Select  here for Welsh translation.

In 2000 CRIPSAT was awarded the contract by ACCAC (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority for Wales) to develop the KS2 Science Tests for Wales for 2003, 2004 and 2005. More recently, it was awarded the contract to develop non-statutory material for 2006 and optional assessment materials for 2007. The 2003 and 2004 tests were statutory in Wales at key-stages 2 and 3, but following a ministerial announcement in July 2004, the 2005 and 2006 tests are to be non-statutory.

The optional Assessment Material (OAM) will dovetail into the original series of KS2 OAM written by CRIPSAT and published by ACCAC in 2001. The 2007 OAM will focus specifically on the assessment of Scientific Enquiry.

Project staff are currently involved with the development of the non-statutory KS2 science tests for 2006, the OAM for 2007 and Scientific Enquiry classroom materials at KS2.

Assessment arrangements in Wales 2000-04

ACCAC carried out a review of the school curriculum in Wales between September 1997 and January 1999 which led to new curriculum orders being introduced and operative in schools from September 2000. www.accac.org.uk/publications/ncorders.html

During 2000-04, statutory end of key-stage 2 and 3 test were taken by all eligible pupils in Wales at age 11 and 14 respectively. The statutory tests were based on the Programme of Study within the National Curriculum orders.

Statutory testing took place in the four core subjects of English, Welsh, mathematics and science. Tests in mathematics and science are available to schools as both English-medium and Welsh-medium versions.

Statutory end of KS1 (pupils aged 7) external tests in the core-subjects of Welsh, English, mathematics and science were removed in 2000 by the Welsh Assembly Government. At the end of key-stage 1, teacher assessment has been relied upon to assess and report on pupil progress and development during the period post 2000. Prior to 2000, standard assessment tests and tasks for English, mathematics and science were, in general, developed jointly with England.

Since 2000, all statutory tests at key-stages 2 and 3 in Wales have been developd and published independently of the test materials for England. Recent developments have led to further divergence of the two systems.

The Minister for Education's announcement, July 2004

 In 2003, Professor Richard Daugherty was invited by the Minister to undertake a review of the National Curriculum assessment arrangements for 11 and 14 year olds in Wales. The Daugherty Assessment Review Group's Final Report entitled Learning Pathways through Statutory Assessment: Key Stages 2 and 3 was published in May 2004.

www.learning.wales.gov.uk/scripts/fe/news_details.asp?NewsID=1123

Professor Daugherty's Final Report was consolidated by ACCAC's Report to the Welsh Assembly Government in April 2004 entitled Review of the School Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements 5-16.
In her statement made on 13 July 2004, Jane Davidson, the Minister for Education in Wales announced far-reaching changes to the end of KS2 and KS3 assessment arrangements, following the taking of two sets of advice - from the Daugherty Review and ACCAC's Report.

The ministerial statement acknowledges ' that the current assessment arrangements have provided a means of measuring pupil attainment along a clear pathway and have improved teacher expertise in making judgements about those attainments', but proposes  'to move away, during the next four years, from the current testing regime to a system which is more geared to the pupil, focuses more on skills and puts teacher assessment at its heart'.

The new arrangements proposed by the Minister include:
•   Non-statutory key stage 2 tests provided to schools for 2005 and 2006.
•   External marking of tests offered for 2005, but not for 2006.
•   The provision by ACCAC of optional test and assessment material for 2007 to support
    teacher assessment until the new arrangements are in place.
•   The gradual removal of the current key stage 2 tests by 2008.
•   Retaining statutory teacher assessments at the end of key stages 2 and 3,
    strengthened by moderation and accredition arrangements.
•  The development of a new style of test at key stage 2, which focuses on skills, to be  
    Introduced in year 5 (pupils aged 10).

www.learning.wales.gov.uk/scripts/fe/news_details.asp?NewsID=1298

www.accac.org.uk/schoolcurric/review_ofschoolcurric.html

CRIPSAT’s principle of reflecting best practice

Direct contact has been established and maintained with exemplary primary practice in Welsh-medium and English-medium schools in Wales, emphasizing the CRIPSAT principle of developing assessment items and curriculum materials which reflect the best practices to be found in schools. In this manner, materials reflect classroom ecology.

Three modes of teacher involvement are in operation:
•   direct observation and discussion in the course of school visits;
•   group meetings in the course of which teachers articulate and share their practices before
    attempting to convert these into assessment items;
•   teachers handing over curriculum approaches or assessment items to the core-team
    for working up into polished form.

Introducing ideas into practice and checking classroom validity

CRIPSAT staff ensure familiarity with the most current thinking about practice as published in the literature which refers to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in primary science. Ideas which push the boundaries and keep the subject alive are pro-actively fed into the practice of collaborating schools, tested for classroom validity and reconstructed to inform assessment development.

Using concept probes from published research

In addition to its extensive assessment activities, CRIPSAT has a long-established and direct involvement in collaborative research with teachers. Much of this research has been concerned with understanding pupils' conceptual progression in understanding of science ideas, including exploring with teachers the manner in which such ideas may be made more accessible to greater numbers of pupils. Our own and others' research of this nature frequently makes use of research instruments which can be thought of generically as 'concept probes'. Such instruments can often be successfully re-drafted for use in pencil and paper form. In such cases, the assessment draws on research to inform and interrogate classroom practices and outcomes rather than reflecting them.