Teachers, headteachers, senior managers, local authorities

Assessing Pupils Progress in the

foundation subjects at key stage 3

What is Assessing Pupils’ Progress?

Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP) is the Published 2008/09 Future
new national approach to assessment
that equips teachers to make periodic • key stage 2 reading, • key stage 3 reading, • key stage 3
judgements on pupils’ progress, fine- writing and writing and foundation subjects
tune their understanding of learners’ mathematics mathematics (revised) • key stages 1, 2 and 3
needs and tailor their planning and • key stage 1 reading, speaking and listening
teaching accordingly. It has been writing and • primary science
greeted enthusiastically by teachers mathematics
piloting the approach in reading, • key stage 3 science
writing, mathematics, science and • key stage 3 ICT
ICT. It is now being developed for the
foundation subjects at key stage 3.

What foundation subjects is the

APP approach being developed
for? What will APP foundation subjects How does APP work?
APP materials are being developed materials consist of? The APP approach is straightforward.
for use in years 7, 8 and 9 in the The APP tools for teachers, which are In line with their school assessment
foundation subjects: being developed by QCA, will policy and practice, teachers
comprise: periodically review evidence of their
 art and design
 guidelines for assessing pupils’ work pupils’ work using the assessment
 citizenship guidelines and build a profile of their
related to national curriculum levels
 design and technology achievements.
 standards files that offer annotated
 geography collections of pupils’ day-to-day
 history
By generating evidence from
work that exemplify national
teaching through their day-to-day
 modern foreign languages standards
interactions, observations and
 music  a handbook to help teachers use
ongoing assessment, teachers see
 physical education the materials and implement the evidence of what learners understand
approach. and can do. APP is most effective
 religious education.

Contact information Further information

Qualifications and www.qca.org,uk/stem

Curriculum Authority
83 Piccadilly
London W1J 8QA

Telephone 020 7509 5555

Minicom 020 7509 6546
Email info@qca.org.uk
www.qca.org.uk

QCA/08/3981 October 2008

when it draws on a broad range of
evidence that shows what learners
can do independently.
How are APP materials being
developed?
The APP materials are being
developed by QCA with subject
specialists and classroom teachers.
Once the guidelines and handbooks
are developed, they will be trialled in
schools. Feedback from these schools
will help QCA refine the materials.
QCA is currently working with schools
to exemplify standards in the national
curriculum through examples of
pupils’ work and other evidence of
their achievement. Some of these
materials will be included in the
standards files for APP which will be
available to all schools on the QCA
website during 2010.
Opportunities
APP provides teachers with a valuable
opportunity for professional
development as it gives them
effective tools to develop their
assessment and teaching techniques.
This can give pupils greater
independence and choice in their
work and a chance to become more
engaged in the learning process.
Teachers involved in the pilots have
said it takes time to get used to the
assessment tools and level-related
criteria, but they found that when APP
is applied in the classroom, the
benefits far outweigh the challenges.
‘Far from adding another layer of
assessment, APP helps to rationalise
the current system and focuses
planning, teaching and assessment.’
Teacher feedback
Why use APP?
QCA has extensively piloted the APP
approach with local authorities and
schools. It is proving robust and
effective in practice.
To access the National Strategies
support for APP please go to:
 primary English and mathematics
materials
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primaryf
rameworks/ assessment
 key stage 3 English materials
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/second
ary/framework/english/sgs/atspt/ap
p
 key stage 3 mathematics materials
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/second
ary/framework/maths/ fwg/mfwapp
For the DCSF Assessment for
Learning strategy go to
www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications
and search for ‘assessment for
learning’.
QCA has published a factsheet called
APP: Assessment at the heart of
teaching and learning available at
http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_16884.asp
x, which sets out the principles of the
APP approach.

Teachers involved in the pilots have

identified the following benefits of
APP:
 it gives a detailed profile of what a
pupil can do in relation to the
assessment focuses – the key
aspects of a subject where pupils
need to progress
 it enhances teachers’ subject
knowledge and promotes a
broader curriculum
 it directly informs future planning,
teaching and learning
 it provides greater clarity and
understanding of targets, progress
and feedback
 it reduces reliance on testing.

‘It has led to a broadening of our

curriculum, especially in reading and
using and applying mathematics.’
Pilot teacher

Where are APP materials available

from?
All materials will be available through
the QCA website. Please go to
www.qca.org.uk/assessment and
follow the links to access the range of
published materials.