Day-to-day, periodic and transitional assessment
Click on the image above to view the film, 'Exploring day-to-day, periodic and transitional assessment' .
Assessment is at the heart of effective curriculum planning and central to good teaching and learning. It helps pupils recognise achievement and make progress; through it teachers shape and personalise their teaching. For many schools, developing their curriculum may mean reviewing their current assessment practice in the light of QCDA's assessment key principles and exploring different ways of looking at what pupils do and say. One way of structuring change is to think about the purpose of the different aspects of assessment in the following ways:
Day-to-day assessment - This includes information that teachers might gain from conversations with pupils about their work, as well as ongoing marking and peer and self-assessment. Day-to-day assessment gives pupils immediate feedback and provides them with relevant next steps. It also enables teachers to adjust their short-term planning in line with their pupils’ needs.
Periodic assessment - This is based on reviewing performance over a period of time and taking into account evidence in a range of forms drawn from day-to-day assessment. It helps the teacher and pupil identify overall progress in a subject or aspect of learning, rather than just assessing learning of the most recently taught topic. It also gives the teacher a clear sense of whether pupils are able to use the knowledge, skills and understanding they have developed in different contexts. Periodic assessment can also inform the teacher’s medium- and long-term planning and can provide the evidence to link pupils’ attainment to national standards.
Transitional assessment - This is most likely to take place at the end of a year or key stage. It draws on the full range of assessment information, including judgements made by the teacher and any other evidence such as tests. Transitional assessments provide a formal recognition of achievement and valuable baseline information for a pupil’s next teacher.
Each of these aspects of assessment provides a different perspective on what has been achieved and what the next steps should be. Used together they build a rounded and reliable picture of a pupil’s progress.
Looking at assessment in terms of day-to-day, periodic and transitional aspects has implications for teaching and learning and how assessment evidence is gathered. It encourages schools to:
make full use of assessing pupils' progress (APP) materials to support periodic assessment
ask for level-related assessment judgements only when there is sufficient evidence and pupils have been given enough time to show meaningful progress
provide opportunities for teachers to develop their confidence and expertise in assessment by sharing and discussing with each other their evidence of pupils’ progress
apply the model to aspects of the curriculum such as personal, learning and thinking skills as well as subjects
make use of a full range of evidence, including oral, on-screen and written, as well as drawing on peer and self-assessment.
