Use of assessment strategies?
Too often, leaders believe tutors understand the effective use of assessment only to find out their beliefs are ill-founded too late. At a recent inspection, while tutors use questioning well, the dreaded ‘however’ describes a different story.
“However, too many tutors on courses for young people do not routinely check students’ understanding in lessons. In GCSE English, tutors’ use of questioning does not succeed in developing a few students’ understanding or ideas. Students are not given sufficient thinking time to develop their confidence in answering questions. This means that a few students do not make the progress of which they are capable”.
Are leaders assuming too much in the belief that tutors should understand assessment strategies? Are some tutors working based on summative assessment, ignoring the substantial benefits of formative assessment? How well are observers capturing assessment practice, such as the basics of questioning?
Most of all, how skilled is the observation team in providing developmental support to improve these essential skills? When used well, assessment will help identify gaps in understanding and provide the tutor with guidance before moving on to the next topic.
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