A Framework for Assessment and Assessment for Learning in the new National Curriculum for Mathematics
The Pupils' Progress and Target Sheets/Self Assessment Sheets shared on this updated page
are closely linked with the new Mathematics National Curriculum in England.
These sheets (see links below) were prepared to help me, as a class teacher, make the children in my class more aware of what they had achieved
in the different areas of maths and what some of the "next steps" are for them.
My hope is that, by using guided self-recording of their achievement, this will encourage my pupils to reflect on and monitor their
own performance and recognise their achievements and will also contribute to their record of achievement. In addition, it will help me to give relevant,
individual pupil or group targets in maths and, since we no longer will be recording acievement using "levels", I hope that the sheets will enable me to give
interim and end of year assessments of children's attainment in a way which is as accessible and transparent as possible.
Items on the sheets are based on the Programme of Study bullet points for the year group. Parallel bullet points
drawn from the two previous years' Programmes of Study and following years' Programme of Study where available.
Thus, for most of the items, there are four related achievement statements (with the statements for that Year Group representing the
"expected" level of achiement for most pupils in that year).
Use the links below to download the Numeracy Pupil Progress and Target Sheets/Self-Assessment sheets for Years 3-6:
Programme of Study statements from the National Curriculum are used under Open Government Licence.
Pupil Progress and Target statements and the document structure are provided under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.
The following versions of the sheets focus on the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) identified by the NAHT and used by providers such as STAT Sheffield and Rising Stars:
For further information about the sheets and a way in which they could be used, please read on.
What are the main features of the Numeracy Pupil Target/Record of Achievement and self assessment sheets?
There are four sheets - one each for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6.
The statements for a year group correspond to Programme of Study statements for that year group found in the National Curriculum document (which, at the time of writing
may be found HERE).
The statements, therefore, cover a range of mathematical ideas and skills and directly apply to the designated teaching for the year group.
Although the items on the record sheets are closely based on the Programme of Study bullet points in the National Curriculum, the wording has been modified
in most cases to make each point an "I can..." statement and, in many cases, to make them more easily comprehensible to the children. Sometimes examples have been added.
The target statements are intended to be clear and, in general, understandable to children without compromising mathematical meaning.
Thought has been given to the age of the children when considering the language, but technical language has often been retained.
Every area of study has a series of graded statements. The statements for the particular Year Group represents those in the National Curriculum programme of study
for that year group. Before it (i.e. in the columns to the left) are statements based on related bullet points from the Programme of Study of the two "younger"
year groups (representing easier targets) and after it are statements based on related objectives for the "older" year group (representing more challenging targets)
where these are available.
The target statements, therefore, become progressively more difficult from left to right.
Items have also been grouped. Rather than following the order of bullet points in the Programme of Study, points have been arranged into groups which seem to me to
match teaching sequences I (and, in my experience, others) often use.
For each statement there are three empty boxes available for the pupils to use to record their achievement on a particular occasion (guided by the teacher perhaps).
The idea is that these may be shaded or ticked depending on the teacher’s preference. Some teachers may like to use one box per term. Others may wish to use them to
indicate a level of understanding (developing understanding; secure understanding; excellent understanding). The way they are used is up to the teacher!
The children have a new sheet (and therefore a fresh start in relation to their targets) each year.
How are the Pupil Progress and Target Sheets/Self Assessment Sheets used?
Preparation:
The sheets are printed and copied, back-to-back, preferably enlarged on to A3 paper.
Children are given the appropriate sheet for their year group – it might be taped into their maths book,
placed in the front or back of a maths folder or be part of a self assessment booklet which is available lesson by lesson.
Through discussion between teacher and pupil, each child should know the standard that they are normally
expected to achieve by the end of a lesson or series of lessons. That is, whether – for them – they should normally be
expecting (and be expected) to be able honestly to tick off that they can do and understand the work it the column
indicated by their Year Group or the final statement in a target series, for example.
This is how the targets are individualised and this aspiration level can be altered
(again through teacher/pupil discussion) through the year.
For example, after I have discussed maths work with an individual pupil, we agree the standard which they should
normally expect to reach. (This is informed by my knowledge of their work, past test performance and their comments.)
We may write "usually" at the top of this column and "sometimes" at the top of the next column as a reminder of the
expectations.
Day by day, week by week:
Children can be asked to look at the sheet at the beginning of a lesson or activity when learning activities
address one of the Progress and Target statements for the year group.
Following work relating to one of these statements, children can indicate their level of achievement on
their sheet. This could be done in various ways:
children could be asked to tick a box to show which level on that strand they felt they had achieved or
were comfortable with;
the class, a group or individuals could be given a series of questions (perhaps as an informal test)
graded in line with the five statements to help them to distinguish their level of capability at that time;
sometimes there could be discussion between teacher and pupil(s) about the level of achievement that
the child’s work represents – or the teacher might sometimes provide a written indication having marked work.
(Some of the value of the activity is lost if the sheets merely reflect teacher assessment of the children’s performance.
If the children know that they are expected to come to some judgement about their work and working,
I believe that the reflection they have to make enhances their learning and their focus on the main thrust of the lesson.)
Why offer a series of statements for each target?
To work best, targets need to be at the individual pupil’s level, and these levels will be different for
different children. However, a system of targets needs to be manageable for the class teacher and children in any
class will be working at different levels. Different targets can be given to different pupils, but then these have
to be updated or new ones provided, when they have been achieved. This needs a lot of monitoring and doesn’t easily
allow for the forgetting/relearning cycle that teachers recognise as a normal part of children’s progress.
By offering a series of graded statements, the same target – at different levels – can be used with whole class groups.
This makes class management relatively easy.
Through class activities and plenary discussions, the children (with the help of the teacher) would reflect on
their work and indicate (by ticking or shading, for example) the level of work/understanding they had been capable of.
I would be glad to receive feedback on the likely usefulness of this resource to other practising teachers.
Please contact me if you have any comments or would like MS Word versions of the documents at: g.jennings@ntlworld.com
The Progress and Target Sheets presented here follow a similar structure to those I shared for the maths curriculum defined by
the Numeracy Strategy (1999) and the Renewed Framework (2006). Please follow the links below if you wish to refer to these earlier structures:
For Target/Record of Achievement sheets linked to the 1999 National Numeracy Strategy, Click Here.
For Target/Record of Achievement sheets linked to the 2006 Renewed Framework, Click Here.
