National Education Findings of Assess to Learn (AtoL) Report

Outcome 4: Demonstrate a culture of continuous school improvement

Sustaining professional development is a challenge for schools. There is unrelenting pressure for change in schools. Factors such as staff turnover and the large number of professional development opportunities available, create pressure on schools to participate or miss out on opportunities that arise.

In 2006, the evaluation was extended to include a case study of 38 schools to ascertain whether AtoL practices were being sustained. These schools had completed their involvement in AtoL professional development between one and five years previously.

Of the schools in that study:

• eighty per cent continued to refine their assessment systems without the support of a facilitator
• five per cent had been unable to continue development after formal completion of the AtoL contract
• fifteen per cent maintained the (AtoL) systems and approaches but did not demonstrate ongoing improvement.
• The following features were present in schools that were continuing to improve their practices in assessment.
• Key elements and principles of AtoL were incorporated into teachers’ personal professional plans and into the performance appraisal system (for example, teachers stated that they expected to continue incorporating AtoL elements; there was evidence of teachers using learning intentions and success criteria; teachers were incorporating specific feedback or goal setting into their planning and classroom programmes).
• Goal-setting (and related specific criteria) were incorporated into lessons and students’ written work.
• Schools set up buddy systems so that any teachers new to the school could be paired with an existing teacher. The two teachers could then work together to explain, model, observe and provide feedback about AtoL.
• A folder of the AtoL professional development structure and content was developed and shared with new staff to provide a background and rationale for using AtoL in the school.
• The facilitator developed an effective working relationship with the principal and collaboratively worked with the principal (and or senior management or lead teacher team) to plan professional development.
• Schools held periodic staff meetings where the focus was on AtoL and sharing of teacher practice for continued development. This was particularly successful when it took the form of a ‘walk-around meeting’ in which the whole staff walked around each classroom as the teachers briefly showed and explained aspects they had incorporated into the classroom programme. This process acknowledged ongoing efforts of staff and enabled them to share ideas and strategies as well as develop consistent practice in the school.
• Schools communicated periodically with the facilitator or ‘cluster’ schools who were involved in the AtoL project to maintain their focus and to share new ideas.
• Schools translated AtoL into other curriculum areas. Many schools began with written language but have since incorporated learning intentions and success criteria into other areas such as maths and topic work.
• Schools followed AtoL with another professional development project that built on the same principles. For example, many of the schools moved into the Ministry of Education’s Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) contract and found the continuity beneficial in terms of the focus on effective learning and teaching strategies.
• Schools involved parents in the assessment and learning process by fully informing them about student learning and achievement. This was often done by the students themselves, for example, in three-way conferences. Parents were also able to view samples of student work regularly and to assist students with goal setting.

Conclusions

Timing, pace and depth of change are dependent on receptivity to change as well as recognition of situational factors. In most of the schools where AtoL was evaluated, the flexibility of the AtoL project and the way in which it could be adapted to particular school conditions meant that AtoL could be used to accommodate varying human needs. This was seen as an important factor in the continuation of the project. For example, many of the schools the evaluators visited experienced staff changes, yet the majority of schools continued and renewed at least some AtoL practices in their schools. Sustaining development was difficult however when the principal, lead teacher or a critical proportion of the staff left the school, particularly where there were poorly developed systems or documentation.

Involvement in AtoL resulted in significant shifts in learning and achievement for the majority of students, and shifts in professional learning and pedagogical practice for most teachers involved. Schools experienced improved recording and reporting systems, particularly in terms of consistency across teams or departments, and more coherent teacher philosophy and practice in assessment. Further investigation and information is needed about the more complex processes involved with formative assessment and related professional learning in secondary schools. As with all effective professional development programmes, continual cycles of data analysis and reflection identify features in need of attention and enable continuous improvement for the participating community of teachers, students and facilitators.