Assessing Pupils' Progress (APP) has been developed for use in

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

to enable them to apply

Assessment for Learning Assessment may refer to: Healthcare *Health assessment, identifies needs of the patient and how those needs will be addressed *Nursing assessment, gathering information about a patient's physiological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual s ...

(AfL) consistently across both the secondary and primary

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or othe ...

. APP assessment guidelines were finalised in 2008 for

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, English,

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and ICT. Initial development of APP was undertaken by the National Strategies but is now overseen by the

Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), previously known as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In Englan ...

(QCDA). Currently the status of APP is that it is 'recommended' that schools use it but it is not statutory. With the change in UK government in May 2010, the status of APP could change. Ofsted said APP was unnecessary in 2010, and the APP documents have not been on the Department for Education's website since 2011. The coalition government has got rid of it.Speech by E Truss, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare to Reform 10 April 2014 UK schools began implementing

in 2001 and the approach is now well embedded. APP provides nationally recognised areas of Assessment Focus for teachers to assess. APP has been part of the reason for making National Curriculum Tests optional for all but Year 6.

APP in Mathematics

APP for mathematics consists of 208 areas of Assessment Focus (AF) across levels 1 to 8, giving between 20 and 25 areas for a pupil to complete per level. The optional National Curriculum tests have tended to test a narrow part of the National Curriculum whereas APP gives a much broader picture. The Assessment Foci can be quite specific, such as "plot

graph Graph may refer to: Mathematics *Graph (discrete mathematics), a structure made of vertices and edges **Graph theory, the study of such graphs and their properties *Graph (topology), a topological space resembling a graph in the sense of discret ...

s of quadratic and

cubic function In mathematics, a cubic function is a function of the form f(x)=ax^3+bx^2+cx+d, that is, a polynomial function of degree three. In many texts, the ''coefficients'' , , , and are supposed to be real numbers, and the function is considered as ...

s". Some areas are less traditional and have come as something of a surprise to those who have worked with them. For example, at Level 7 pupils are required to "find the locus of a point that moves according to a specific rule, e.g. the vertex of a

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

as it rolls along a line": an area that has certainly never been tested in a National Curriculum test.

How APP in Mathematics differs from traditional assessment

Formative Assessment Formative assessment, formative evaluation, formative feedback, or assessment for learning, including ''diagnostic testing'', is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to mo ...

has been defined as 'activities undertaken by

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s, and by their students in assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged'. In the past the focus for assessment has often been

summative assessment Summative assessment, summative evaluation, or assessment of learning is the assessment of participants in an educational program. Summative assessments are designed both to assess the effectiveness of the program and the learning of the particip ...

which is taken after a pupil has completed a unit of work, and often at the end of a school year. APP is

formative assessment Formative assessment, formative evaluation, formative feedback, or assessment for learning, including ''diagnostic testing'', is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to mo ...

in that teachers can use it whilst an AF is being taught and use the results to inform their planning. In practical terms, APP allows teachers to use evidence from their everyday teaching to assess a pupils capability on an AF. This can include evidence gathered by talking to pupils whilst they undertake group work, matching activities and team games. The use of mini-

whiteboard A whiteboard (also known as marker board, dry-erase board, dry-wipe board, and pen-board) is a glossy, usually white surface for making non-permanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface allowing for ...

s and slides on an interactive white board are also becoming common. In addition, work done on more traditional

worksheet A worksheet, in the word's original meaning, is a sheet of paper on which one performs work. They come in many forms, most commonly associated with children's school work assignments, tax forms, and accounting or other business environments. Sof ...

s can also count towards a teachers judgement. APP is not seen as a series of mini tests but as a means of giving pupils multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of work. In the secondary school phase, APP links closely to Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) where pupils are expected to show determination in solving problems and work as part of a team. APP also has close links with the 2010

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

specification and its increased emphasis on

problem solving Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

. There isn't, however, any intention that APP should be tackled through the use of

coursework Coursework (also course work, especially British English) is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can e ...

Timeline for the deployment of APP in core subjects

All schools in England and Wales received training on APP during the

academic year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...

2008/9. During 2009/10 schools have been expected to trial APP with at least one Year group with a view to fully embedding the approach from September 2010. Any school that has not fully embedded APP by September 2010 will be offered further

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

to enable them to do so.

Sources

National Strategies Primary Phase

National Strategies Secondary Mathematics

Examples of APP mathematics materials

National Strategies APP pamphlet

TES article on APP at KS3
{dead link, date=October 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
TES article on APP at KS2

Union support for APP

APP is recommended but not statutory

References

Education in England Education in Wales