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We made modifications to some of the assessments to ensure alignment with some of the LOs in STELLAR 2.0. Eg: Currently Oracy is  assessed based on teachers' casual  observation during class discussions.
We plan to introduce a checklist to make it more targeted and evidence based feedback can be given to parents. This assessment also allows the teachers to make informed decisions on how to bridge the gap in the teaching and learning process.

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There must be good planning and teachers must be informed early so that they have a clearer picture what to assess. To provide a holistic picture of pupils’ learning, there must be a certain academic rigor.

Why: The purpose of assessment must be clear so that it syncs well with the LOs and the teaching and learning activities.

What: The rating scales can be clearer/more distinctive for teachers completing the reports.

When: Assessment needs to take place at a timely/regular intervals. Teachers should be given the time to assess throughout the entire term rather than merely at the end of the term.

How: As a department, we need to take a closer look at the ELS 2020 to ensure that the important LOs are captured. To include LOs that appear in multiple units. How the LOs are assessed need to be discussed. The relevance, effectiveness and the appropriateness of assessment tools used must be considered.

Assessment is not a means to an end but pupils can continue to apply and hone their skills and knowledge such that it is built-on to what they have to attain and master right up to PSLE. It is not just about having a variety modes of assessment but the carefully chosen few that will be carried out from each level to the next to ensure a seamless continuity.

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In addition to making learning outcomes clearer for students, we can also get students to work towards the success criteria by the end of the lesson.

The learning activities must match the learning outcomes & the skills to achieving the LOs must be taught explicitly. The students must be given ample opportunities to apply the skills taught.

Teachers must be aware that the 8 LOs given are not the only ones to achieve at the end of the semester/year. They still need to refer to the syllabus for more learning outcomes.

What we assess must be age-appropriate and must be aligned with their readiness level e.g. reading comprehension. A mixture of assessment tools are administered on the students such as reading, oracy, listening and writing.

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CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel
1 In the SOW, update ILOs with ELS as cross reference. [For teachers to be familiar with ELS] In the same document, provide suggested activities and corresponding suggested ways to assess students; graphic organisers, observations with checklists, etc.
2 Update TOS to explicitly state LOs from ELS

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1. Alignment of what and how we assess, to ensure that what is taught in the classroom is holistically captured via different assessment modes and is age- and developmentally-appropriate.
2. We will continue to reiterate to parents the purpose of HDP reporting of LOs, and the intended syllabus outcomes as HDP LOs are a subset of the syllabus outcomes and are insufficient to prepare P1&2 students for higher levels of learning.
3. We will consider different assessment modes within a blended learning environment, given the young age of the P1&2 students.

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Teachers' awareness has been heightened that they need to take reference from the ELS 2020 when planning teaching and assessment.
Moving on, we could do more to ensure that there is greater alignment in the content, pedagogy and assessment and more accurate assessment of the LOs using a basket of indicators. We are currently working on checklists for Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. This will be used by the teachers to assess the LOs attainment.

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With our current STT platform, we should continue discussing and reviewing our current teaching & learning as well as assessment modes, actively making more references to the LOs in the EL2020 and STELLAR2.0 and proposing refinements if any. We can be more focused by sharpening the link between ILOs (Intended Learning Outcomes), teaching actions, teaching and learning activities and assessment in order to check the alignment of learning and assessment. We also need to reiterate the importance to look beyond the 8 LOs in the assessment and that those LOs are just the minimum benchmark and is a subset of the LOs to be covered in EL2020. Through our active discussions during STT, teachers need to understand all the LOs in the syllabus and ensure that they explicitly teach and monitor them in their daily lessons via FA. Formative Assessments tools are effective to check on students’ understanding during the learning process. They provide evidence of learning for teachers to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. The ongoing feedback can help students to identify strengths and weaknesses and target areas to work on. Sharing by teachers on the execution of rich lessons as well as students’ artefacts (evidence of learning) should be continued to help us monitor how these LOs are covered.

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There is a need to ensure alignment in teaching and learning and assessment.
In establishing a well-defined and aligned system, there are four major steps to consider:

- Defining the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) with a common understanding amongst the teachers;

- Choosing teaching/learning activities which lead to the ILOs; Teaching Activities are Teaching Actions in STP that strengthen the ILOs

- Assessing students' actual learning outcomes to see how well they match what was intended.
Also, we can look beyond the 8 LOs stated in the HDP so that we can arrive at a holistic view of the student in their language learning. The learning tasks and classrooms and authentic experiences that teachers create and design for students are platforms for assessing students’ actual learning outcomes.

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Changes To Be Made/ Considered:
1) What we assess should be more aligned towards the desired learning outcomes stated in EL syllabus of 2020. The 8 LOs are basically subsets to assess students’ learning and they are certainly not sufficient to fully assess our students’ learning needs. Thus critical to adopt other LOs found in the EL syllabus of 2020.
2) Why: So that we can monitor our students’ learning needs more closely and plan our instructional activities strategically to bridge their learning gaps accordingly.
3) When: Before the core team can start making positive ripples, it will definitely be essential to communicate and revisit  with the teachers of those levels the underlying principles of constructive alignment basically connecting the dots between teaching, learning and assessment. After which to further involve the Teachers in brainstorming n co constructing different assessment modes to Ensure that students are able to achieve the desired learning outcomes.
4) How? Should be an ongoing process of reflecting reviewing and enhancing the different assessment
modes which are authentic and meaningful.
5) Besides administering different assessment modes, Teachers should be salient enough to gather evidence based data so that informed decision can be made on how they can go about in bridging students’ learning gaps.

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We would:
- ensure that our teachng and learning activities allow pupils to practise the skills indicated in the LOs
- design assessment tasks that reflect the application of the skills taught in the activites
- guide the teachers on creating authentic tasks for meaningful assessment and learning to take place
- look beyond the 8 basic LOs and ensure that we assess pupils on the other fundamentals of the English language

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1. It is important to test beyond the 8 LOs because they are only baseline skills. However, as our teachers are already grappling with only the 8 LOs, the next step is to ensure teacher's readiness.
2. Ensure teachers have the competency to plan, design and conduct a variety of assessment tasks that will be most suitable for the LOs. It would be even better if a variety of tasks can be used to assess a particular LO over a period of time. A task need not always be pen and paper.
3. Conduct assessment tasks such that it is meaningful for the students. The feedback can be easily understood by students and acted on.

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Identify and teach concepts rather completing topics in SOW.  Ensure connections across concepts in teaching and learning.

With the new learner outcomes, attempts have been made to ensure the school ecosystem supports authentic learning and application.
Different assessment modes and tasks at different points of learning to align intended outcomes to assessment tasks as well as to have a fuller picture of students' learning and growth.
Data collected from assessment will in turn inform teaching and to help close learning gaps.

Thus Professional Development of staff is important to strengthen assessment literacy i.e to align pedagogies to intended learning outcomes and assessment tasks.

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- Check if the assessment tasks are appropriate in checking if students have achieved the learning outcomes.

-  Check if the teaching activities and learner activities help achieve the learning outcomes.

-  When preparing the teaching activities, will specify the observable actions required by the students . E.g., Demonstrate

- Likewise, will check if the learning activity is clear in stating what the students are expected to do. E,g, conduct a discussion

- Finally,  collect evidence of students’ learning by observing them carry out a task. Use these evidence to assess if the learning outcomes are achieved.

Discussion Points (From Segment 2):

Question 1:

What does this article emphasise about the relationship among teaching, learning and assessment?

-     It emphasizes that the curriculum and its intended outcomes, the teaching methods used, the assessment tasks are aligned to each other.

-     The objectives are expressed in terms of the intended learning outcomes (ILOs), which then in effect define the assessment task.

-     Teachers to have student learning outcomes in mind when planning for teaching and learning. Teachers must choose the teaching activities as well as the learning activities to achieve the intended student learning outcomes.

-     Assessment must also be appropriate in achieving the intended student learning outcome.

Question 2:

-   What do we need to consider when planning for assessing students’ learning?

-     Choose assessment tasks that will tell us how well individual students have attained intended outcomes

-     Ensure curriculum is reflected in the assessment,

-       Ensure the teaching activities of the teacher and the learning activities of the learner are both directed towards the same goal, in preparing for the assessments

-     Create a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes.

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Having articulated the LOs and the platforms to assess the students' achievements vis-a-vis the LOs, the next step is to see how we can continuously improve on the assessment process. Assessment cannot and should not be seen as a separate process from learning; it should be an integral part of learning. So while we can understand the importance of assessment, we need to continuously build up our abilities to assess, to provide feedback, and to pass the feedback to parents while teaching. Will technology help? Perhaps and we should explore it at a deeper level to ride on the momentum built from FHBL.

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Greenridge Primary School  (SR)
1.Just assessing the 8 LOs is not sufficient as they are only a subset of all the LOs in the EL 2020 syllabus. LOs not in HDP should also be assessed.
2.  Assessment cannot be a one off activity. It needs to be a series of learning activities which allows students to learn, grow and show improvement.
The teacher can also then track the progress  of the students’ development in achieving the LOs.
3. When designing the learning activities, the teachers must ensure that there is no misalignment in teaching , learning and assessment.  Teaching actions should clearly be demonstrated to students so they know how to achieve the intended outcomes. Opportunities must be created for them to practise the intended outcomes through the learning activities .

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- Need to go beyond the 8 LOs.
- Teachers need to be well-versed with the syllabus to ensure that the relevant skills are taught.
- To conduct PD sessions with the teachers to raise awareness and familiarise themselves with the SSAB.
- Use various modes assessment to assess the various LOs.

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- To consider DI in assessment

- Not to assess based on one assessment. We should include a range of learning tasks and experiences and observations over a period of time.

- Make sure that the assessment tasks are fair and appropriate in judging the success of the teaching activities which are aligned to the intended learning outcomes.

- Integrate the school programmes with the teaching syllabus for a holistic development

- Include varied assessment modes for each LO

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First of all, we need to find out what is the purpose of the assessment and what information would it give us. With that information, we need to take appropriate actions. We have to ensure that the assessment is aligned to Teaching and Learning and we can actually find out the learning gaps that could possibly exist so that we can give effective feedback to address these learning gaps. Therefore I find that FAs must be ongoing and it should take place when a teacher wants to assess anything with regards to the students' learning. The syllabus and the learning outcomes are good guides to ensure that students are achieving these outcomes. At the same time, we should not be fixated on the learning outcomes and should tweak it to adapt to student's progress and needs. Assessment can also be done in a non-threatening environment such as in a group where the child might not even know that he or she is being assessed.

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We have tried to implement the alignment of T&L and assessment. This year, we will review the effectiveness of the alignment. We will work towards ensuring that there is a closer alignment.
We will have to look at the other LOs beyond the 8 LOs. Then we will study the SOW and to identify the appropriate T&L activities that we can use for assessing other LOs. Hence we can explore different modes of assessment.
We will also ensure that our teachers are clear and familiar with ELS 2020 and it is not enough to just report based on the 8 LOs.

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While we are on the right track, there are a few areas that we can work on
- other than relying on what the STELLAR guidelines have to offer, we can start selecting the LOs (not just the 8 LOs to be reported) that we will like to assess and design T&L activities that are aligned to assess the learning outcomes. Probably mapping out the LOs and the assessments to have an overall picture will be a good idea so as to avoid over-assessing of certain LOs and overlooking the rest. After this, the information should be updated and communicated clearly to the teachers
- teachers need to be equipped with the skills to design good learning activities
- there could be more discussions among the level teachers on what are the SSAB (success criteria) to be observed while assessing certain LOs, learning activities that can help students achieve that
- perhaps more emphasis on WALT and a reflection/ checklist to better inform teachers of students' learning and to allow students to see how the learning activities they have been involved in lead them to the learning outcomes.

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Assessments have been used to assess what our students have learnt, give feedback to move them forward and for teachers to work on their areas of improvement. It is crucial that our level teachers are well-equipped with the skills for designing T & L activities and resources which are aligned to the learning outcomes As a fraternity of English language teachers, we will be ensuring that the SSABs, Items and Structures are in alignment to the learning outcomes as spelled out in Stellar 2.0.Our teachers also need to be familiar and have a better understanding of the English syllabus 2020 and also the SSABs. We will also reiterate that we need to look beyond the 8 LOs in assessment and that the 8 LOs are just the minimum benchmark. The other LOs have to be assessed as well so as to inform future instruction and the effectiveness of our English programmes. Our level teachers will have to come up with suitable LOS that will benefit our students in learning new skills. Other assessment modes besides the ones currently used in class will be looked into such as journaling and student interviews. During FHBL, our teachers were still able to carry out their assessments by using their daily Zoom sessions and leveraging SLS to get students to record their reading. Quite a lot of sharing is done during our weekly subject professional development time and that is when teachers are able to review the current way of assessments.

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When schools first transitioned to reporting students' progress using the 8 LOs in the HDP, our school relied on bite-sized tests to determine if the LOs were attained. With a better understanding that the LOs are non-exhaustive and that we needed to assess and report our students' learning in a more holistic manner, changes were made this year to factor in classroom observations and the creation of opportunities for teachers to assess their students' learning using meaningful performance-based tasks. There is a need to engage the EL teachers and help them better understand the purpose of assessment and how they can differentiate their teaching and assessment to cater to different profiles or students. We feel that we would still need to review our teaching and learning activities so as to enable the teachers to conduct fair, timely and meaningful assessment of their students’ ILOs.

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Why and What:
Currently, we assess to have a clear and broad view of how well our students have achieved the LOs. This informs the teachers of the next teaching action.

We have been assessing beyond just 8 LOs stipulated for reporting. We take reference from the syllabus document to ensure alignment. We will continue to communicate this to our teachers with clarity.

When and How:
Various LOs are assessed in different modes and frequency. While some LOs are assessed through mini pen-and-paper assessments and through regular learning tasks, some take the form of group or individual performance-based tasks.

Some LOs are intentionally assessed at specific checkpoints while some are assessed as part of professional classroom observation by teachers.

We communicate observations of the students' achievement levels through rubrics to raise their awareness and enable them to take ownership of their learning.

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Changes to be made in Assessment Plan for the English department:

1. Relook at the purpose of assessment of the English Language. Communicate the purpose of assessment clearly and specifically in the English department’s assessment plan

2. Check for alignment of the LOs of the key customised school programmes that are not included in the subset of the 8 LOs

3. Relook at the consideration for Planning for Assessment ‘HOW do we assess?’ to ensure that it is well aligned to Intended Learning Outcomes, Teaching Activity and Learning Activity

4. Come up with sensible and sound measures and indicators to review Assessment Plan

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Currently, opportunities are given for students to demonstrate the skills that have been explicitly taught. However, collection of data/evidence for assessment is inconsistent.The application of LO should be monitored across the unit(s) as part of our assessment for a more holistic picture. Our assessment is aligned to the LOs that have been identified. Moving forward, a varied mode of assessments can be explored. LOs that are not a subset of the current HDP have to be looked into. Assessment should be well paced throughout the year and should allow for multiple computation instead of a single seating.
With the current practise of STELLAR discussion during PLC, a more conscious effort need to be made to bring out the LO to ensure the teaching and learning are aligned.

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Currently, opportunities are given for students to demonstrate the skills that have been explicitly taught. However, collection of data/evidence for assessment is inconsistent.The application of LO should be monitored across the unit(s) as part of our assessment for a more holistic picture. Our assessment is aligned to the LOs that have been identified. Moving forward, a varied mode of assessments can be explored. LOs that are not a subset of the current HDP have to be looked into. Assessment should be well paced throughout the year and should allow for multiple computation instead of a single seating.
With the current practise of STELLAR discussion during PLC, a more conscious effort need to be made to bring out the LO to ensure the teaching and learning are aligned.

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Our department makes reference to the syllabus and LOs in the STELLAR guide to better align teaching, learning and assessment.

We understand that the 8 LOs in the HDP are non-exhaustive. As such, our T&L and assessment must include these other LOs.

In addition, collecting meaningful evidence is important as feedback to the learner. For example, a video artefact of a child's presentation would serve a better purpose in showing exactly where the child has done well or poorly (according to the LOs) as compared to a mere checklist or written feedback. The child can work on this more "targeted feedback" to improve his/her next performance.

We also take note of the importance of sequencing the assessment of LOs. For example, as an emerging learner of the language, it would serve a better purpose to assess Speaking & Listening skills before Reading & Writing skills.

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Continue to review alignment of teaching, learning and assessment.

To make clear to teachers that besides the 8 LOs, there are other skills to be taught.

School needs to look into teachers' competencies in designing assessment to meet LO.

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Our department considers the objectives of the teaching, learning and assessment. Whatever we test must be meaningful and have been taught explicitly. The mode of assessment should not be too difficult for the teacher to carry out and it could be done over a period of time. The student-readiness at P1 and P2 level is important as well.

We have to ensure that teaching, learning and assessment are aligned with the intended learning outcome. Hence, we will refine the teaching action and provide more learning opportunities to practise the skill. When collecting evidence during observations or video recordings, teachers will make sure that students are being assessed based on the intended learning outcome.
This has brought greater awareness that it is insufficient to assess only the 8 LOs in the HDP. We will look into formalizing other modes of assessment such that the skills in EL Syllabus 2020 are covered. Teachers need to be trained and updated regularly so that they are competent in the above.

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Keeping in mind the that teaching must be relevant to the pupils, we must design our teaching and learning activities to meet the intended LOs. The teacher needs to be well-versed with the  LOs, to be able to teach skills explicitly and design various modes of assessment to test pupils.References must be made to the 2020 syllabus as well as STELLAR 2.0.

Currently, teachers follow SOW  which goes beyond the 8 LOs, inclusive of a range of activities to ensure that it supports the diverse learning needs of the pupils'. Assessment is not only based on termly byte-sized tests but daily work and teacher designed activities.
Modes of assessment include rubrics, checklists and observation.

Check to be done during SLC and PD sessions.

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To align intended learning outcomes with teaching, learning and assessment more closely.

To check for alignment of intended learning outcomes, teaching, learning and assessment using the guiding questions listed in the table (video).

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- We need to help our teachers have a better understanding of the desired LOs for the different EL skills.
- We need to review the current T&L as well as assessment practices to ensure that the teaching & learning activities are aligned with the LOs.
- Moving forward, there's a need to share with the teachers (starting with P1 & P2) various tools that can be used to assess the pupils' attainment level of the LOs apart from the dept designed ones.

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Having a clearer understanding of the SSABs, I&S and LOs for each EL skill will place us and our teachers in better positions to decide on content, pedagogy and assessment. As reflective practitioners, we need to dwell upon our current practices deeper and be more open to talk about our successes and challenges. We need not always be too hard on ourselves. Let’s celebrate our successes! 
As for the challenges, thinking and talking about the causes or events that lead to the rise of the challenges will greatly help in our move towards further refinements of our current plans. Having the 5Ws1H at the back of our minds while doing so will help too. 
If there is a need to be critical for the betterment of all, so be it!

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It is important for teachers to have a clearer understanding of the SSABs, I&S and the LOs for each EL skill. BY doing so, it will help place all EL teachers in a better positions to decide on content, pedagogy and assessment.

It is important to reflect on our current practices and be more receptive to feedback.
It is also important to equip teachers with the know-hows in designing teaching, learning activities aligned to the intended learning outcomes.

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The teachers need to understand the 8 LOs are not enough and they are just subsets of the whole range of SSAB & I&S in the ELS 2020.

Though only these LOs are reflected in the students’ results slip, we need to assess other LOs as well. These LOs are clearly indicated in the ELS2020 & STELLAR 2.0 Guidelines. Moving forward, level reps can share with the teachers the LOs to be taught and the level can discuss what they can do to teach and assess the learning.

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- Refine the school's assessment plan to ensure that the assessment of learning is timely and essential
- Share with the P1 and P2 teachers the rationale of assessing learning and how they can make use of the assessment plan to gain feedback on their pupils' learning
- Equip P1 and P2 teachers on the 'know how' of designing appropriate teaching activities and modes of assessment

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Why/what
To ensure alignment of assessment and learning, there is a need to involve the syllabus document in lesson planning. We need to refer to the scope and sequence to ensure more comprehensive assessment.
When
we would need to ensure that the assessment is well- paced throughout the year.
Teachers should also constantly check the alignment of learning and assessment.
How
We will engage the teachers to get them to see if they are teaching to the purpose or to the assessment. There is a need for a shift of mindset away from the traditional assessment modes and methods.

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Why
To ensure alignment of the intended learning outcomes with teaching actions, learning activities and assessment.  Thus, what we teach and the activities that are carried out will prepare the students for the varied modes of assessment and achieve the ILO.

What
There is a need to fine tune and sharpen the link between the teaching actions and learning activities with the ILOs.

When
It would timely to do a review at the end of Term 3 for forward planning.

How
We will engage the teachers in a PD session to help them understand the importance of aligning ILOs, teaching action, learning activity and assessment. Following which, they could propose a more suitable refinements to the existing school-based assessment.

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To adopt a more structured approach to tighten aligning teaching/ learning and assessment.

Considerations to include:

1. What is the ILO? [Refer to ELS2020 for SSAB and I & S

2. What are the teaching activities?

3. What are the learning activities?

4. Readiness level of the pupils

5. What are the assessment modes? After evaluating, so what could be some of the opportunities given to the students to improve on?

6. Equipping teachers with the know-hows in designing teaching, learning activities aligned to the intended learning outcomes.

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1. What and Why: To assess beyond the 8 LOs that are currently reported, the  teachers have to be fluent with other LOs in the syllabus and be more cognizant in planning their teaching and choosing activities for the classroom so that it leads to the achievement of the intended LOs. Then, they are able to assess actual learning.

2. How to assess: The current practices used to assess an LO could be more open to changes, taking into account the variety of ways that an LO can be assessed. The assessment of a particular LO should not be pigeon-holed to a single assessment tool. The department could identify the other LOs from the ELS 2020 which pertain to the four skills that are currently not reported and work with the P1 and P2 teachers on how these skills could be assessed by spreading out across the two years.They could be in the form of observations or group work through daily lessons instead of creating more assessments. Timeliness of assessment is key, but at the same time we should not create more assessments.

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Why and What

We would consider the other LOS in addition to the ones that have been prescribed. In designing our lessons, we will take reference to the syllabus and plan our teaching and learning activities. We are also mindful of our students’ readiness for all the LOs so that we can have a clearer and broad overview on what our students are able to achieve.

When and How

In Juying Primary School, regular discussions with the teachers are conducted so that all of us have a common understanding on the intent and the purpose of assessment. Apart from the level teachers, we also consulted the LSP coordinator for her views on how our approaches in teaching and assessment could impact our students who are struggling with literacy. As a level, the teachers will also craft and suggest alternative modes of assessment to evaluate our students’ learning and it also promotes a rich discussion.

As a department, we are clear that there should not be ONE assessment tool when assessing the different LOs and some skills such as listening and speaking need to be developed and observed over a period of more than a term. We take reference to the collated P1 and P2 LOs and constantly review how we can improve and refine our teaching approaches.

As a department, alternative modes of assessment tools such as rubrics, observations and discussion are regularly done during TTT to review and discuss its effectiveness. We even infused ICT in our lessons by teaching our students how to use the recording function in Padlet to submit their reading aloud during the FHBL. During our professional TTT, we will discuss the components in the teaching guide particularly writing on how we can customize and even teach that particular writing skill. One of our teachers even showed us how teachers should model the correct procedures of holding the pencil and the appropriate postures to be used.

Wishlist

If there’s Teachers’ Conference, perhaps, STELLAR unit can consider planning our own “English Language Conference or Sharing Day” for all schools in Singapore. Then, we could find out and learn from other schools their good practices on how they have assessed the different LOs(apart from the prescribed ones) or customized the curriculum to cater to the needs of their P1 and P2 students.

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We will need to make a more conscious effort to remind ourselves that when we assess the students, the assessment must be aligned and truly reflect what we want the students to learn.

Although assessments are  conducted over a period of time through observations and learning sheets, we will need to explore other modes of effective and efficient assessments such as teacher-pupil conferencing, pupils' learning portfolios, journals and peer-checklists.  We will need to move away from focusing on assessing not just the 8  LOs in HDP but also the other LOs as part of teaching and learning.

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The school adopts STELLAR 2.0 which has allowed for better alignment to our T&L and assessment to the SSABs and Los as indicated in EL syllabus 2020.
We use a variety of methods and have a variety of assessment modes in our assessment plan  to collect evidence of learning in order to assess students holistically throughout the year. This has made teachers more aware of formative assessment that should be done on a regular basis in the classrooms, and it would be good to see how this could be further translated to the middle and upper primary levels, where students are able to continue and hone their skills and knowledge right up to the PSLE. We would want to look at equipping teachers with the know-how on using the evidence suggested to address learning gaps
It must be reiterated to teachers that the 8 LOs are subsets of the whole range of SSABs in ELS2020, and that it is important to teach beyond the 8 LOs.

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The purpose of assessment must be clear so that it syncs well with the LOs and the teaching and learning activities. To provide a holistic picture of pupils’ learning, there must be a certain academic rigor.  Assessment is not a means to an end but pupils can continue to apply and hone their skills and knowledge such that it is built-on to what they have to attain and master right up to PSLE. It is not just about having a variety modes of assessment but the carefully chosen few that will be carried out from each level to the next to ensure a seamless continuity. The relevance, effectiveness and the appropriateness of assessment tools used must be considered.

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Changes we will make in deciding why, what, when and how to assess our students’ learning in P1 and P2 will include looking into and identifying LOs beyond the 8 LOs that are reported in the HDP, plan meaningful learning activities and formative assessments to provide quality feedback that is actionable so that the students know what to do and how to improve. We will also explore student interviews, performances, portfolios, and formal tests as ways to assess our students.

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Encourage the P1 and P2 teachers to see the need for diversifying the assessments and methods that are aligned with the learning outcomes. This can be done by showing samples of different assessments to be conducted for the various LOs. While teachers may be competent in planning their lessons and evaluating their students’ learning, they might need more examples of the different ways of assessing similar learning outcomes that make use of qualitative methods instead of quantitative (marks-based) methods. When more examples are given, they then would be more confident in designing their own assessments to evaluate their students that will cater to their own classes/lessons.

The department will continue to provide support such as providing checklists to use when assessing their students. At the moment, checklists have been given for LOs that require classroom observations such as listening and communication.  Teachers should be encouraged to explore their own methods that will work on their own students in assessing some of the LOs.

Encourage the teachers to refer to the SSAB regularly to evaluate their own students’ LOs other than the ones needed for reporting.

The EL department can look into integration of tasks that allow the assessment of more than one LOs such as designing a task that involve both writing and oral communication.

Provide a platform for teachers to share their ideas on assessments that they have implemented in their classrooms.

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We will need to keep in mind that certain LOs are taught over the course of a few units. Therefore, students will need time to master them before we assess.

Reiterate to teachers that the 8 LOs are not sufficient and they are just subsets of the whole range of SSABs in the syllabus. They should refer to syllabus and T&L guide to teach beyond the 8 LOs.

We do have a variety of assessment modes in our assessment plan.

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Ensure alignment in the teaching & learning activities, and assessment to the LOs found in the EL syllabus.

To ensure students have been taught the skills over a period of time before they are assessed.

To have more different modes of assessment for the different LOs throughout the year. E.g. Journals, graphic organisers, SLS.

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The school has adopted STELLAR 2.0 for the first time this year and this has allowed the department and the EL teachers at P1 and P2 to align our teaching, learning and assessment to the SSABs and LOs as indicated in the syllabus documents.
Having a variety of methods to collect evidence of learning allows for students to be assessed holistically throughout the year. This has also helped teachers to be aware of doing formative assessment on a regular basis in the classroom.
Moving forward as a department, it will be to see how we can further translate this awareness to the middle and upper primary in the learning of the English language.

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Having a clearer understanding of the SSABs, I&S and LOs for each EL skill will place us and our teachers in better positions to decide on content, pedagogy and assessment. As reflective practitioners, we need to dwell upon our current practices deeper and be more open to talk about our successes and challenges. We need not always be too hard on ourselves. Let’s celebrate our successes!

As for the challenges, thinking and talking about the causes or events that lead to the rise of the challenges will greatly help in our move towards further refinements of our current plans. Having the 5Ws1H at the back of our minds while doing so will help too.

If there is a need to be critical for the betterment of all, so be it!

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- It is crucial for teachers to be aware of the various SSAB and I&S mapped out in the syllabus in order to understand the big picture and how their level builds up to bigger things
- We do discuss in teams on how to plan for teaching resources/activities and assessment tasks to be done for the level
- Fortunately, the teachers have been using quite a lot of technological devices as part of teaching/learning activities (e.g, Kahoot, Nearpod, MC Online, Moo-O online games, etc) in varying levels of frequency. However, the teachers are still learning to understand how their observations during these activities count as formative assessments and used in planning how to close the students’ learning gaps
- Unfortunately, for oral communication and writing skills, the learning is still pretty much geared towards exams because the students take a much longer time in learning these skills
- Now that all the talks are about “assessing” and conducting “formative assessments”, we need to re-balance the perspective so that teachers can link the data they gather to how they are going to change their class teaching/learning activities in order to benefit the students desired learning outcomes.

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Relook and re-evaluate our teaching activities to check for alignment of learning outcomes and assessment to those activities.

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What
To cover all the LOs and the corresponding SSAB

Why
To address the teachers mindsets and communicate with them the importance of purpose of assessment

When
To refer to the Scope and Sequence as well as the school SOW more closely

How
To map out the different modes of assessment against the different the LOs and SSAB

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For the assessment of students' learning in P1 and P2, the school has been following PERI HA guidelines and applying learning gleaned from the various related training. Based on the current practice in the school, we will need to review the why, what, when and how to assessing P1-2 students' learning:
Why – Desired language outcomes as listed in the syllabus

What – LOs to take reference from the syllabus, refining the modes of assessment for the 8 LOs and beyond

When - aligned to what students learn in the main STELLAR curriculum

How – Refinement of processes in getting information on students' learning progress e.g. guiding teachers in carrying out daily observations

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WHAT…

·       We would want to look into assessing other LOs, in addition to the 8 prescribed ones.

WHY…

·       We would like to cover all competencies and skillsets needed to develop effective and affective use of language in learners.

·       We would like to know how well the learners have learnt and what we can do to help them improve.

HOW…

·       Achieve better alignment in TLA.
(Teaching --> Learning ---> Assessment)

·       Use of rubrics, checklists and observations which will include observable traits that teachers will need to look out for.

·       Review and refinement of existing checklists and rubrics.

WHEN…

·       Ongoing throughout the year.

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Tampines North Primary School
It is a useful reminder to ask ourselves why, what, when and how to assess our students' learning. With these questions in mind, the teaching activity, learning activity and assessment should align to the intended learning outcomes for students to demonstrate the desired level of understanding and performance. The feedback given to the students would be then constructive and motivate them to move to the next level of learning. The other learning outcomes in the ELS 2020 should also be assessed during the year using a variety of assessment modes such as videos and quizzes at various checkpoints.

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We believe that all teaching and learning activities & assessment must fulfill the ILOs. Hence we need to:

1. Review our current activities to ensure alignment with ILOs.

2. Ensure all teachers are familiar with this alignment - Teaching activities, Learning activities and Assessment to the ILOs (SSAB & I&S)

3. Qualitative observations of students’ attitudes & behaviour (e.g. being respectful) to be part of assessment e.g. in group work or performance tasks.

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In assessing students’ learning in P1 and P2, we must be mindful that the 8 LOs in HDP are only a subset of all the skills to be taught and learnt in the ELS 2020. Teachers need to be aware that there are other LOs to be assessed as part of teaching and learning. Teachers need to make reference to EL Syllabus 2020, 21st Century Competencies and Desired Student Outcomes. Teachers also need to be aware of the students’ needs and design curriculum and adopt pedagogical practices that will help bridge the identified gaps and bring the students to the desired attainment levels in EL learning. Teachers must also move away from the traditional pen-and-paper mode to other ways of collecting evidence e.g. observations, evaluation checklists, conferencing and reflection. Not only must teachers be comfortable with designing formative assessment tasks, they must also be confident and accurate in drawing correct conclusions based on the evidence from such tasks. Finally, how these gathered knowledge is used towards improving the teaching to deepen the students’ learning is the next critical step.

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Why:
To communicate to teachers and create a common understanding about the intent and purpose of assessment.
To reflect and evaluate our current practices and refine our programmes.

What:
To ensure alignment of LOs to  ELS 2020, SSAB and I & S.
To identify appropriate LOs besides those in the HDP by taking reference from the STELLAR Scope & Sequence.

When:
To ensure that LOs are matched to what the students are learning and it should be done at multiple checkpoints.

How:
Teachers should be exposed to the different assessment tools that they can use besides rubrics such as - checklists, running records, observations, journals etc so that they can be more involved in deciding the tools of assessment for the students.

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We are more mindful that the 8 LOs are subsets of the EL syllabus 2020. We will identify the other LOs and subsequently plan teaching and learning activities that allow the students to demonstrate their understanding. At the same time, we will craft alternative modes of assessment to evaluate the students' learning. Teachers will also be more involved in discussions to identify the other LOs and come up with creative ways to plan teaching and learning activities before we assess students' learning.

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Currently, we take reference from the EL Syllabus and weave what needs to be taught into our curriculum and assessment. Teachers are given the empowerment to customise the teaching and learning activities to meet the students' learning needs. We have ongoing professional dialogue among the level teachers every week during TTT sessions on teaching and learning (T & L) and we conduct termly curriculum reviews in order to tighten the T & L processes . In terms of assessments, we ensure that students are tested based on what is stipulated in the scheme of work and TOS that are aligned to the EL Syllabus

Moving forward, we would like to strengthen our approach in documentation of students’ development. We would also want to look into finetuning and improving the quality of current HA Tasks to better assess students’ learning to feed them forward.

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Currently, we take reference from the EL Syllabus and weave what needs to be taught into our curriculum and assessment. Teachers are given the empowerment to customise the teaching and learning activities to meet the students' learning needs. We have ongoing professional dialogue among the level teachers every week during TTT sessions on teaching and learning (T & L) and we conduct termly curriculum reviews in order to tighten the T & L processes . In terms of assessments, we ensure that students are tested based on what is stipulated in the scheme of work and TOS that are aligned to the EL Syllabus

Moving forward, we would like to strengthen our approach in documentation of students’ development. We would also want to look into finetuning and improving the quality of current HA Tasks to better assess students’ learning to feed them forward.

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We need to take reference from 21st Century Competencies, Student Outcomes and the EL Syllabus 2020 when deciding what changes to make. Currently we use observations, self-evaluation, informal quizzes to collect evidence of learning. We may consider adding journal and videos to it.

At the same time, we also have to ensure that teachers are well supported and that there is enough time to assess the LOs.

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Take into consideration student readiness, check the alignment of teaching and learning outcomes to assessment, create common understanding amongst teachers in interpreting the LOs and how they can make the pertinent observations of the demonstrations of these in the students, consider other appropriate LOs that can be included besides the existing ones in HDP. Think through about what other modes of assessment can enable teachers to ascertain that the intended learning outcomes have been achieved.

We also want to look at how to equip teachers with the know-how on using the evidence suggested to address learning gaps

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We need to study ELS 2020 and be familiar with the LO to be assessed. We need to correlate and align SSAB with teaching activities and mode of assessment, as well as student readiness.  From there, we refine our teaching activities to be purposeful and meaningful. The 8 LPs are only a subset of the skills taught, there is a need to flag out the components that are missed and include them in the assessment plan.
- Refine our assessment plans to spread out the assessment tasks to develop the child holistically
- Empower the child to take ownership of his/ her learning by including more reflections as part of assessment cycle.

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We need to first ensure that the teaching and learning outcomes are aligned and design the content, pedagogy, curriculum based on our students’ needs. We may consider other ways of collecting evidence of students’ learning, e.g., observations, self-evaluation checklists, students’ reflection, teacher-student conferencing May consider designing differentiated assessment tasks based on the learner’s profile.
We should probably emphasise more on the learning activities (e.g., to acquire and practise the skills) before assessment. E.g., it is good that our Oracy Programme for presentation is taught and assessed over 2 terms before finally giving feedback to parents in T3.

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We would help our teachers to better understand the need for greater alignment of content, pedagogy and assessment. We would like to explore other modes of non-pen and paper modes of assessments like teacher observation and video recording. In addition, we would consider how to assess the other LOs that are not in the HDP.

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The EL Syllabus and Stellar 2.0 focus on language acquisition skills as well as the effective application and practice. Our teachers have aligned the HDP to the scope and sequence and crafted the qualitative descriptors with reference to the syllabus. Most of our assessment strategies focus on observation, application and pupils putting their knowledge into practice (e.g. show and tell)

An area for improvement is to communicate more clearly to teachers that the 8 LOs are insufficient to assess the language acquisition of the pupils. There is a need to go beyond the 8 LOs as depicted in the video.

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The four questions – why, what, when and how will be used as a guide to give a clear direction when planning for assessment.

As a department, we will refine our learning activities to ensure that it allows pupils ample time to acquire, apply and practise what we have taught before they are assessed. To do so, we will need to consciously remind ourselves to focus on what our students will learn while planning our lessons. We will also re look at different ways of gathering evidence of pupils’ learning by using appropriate modes of assessment to evaluate the intended student learning outcomes. At the same time, we will make sure that there is alignment between intended outcomes, content and pedagogy.

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For P1 and P2s, it would serve better purpose for assessment to be done less through paper and pencil methods but more through unorthodox methods, such as through oral responses, self and peer assessment and art/project work. While this is not possible for all LOs, it might be in the pupils' interest to try out various other methods of assessments in alignment to Stellar 2.0.

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Since the last shift as a fraternity in assessment practices, teachers realised that there are more aware of the various opportunities for assessing students' progress. We need to remind ourselves that learning is ongoing and these sets of data provide us with a holistic view of students' ability. The guide provided by ELS 2020 allowed us to have an even clearer how we could tap on specific lessons for observations.  As a department, we need to be more intentional in documentation as well as have rich discussions during level meetings.

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The ELS 2020 and STELLAR 2.0 are big areas that the school will be looking into for 2021. For P1 & P2s, summatively, we are measuring the students' learning dispositions using the LOs. While there are no grades given, holistic assessments will provide assessment data to understand students' needs.

Formatively, one change we would like to make is to encourage teachers will use observational and anecdotal data to assess their students' learning as well. This will help teachers understand their students' learning needs holistically beyond a snapshot view.

There should also be alignment to the various MOE initiatives such as the SLS pedagogical scaffolds and STP to the ELS 2020 and the school's curriculum.

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We will need to match the relevant ILOs for each STELLAR book that are not part of the 8 LOs in the HDP. This way we can ensure that teachers are aware of the need to cover and assess other LOs found in the STELLAR curriculum.
Another point to note for the department is to ensure that teachers using STELLAR 2.0 are familiar with the curriculum and to have more opportunities for the teachers to share lessons and refine the worksheets to fit the needs of the pupils.

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With Stellar 2.0 in place for the P1s and being a pilot school for the new Stellar, the ILOs, teaching and learning activities are streamlined and pretty much in place in the P1 and P2 levels. What can be looked into is further refinement of assessment modes, rubrics and going beyond the 8 LOs in the HDP.

Another factor is for the department to look into providing more support for our teachers via increased sharing platforms, formally and informally. This should enhance the teaching activities carried out when there is rich sharing amongst the teachers.

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Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School

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Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School

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The alignment of teaching, learning and assessment needs to be relooked to ensure that assessments truly reflect the learning of the students. It is important that teaching is planned with effective and appropriate activities to bring out true learning in the students.

Ensure that learning activities achieve the intended learning outcomes so that assessment is fair.

We also need to ensure that the assessment tasks are appropriate for monitoring and evaluating students’ achievement of the intended LOs.

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Purpose of assessment:
In our department, we have look to assessments as a mode to inform our instruction, how well and how much our students have learnt and also as a way to report on the students' learning progress to the stakeholders. Now, we would want to further enhance the way our assessments are being carried out as a school.

1) We have to ensure that all the EL teachers have a clear understanding of the ILOs and that there is a need to keep track of their data so as to monitor growth in the students' learning.
2) We have to look into crafting specific and intentional teaching/learning activities for the students that will ensure that they are able to apply, practise and demonstrates certain ILOs.
3) We will have to look into our assessment plans to ensure that we are covering more than just the minimum 8 LOs.
4) We need to support the teachers by ensuring that they have enough time and provide them with a structured way to assess their students.

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We do recognise the importance of the alignment of the Intended Learning Outcomes to the way we teach, the activities that our learners experience and the way we assess and monitor their learning.

As a department, we need to constantly monitor our learners’ needs and their readiness level.

As such, there is a need to review the assessment plan to ensure that we go beyond the 8 LOs in the HDP and that the assessment of an LO should not just taken in isolation from a single lesson but over time through multiple lessons.

This is to ensure a more holistic capture of our students’ performances.

We need to consider the following points:
1. Do we have sufficient platforms for teachers to observe their students and their learning dispositions?
2. Are our checklists and rubrics sufficient in gathering the appropriate data?
3. How do we assess effectively during asynchronous learning?

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Why?
We have always been assessing our students with the intention to determine students’ learning progress and to report learning progress to parents.  Moving forward, more considerations should be given to evaluate the effectiveness of our programme so that our teachers can design appropriate and effective learning activities for students to acquire the LOs.
What?
We report only 8 LOs but we need to assess beyond the 8 LOs stipulated in the HDP in order to make more informed decisions about our instructions and evaluation of students’ learning. With reference to the STELLAR Teaching Guidelines, the LOs which span across several units need to be assess as well.
When?
For LOs which span across a few units and terms, teachers will definitely have the opportunities to assess their students more than once. Students learn at different pace. It might take a longer time frame for the lower progress students to attain a particular LO as compared to the higher progress ones. Nevertheless, the teachers can allow the student to take time to achieve their own level of learning for each LO.
How?
Besides rubrics, checklist, portfolio, quizzes, written tasks, teachers can utilise observations to gather more evidences of students’ learning.

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A clearer alignment to STP and ELS2020 need to be explained and shown to teachers. This would provide teachers with the clear rationale on the purpose of assessment. Our assessment should be an accumulation of what they have learnt in previous lessons, assessed in multiple occasions

It is important to provide the rationale for assessing students, using various modes. It should not be solely for reporting purpose but also to help us know what areas we need to work on with our students.

Teachers need to build a repertoire of strategies on how to assess students ( besides Los for HDP).

We will consider the specific learning outcomes? What is the acceptable level or working application of understanding that we want students to demonstrate? How do we create teaching/learning activities which will give students the best opportunities to showcase/demonstrate their understanding?

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We see the need in assessing beyond the current 8 LOs in the HDP. Teachers need to have a good understanding of the LOs in the syllabus. Time have to be set aside for them to discuss what, when and how to assess the students.
More indepth discussion on the modes of assessment and how to use data collected to move learning forward for the students.

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We also feel that it is of paramount importance that the assessment of LOs, beyond the 8 LOs in HDP, be documented and discussed as a level. Teachers can then provide input and share teaching and learning activities that will align to the ILOs.

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One of the changes we would make is identifying additional LOs to be assessed in addition to the 8 LOs given to us.

Also, before deciding on assessments, we need to make sure that the assessment tasks are aligned to the ILOs , teaching activities and learning activities.

This structure can actually be introduced as part of a lesson planning structure, to guide teachers in planning their lessons too - ILOs —> Teaching Activity —> Learning Activity

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There is a need to time the assessment well such that there is sufficient time and space for pupils to learn.
The other LOs that are not part of the 8 LOs should be also assessed but may be in other forms of assessment.

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The 8 LOs are a subset of all skills in the P1 & 2 HDP.. It is important for us to also assess other LOs to help students improve.

It is also important to align teaching outcomes, activities and assessment.

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To consider more modes of observation. Also to consider assessing other LOs not in the HDP. So as to have a fuller picture of the pupils’ performance/ learning.

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Meridian Primary School
Take into consideration the readiness of the students.Customised curriculum is designed for the student to learn at his or her own pace according to his or her level of readiness. It is important that the evidence of pupils learning should be spread out over a period of time.The department will follow the guidelines from CPDD and SEAB when setting assessment tasks.

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These are the few things that I think we can explore:

Incorporating high level verbs in intended learning outcomes and embedding in the teaching/learning activities, and in the assessment tasks. They keep us on track.

Examining assessment tasks more carefully to figure out what students need to learn before being able to perform those tasks and then at how the specific learning points can be taught before assessment takes place.

Examine the intended learning outcomes more closely to think about whether assessment design is sound in ascertaining whether those outcomes are met.

Check sequence of assessment tasks and review alignment with LOs in the SOW/ planned curriculum to determine a more appropriate time (when) for assessment.

Refine monitoring processes - how do we use assessment data and how can we make better use of data beyond just reporting performance?

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Currently, our P1 and 2 students are assessed based on what they are being taught. However, there is a need to review the assessment plan to include assessing other LOs apart from those reflected in the HDP. Although teachers use different modes of formative assessments to assess students daily for the different LOs, I think it would be good to have them all documented so that all students are assessed fairly. We need to be mindful that there are other skills that need to be taught and assessed too. We need to think through the teaching and learning activities to align with the assessments. We could also use technology to assess students’ learning. 

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More opportunities at learning platforms to discuss and share the use of rubrics for teaching and learning purposes. More weak and strong samples to complement the use of the various assessment tools.
To share and discuss learning experiences among teachers based on the kinds of evidence of learning that we agreed upon - "How".
To revisit, re-clarify and reflect on the purposes of assessment - communication.
Use of information that is gathered to address the learning gaps. We need to explore more of the info in relation to student learning.

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We will assess the students to know what they have learnt and identify learning gaps.

We will be reviewing the assessment modes to ensure a more systematic gathering of evidence of students' learning so that teachers can track their progress. Other than LOs reported in HDP, we will look into the other LOs to be observed.

Assesment will be done across multiple times in the year.