by Rosemary Hipkins and Marie Cameron. This is the latest report on assessment capability in the NZ education system. It outlines findings from a literature review of trends in assessment policy and practice. The authors use "assessment capability" as a point of reference.
Assessment Online – Assessment for learning in practice Outlines the key assessment capabilities for developing an assessment for learning dynamic in the classroom.

Using assessment information to inform teaching and learning

Teacher and students sit together reading books.

Remember who you are assessing for! The primary owners of assessment information are your students. However, teacher judgments about progress and achievement across the curriculum may be shared with everyone with a stake in using the information. This includes:

Students
Teachers
Parents and whānau
School leaders
Boards of Trustees
Ministry of Education

Text version

This diagram outlines the ‘Learning system’. At the centre of the diagram is a person, who is surrounded by two circles. The inner circle is labelled ‘Student’, and the outer circle is labelled ‘Parents and Whānau’. Behind this, three circles overlap, so that the person is positioned at the intersection of all three circles. These circles are labelled ‘Learning classrooms’, ‘Learning schools’, and ‘Learning profession’.

Adapted from ‘Figure 2: Schooling System – a Learning System’, Ministry of Education Position Paper [Schooling Sector] 2011.

Good formal teacher judgments are valid (based on what students have learned) and reliable (other teachers would make the same judgment with the same evidence). Teacher judgments should also provide information on what students have learned and the focus of the next learning.

Assessment should inform teaching and learning

Give yourself permission to stop those practices that are not contributing to this.

Assessment as compliance	Assessment that informs teaching and learning
Progress and achievement are assessed only through the use of assessment tools.	Sound teacher judgments supported by a reliable assessment tool and ongoing classroom observations and conversations provide information on progress and achievement.
Progressions of learning are not well documented or commonly shared across the teaching staff.	Progressions of learning are well documented, with exemplars from student work, teacher observations, and assessment tool information. Teachers and students have a shared understanding of progress across levels.
Teacher judgments are not moderated. There are no common understandings of "what good looks like".	Effective moderation practices establish "what good looks like" at a range of levels. Student exemplars are kept to illustrate different levels of achievement.
Several tools are used to assess progress and achievement within a year level and learning area.	There is a school-wide plan that reflects the purposeful use of a small number of tools to supplement teacher observations and learning conversations.
There are no standardised procedures across the school for assessment tools.	Every teacher knows how to administer assessment tools according to the instructions from the tool developer. Teachers have time to discuss procedures.
Assessment is something that is "done" to the students, without their involvement. Students see it as a "test" and something to be worried about.	Students are involved in assessment processes, and they see it as a learning opportunity. They’re motivated to do their best and they look forward to finding out how they’re progressing with their learning. Students discuss with peers, whānau, and teachers where they’re at, what they want to improve on, and how others can help them.
Assessments are carried out at times only to provide information for school leaders or outside providers.	All assessments are carefully chosen so that they provide valuable information for all stakeholders, particularly students and teachers, that can be acted on.
Analysis of assessment information is done by a select few in the school, and results are presented to teachers.	Teachers are assessment and analysis capable and take an interest in working with class/cohort data to establish student pathways for learning.

Activity – Review of school practices

Do all assessment practices inform teaching and learning?

Compare your assessment practices with the list of effective practices in the right-hand column of the table.
Make a visual representation by drawing up a five-point scale for each of the practices. Each teacher places a dot as to where they think the school sits on the continuum, using a sticky note to explain why.
Discuss which practices need improvement. Decide on the area to work on first. This could be the one that needs the most work or one that links with other initiatives within the school.

Assessment tools and resources in support of teacher judgments

Results from assessment tools are used in conjunction with teacher observations and learning conversations with students, to support teacher judgments.

As a school leader, you should expect to see a reasonably high correlation between teacher judgments and assessment results. There will be differences due to the nature of the assessment processes – these should be investigated to make sure that the judgments are reliable. Since there are no formal assessment tools for all learning areas and the key competencies, teacher judgments will be supported by classroom observations, school-developed exemplars, and cross-level and cross-school understandings of progress.

Teacher and students sitting in the sun talking

Although schools are free to use whatever tools and resources they choose, there are high impact, well-researched, reliable assessment tools, and resources that can be used to measure progress and achievement. They provide authentic tasks linked to The New Zealand Curriculum that provide rich opportunities for next step learning.

High impact, well-researched, reliable assessment tools and resources

Each of these tools has a specific purpose, which helps with the decisions about why and when you would use the tool. Each tool provides guidance about how it should be used.

It is not expected that all these tools are used for all students all of the time.

Frequency of use

More frequent

Purpose: noticing and diagnostic

Less frequent (likely once per year)

Purpose: tracking and monitoring

Running Records

A framework for systematically observing a student’s reading processing system

Numeracy Assessment Tools

NumPA, GloSS, IKAN and JAM
Four assessments cover Yrs 1–10

PATs (Progressive Achievement Tests)

Mathematics and listening comp Yrs 3–10
Reading comp and vocab Yrs 4–10
Punctuation and grammar Yrs 4–10

Assessment Resource Banks

English, mathematics, and science for curriculum levels 1–5

e-asTTle (Electronic Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning)

Reading and mathematics Yrs 4–10
Writing Yrs 1–10

An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (known as the six-year net)

A set of tasks on basic reading and writing concepts

Science Assessment Tools from NZCER

Science: Thinking with Evidence Yrs 7–10
Junior Science: Thinking with Evidence Yrs 4–6

The Learning Progression Frameworks (LPFs) and the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) are curriculum progress tools. Together, the tools provide valuable information to support teaching and learning conversations and guidance on next steps.

LPFs describe the significant learning signposts that students reach as they develop their skills in reading, writing, and maths in years 1–10. They provide a big picture illustration of the typical pathways students take as they progress in reading, writing, and maths.
PaCT is designed to help teachers make dependable judgments about students’ achievement that can be used to track progress in reading, writing, and mathematics. Teachers and schools can use PaCT to see the progress of a child’s growth against The New Zealand Curriculum and to help understand the effectiveness of their local curriculum.

Think about these questions as you lead your review

How sure are we that all the assessments we use in our school are being used to support teaching and learning?
In what ways do we involve our students in the assessment process?
Are we confident in our knowledge of the progress and achievement of our students across the curriculum? Do our students know?
How confident are we that assessment tools are being administered properly so that the results are reliable? What are our checks on this?
How sure are we of the effectiveness of the moderation processes used in the school?
How confidently are our teachers able to analyse assessment data?

Activity – Stocktake of assessment tools

Work in learning area groups or school levels to document the assessment tools that you use to measure progress and achievement.
Draw up a school-wide map of the resources and tools you use to notice, recognise and respond to progress across the breadth of the curriculum and to support your teacher judgments.
Agree on what you mean as being high impact assessment tools. Rate the tools you use against these criteria.
Identify duplicates and/or those that you think should be reviewed or changed.
Think about the practices associated with tools. Are you over-assessing particular students? Are there better ways to monitor progress?
Highlight the learning areas where there are few or no assessment tools. Discuss how you might notice and recognise progress and achievement in those areas. Allocate these learning areas to your curriculum leaders for further investigation into progress and achievement.