Northern Ireland

Monitoring Student Progress in Reading

Statutory assessment requirements apply from the start of the Foundation Stage to the end of Key Stage 3 in each area of learning and each cross-curricular skill.⁴⁸ The legislative framework for student assessment is provided by the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.⁴⁹

Statutory assessment takes the form of teacher assessment; there are no statutory tests. In the Foundation Stage (Years 1 and 2), the manner of assessment is determined by the school. In Key Stages 1, 2, and 3 (Years 3 to 10), assessment of cross-curricular skills must be carried out using Levels of Progression, which are “can do” statements that set out a continuum of skills that students should be able to demonstrate and that will help them to function effectively in life and the world of work. At the end of Key Stages 1, 2, and 3, teachers must use the levels to make summative assessments of cross-curricular skills.

Teachers’ judgments are supported by assessment tasks and a system of external moderation. The requirements for cross-curricular skills, as outlined in the Summary of National Curriculum section, are implemented through these assessment arrangements.

Outcomes of end of key stage assessments are reported to parents and to the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations, and Assessment using numerical levels. The expected level at the end of each respective key stage is:

• Key Stage 1 (Grades 3 to 4)—Level 2
• Key Stage 2 (Grades 5 to 7)—Level 4
• Key Stage 3 (Grades 8 to 10)—Level 5

The primary purpose of these assessments is to raise the quality of educational provision and to advance the skills of students in these crucial areas. The numerical levels are used by some schools to benchmark themselves against the average for Northern Ireland and as a system level performance indicator. The assessments are not part of the process of student progression to the next stage of education.

In post-primary (secondary) schools, cross-curricular skills are assessed using the Levels of Progression until the end of Key Stage 3. However, the key measures for both student progression and school and system accountability are the external qualifications taken at ages 16, 17, and 18 (typically General Certificate of Secondary Education [GCSE] and General Certificate of Education [GCE] AS and A levels).

In addition to assessment at school, many parents of students in the final year of primary education elect for their children to take “transfer tests” for admission to academically selective post-primary schools, which administer the tests. These tests focus on English and mathematics and are based on the content of the Northern Ireland Curriculum in these subjects.⁵⁰ Exhibit 2 provides an overview of the use of assessment in literacy in Years 1 to 10.

Exhibit 2: Literacy Assessment in Northern Ireland, Years 1 to 10

Type of Assessment	Foundation Stage		Key Stage 1		Key Stage 2			Key Stage 3
M—Mandatory	Year:
	1	2	3	4	5	6e	7	8	9	10
O—Optional	Age:
	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Ongoing teacher assessment of all areas of learning (manner of assessment and reporting determined by school)	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M
Ongoing teacher assessment of cross-curricular skills (manner of assessment and reporting determined by school)	M	M
Ongoing teacher assessment of cross-curricular skills against Levels of Progression			M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M
End of Key Stage teacher assessment of cross-curricular skills against Levels of Progression (moderated and reported using numerical outcomes)				M			M			M
Computer-based diagnostic standardized tests (due to end in June 2017)				O	O	O	O
Transfer tests (taken by students applying to selective post-primary schools)							O