Recommendation 5: Strengthening the quality of teacher assessment

(b) "All schools should have a lead assessor, with the longer-term aspiration that by 2020, all schools should have access to an accredited Chartered Assessor."

(c) "DCSF should work with assessment organisations to develop a national accreditation of schools with an institution level mark of excellence in assessment, with the expectation that these schools should then share their expertise with other schools."

Recommendation 7: Changing assessment at Key Stage 2

"(f) As single level tests and the Chartered Assessor models are further developed, trialled and implemented, DCSF should monitor whether a sufficiently robust moderation infrastructure exists for teacher assessment to be used as part of the accountability system."

Following these recommendations are a number of proposals including the following:

Supporting teachers' assessment skills

1.47 "We propose that there is a key role for some individuals to take on a specific job as accredited experts and leaders in the field of assessment. This Chartered Assessor role should be the mark of professional excellence which demonstrates publicly the capability of individuals in the use and management of assessment."

1.48 "We also think that in the longer term, schools who excel in the quality of their assessment (accuracy of judgements, good practice in cross-moderation, effective use of AfL, commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in assessment) should be granted a 'licence to assess', and would then work with other local schools to share their expertise. This would be a mark of excellence and would create schools who could then offer peer-to-peer learning to other schools and moderation. This combined with the development of Chartered Assessors will mean there is significant strengthening of the workforce and the institutional infrastructure to improve the reliability and validity of teacher assessment."

Longer term recommendations:

2.29 "As these changes are made and as Chartered Assessors are introduced, DCSF should monitor progress in strengthening the reliability and consistency of teacher assessment, and in developing an infrastructure which provides assurance about this. As single level tests rely on effective teacher assessment to make sure that pupils are entered at the right level at the right time, they will tend to support teachers in developing very precise assessment skills. Similarly, Chartered Assessors will provide practical support to their colleagues in improving the quality of assessment and in ensuring that underpinning systems are sound. As these changes are embedded, DCSF should keep under review whether sufficiently robust systems are being developed to allow elements of teacher assessment to be used more within the accountability system."

The CIEA will be working closely with the DCSF to take the proposals forward.

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