Assessment is a central part of everyday learning and teaching for children and young people. Evidence of progress is gathered on an ongoing and informal basis through asking questions, observing children working together and making formative comments on their work. Children may also assess their own work or that of their classmates; this is called self and peer assessment. Some assessment is more formal such as projects, investigations and standardised assessments.
The assessment of children’s progress throughout the BGE (Early Years – S3) is based on teachers’ professional judgement. Teachers draw on their professional knowledge and understanding of the child; on the benchmarks for literacy and numeracy, which provide clear information about what children and young people should be able to do and demonstrate by the end of a Curriculum for Excellence Level; and on a wide range of assessment information.
Teachers of P1, P4, P7 and S3 are asked at the end of every school year whether children have achieved the relevant Curriculum for Excellence level for their stage in reading, writing, talking and listening (literacy), and their ability to understand and work with numbers (numeracy). Most children are expected to have achieved the early level by the end of P1, first level by the end of P4, second level by the end of P7 and third or fourth level by the end of S3.
The government has also introduced new national standardised assessments (SNSA) which cover some aspects of reading, writing and working with numbers. These assessments are completed online and are automatically marked by the online system giving teachers immediate feedback to help plan next steps and support children’s progress.
Teachers remain best placed to know how the children in their class are progressing. Their professional judgement will continue to be the most important way of assessing your child’s progress at school.
Parents, families and carers have a key role in helping children to learn. Your child’s teacher will keep you informed about their progress. Please contact us if you have any concerns about their learning, assessment or for more information on how you can support your child’s learning at home.
