Assessment is an integral part of learning and teaching, helping to provide a picture of a young person's progress and achievements and to identify next steps in learning.
Assessment should support the purposes of learning and reflect the principles of Curriculum for Excellence. It is important to develop coherent approaches to planning learning, teaching and assessment and to sharing information about progress and achievements.
High quality classroom interactions which promote thinking and demonstrate learning and development lie at the heart of assessment as part of learning and teaching. Conversations about learning may take place between teachers and young people or among the learners themselves, and should be part of the planned activity or experience.
Learners and others involved in their learning need timely, accurate feedback about what they have learned and how much and how well they have learned it. This helps to identify what they need to do next and who can help them build up their knowledge, understanding and skills.
A learner's progress should be assessed in ways and at times appropriate to their learning needs. Judgements about learning will be based on evidence from a broad range of sources, over time, and across a range of activities, both in and out of school.
The approaches to assessment developed through Assessment is for Learning (AifL) provide a sound platform to support this planning. Learning, teaching and assessment should be designed in ways that reflect how different learners progress to motivate and encourage their learning. To support this, learners at all stages should be involved in planning and reflecting on their own learning, through formative approaches, self and peer assessment and personal learning planning.
Assessment by staff, peers and the learners themselves is likely to be the main means of assessing each young person's achievements during the period to the end of S3.
At the end of S3, a young person's progress and achievements will be recorded in consultation with the young person. Staff will assess the extent of achievement in learning across the experiences and outcomes, wherever the learning has taken place. Young people will have been learning how to evaluate and present their skills through personal learning planning from the early years.
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