Baseline Assessment

Principles and Methods

If we want to find out how well pupils are achieving in RE it will be important to mark out a baseline from which to make subsequent judgments. One way of doing this when pupils are moving from primary / middle / secondary school is through a transition project. It may be advantageous to make such projects cross-curricular, linking, for example, the humanities subjects, including citizenship. In this case it will be important to be clear about the specific RE learning objectives and expected outcomes. Pupils and teachers will thus gain insights into expected styles and standards of work as they move from one school to another.

Good examples of RE transition projects have been developed by Durham, Kirklees, Lewisham and Poole LEAs for the religious education and school effectiveness (REaSE) project hosted by Brunel University.

Principles of baseline assessment
The assessment information gathered from such projects can provide the baseline from which further progress may be evaluated.

Baseline assessments do not have to be part of a transition project, of course. They are particularly useful when pupils arrive new at a school or near the start of any year or unit of work, but can be made at any time. Though there are many methods, the principles of baseline assessment will be similar at whatever stage it is used:

• aim to discover what pupils already know, understand and can do in RE;
• provide a variety of tasks, covering different attainment targets, to suit different levels of ability and learning styles;
• explain the purpose and mark-scheme to pupils, including a ‘pupil-friendly’ version of the level descriptors (based on your agreed syllabus or see the links to the level descriptions and 'can-do' statements in the left-hand panel);
• involve pupils in self-assessment of their work, at least in part;
• provide pupils with positive feedback in relation to the level achieved and on good attitudes shown to the exercise;
• keep a record of approximate level in each attainment target for each pupil in mark book, so that future progress can be tracked.

These principles reveal the possible pitfalls of some baseline assessment tests. Some emphasise pupils’ knowledge, for example, a quick 10 question factual knowledge test on religions, and do not address the levels of pupils’ ability in RE. Other tests fail to involve pupils sufficiently in the assessment process, leaving them struggling to understand its purpose or the criteria for success.

How to develop a baseline assessment exercise
In designing an appropriate baseline assessment exercise, it will be important to take into account pupils’ previous experience of RE and this, of course, will be varied! Different experience, however, should not become an excuse for unchallenging RE. Whatever the previous encounter with religious traditions, we have to move on!

Here is an example of how to develop a baseline assessment exercise for Year 7. The process can be adapted for Year 1 or Year 12 – by making reference to the approximate range of levels suitable for those pupils.

Start by looking at (a) the type of content in RE that may have been covered in pupils’ previous RE experience and (b) the range of levels appropriate for Year 7 pupils.

(a) Content previously covered in Year 6:
Pupils may well arrive in Year 7 from a variety of schools, having covered different programmes of study and followed different agreed or faith community syllabuses. Some may have studied a number of religions in depth, others experienced a very limited RE programme. Some pupils will have visited a variety of places of worship, and had visitors from a variety of faith traditions, other pupils may have had no such experiences at all.

All this variety will have an impact on pupils’ responses to a baseline assessment exercise, so a breadth of opportunities will have to be provided for pupils to show what they can do. Nevertheless, some reasonable assumptions will have to be made about the sorts of content covered: this is, after all, one of the points of baseline assessment – to discover the extent of pupils’ current levels of knowledge and understanding.

According to the non-statutory national framework for RE:

‘throughout key stage 2 pupils learn about Christianity and at least two of the other principal religions, recognising the impact of religion and belief locally, nationally and globally. They make connections between differing aspects of religion and consider the different forms of religious expression. They consider the beliefs, teachings, practices and ways of life central to religion. They learn about sacred texts and other sources and consider their meanings. They begin to recognise diversity in religion, learning about similarities and differences both within and between religions and beliefs and the importance of dialogue between them. They extend the range and use of specialist vocabulary. They recognise the challenges involved in distinguishing between ideas of right and wrong, and valuing what is good and true. They communicate their ideas, recognising other peoples’ viewpoints. They consider their own beliefs and values and those of others in the light of their learning in religious education’ (QCA, 2004, p28 – my italics).

Any baseline assessment exercise could therefore provide a test of at least some of these aspects of key stage 2 learning, ensuring a balance between the two attainment targets : learning about religion and learning from religion. Of course, some syllabuses do not make use of exactly these attainment targets. In such cases a balance of activities should be selected in line with local, regional or national (as in the case of Wales) guidance. For the purposes of this example, as indicated in the italics above, the focus will be on learning about Christianity and one other religion or secular tradition. The exercises will test how well pupils are able to make connections between different aspects of those traditions, and the similarities and differences between them (AT1), and how well they are able to communicate their own ideas about a mystery of life in the light of their learning about religions (AT2).

(b) the range of levels appropriate for Year 7 pupils
Whatever system of assessment pupils are used to, it will be important to share the assessment objectives for the baseline exercises with them in language they can understand.

For the current example tasks have been set to test an approximate range from level 3 to level 5, though pupils’ responses may well fall short of, or exceed, that range.

Method
Once the range of knowledge, understanding and skills to be tested has been established, a range of activities has to be designed. This will not provide a test of everything pupils might know, but should provide an indication of their level of ability in RE. The activities should provide something that all can do as well as sufficient challenge to test high achievers. There should be sufficient variety in the types of activity to engage and interest pupils in the big questions raised in RE and in the learning to come.

Assessment
Now ‘personalise’ the learning: self-assessment, teacher assessment: with target statements in pupil-friendly language.

The assessment exercises might be repeated towards the end of the year, or after a block of work, to see what progress has been made.

Baseline assessment: exercise for pupils

Click this link to go to Guidance for teachers on using the Baseline assessment interactive exercises >>