Assessment for Learning Strategy

The DCSF have released the Assessment for Learning Strategy, which follows on from the "Making Good Progress" pilot. It is intended to "support schools in using assessment information to improve and plan provision, as well as improving the quality of the assessment process itself."

“Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there”.
- Assessment Reform Group, 2002

Key points:
- The aims of the strategy are that every child knows how they are doing what they need to improve and how to get there; every teacher is equipped to make well informed judgements about pupils attainment, understands the concept of progression and knows how to use their judgement to plan; every school has structured and systematic assessment systems; every parent and carer knows how well their child is doing.
- It highlights three aspects of assessment: day-to-day; periodic and transitional.
- £150m over three years to support schools in delivering the strategy, through the standards fund.
- Yearly targets, for the following three years.
- A timeline of roll out, with training for schools between autumn 2008 and spring 2009, which is the responsibility of the local authority.