Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS)

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project is based at Bath Spa University and funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT). TAPS aims to develop support for a valid, reliable and manageable system of primary school science assessment which will have a positive impact on children’s learning.

The TAPS pyramid tool provides a structure to help schools evaluate and develop their assessment processes. The rich formative assessment information collected by teachers in the course of ongoing classroom work is also utilised for summative purposes – the orange arrow represents information flowing up the pyramid. Schools should begin with a focus on the ‘Pupil layer’ and the ‘Teacher layer’ at the base of the pyramid. These foundations encapsulate the principles of Assessment for Learning and this is where changes will have the most impact on pupil progress in Primary Science.

The pyramid PDF is designed to be a supportive source of examples – by clicking on each box you will be taken to examples from a range of schools. It can also provide a structure to support school self-evaluation since the interactive functions allow you to traffic light your assessment systems (on your own saved copy) and make notes on the approaches in your school.

Under the ‘TAPS Files' tab you will find a range of reports explaining more about the project, together with the TAPS pyramid PDF. The downloadable pyramid PDF is designed to be a supportive source of examples – by clicking on each box you will be taken to examples from a range of schools. The pyramid also provides a structure to support school self-evaluation, since the interactive functions allow you to traffic light your assessment systems and identify priorities (on your own saved copy of the pdf, or on a black & white paper copy).

The TAPS team are currently working on a web version of the pyramid school self-evaluation tool which will include new examples. The aim is also to continue to expand the focused assessment database.

If you would like to offer further examples, or provide the TAPS team with feedback, please email: primary.science@bathspa.ac.uk.

Keep up-to-date with TAPS developments on Twitter by following @PriSciEarle.

Further videos are available on the TAPS playlist

TAPS Playlist

WHAT IS FOCUSED ASSESSMENT?

The TAPS focused assessment approach embeds assessment within classroom primary science activities. There are two kinds of resource in this database. There are plans that have a particular focus on the assessment of working scientifically, such as close observation within a topic context. There are also focused assessment examples of children’s learning for particular science concepts e.g. how the earth orbits the sun. It is a tool for both assessment for learning (formative assessment) and summative assessment.

The elements of working scientifically were chosen according to the natural emphasis of the topic and activity. During the lesson children may well be involved in other aspects of scientific enquiry that are not the focus. For example: if the focus is on interpreting data, the children may also have discussed how to carry out the enquiry and used their measuring skills to collect data. Any recording of children’s learning is around the focused element.

Why use focused assessment?

A focused assessment increases the validity of teacher judgments. Assessment indicators provide suggestions about what the children might do or say to demonstrate their understanding or knowledge in the context of real classroom activities. This clear focus on an element of science reduces the possible impact of preconceptions about individual children or their skills in other areas, such as writing. Over time, the full range of children’s science enquiry skills and understanding of science can be considered in depth.

Taking one focus at a time means that assessing science, including practical work, becomes more manageable with a whole class. Many teachers find that annotating plans or just noting those who have 'not yet met the objective' is sufficient for record-keeping.

They have been developed and trialled by schools so teachers can feel secure that their judgements are consistent with those of other teachers. In other words, they are reliable.

Specific areas for children’s development can be identified and subsequent teaching can take this into account; the assessment is formative. These focused assessments can also contribute to an ongoing summative record of children's attainment in scientific enquiry instead of relying on end of term testing.

When to use the focused assessments

Ideally, focused assessment should occur about two thirds of the way through a topic - far enough that the children have had the opportunity to develop their understanding and skills, but allowing sufficient time to act on the assessment information.

How to use the focused assessments

Using this approach to assessment will allow teachers to focus on learning across the full range of working scientifically elements; plan, do, review. This helps to ensure that all aspects are considered - not just fair testing! There is an overview grid to support whole school planning that can be downloaded.

We strongly recommend that you amend any plan to suit your own class and circumstances (you can download it as a Word document).

Blank proformas have also been provided should you wish to create your own focused assessment plans or examples. Please feel free to use the ideas in new ways to suit your school.

We are continuing to build the database so if you do create a new focused assessment or example, please do share it by sending it to primary.science@bathspa.ac.uk.

Further videos are available on the TAPS playlist

TAPS Playlist