The NMP is similar in design and purpose to the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) which Scotland used very successfully up until the end of 2016 to assess pupils’ attainment within Curriculum for Excellence. It was the accuracy of the data, that critics suggest, may have caused Scottish Government to drop it. There are some key differences between the SSLN and the NMP though. The remit of the proposed NMP is much broader. The model for the NMP is a large-scale two stage sampling programme, where two curriculum content areas are addressed in each run. This proposal means that each year from 2024/25 schools may be randomly selected to carry out the programme, then individual pupils from those selected schools would again, be randomly chosen to be included in the data set. The way in which the data would be collected is described in the report as “1:1, group/collaborative, independent, administered online and in-person and marked by trained educators.” And it goes on to say, “This would not involve standardised tests for all learners.” Sampling data should negate the urge for schools to try to coach to the test, or “game the system”, as sampled data is unlikely to be linked to a named school.
The range of subjects covered by the data collection, according to the report could include:
Learners’ attainment:
Four purposes
‘What matters’ in all Areas
Other cross-curricular skills, cross cutting elements/themes
Welsh language
Attitudes Teachers’:
context/capabilities
attitudes
practice
There’s also the suggestion that anonymised data from the NMP could be linked to individual school information on curriculum design, pedagogical approaches, learning and assessment arrangements in order “to inform improvements across the system in support of curriculum reform.” In other words, sampled pupil attainment data could be linked with the approaches and practices used by a particular school to make a judgement about “what works” to improve attainment and then share that across the system. To be fair, Arad Research does recognise that doing this “would not be without its challenges”. We can see this approach as having the potential for attainment data to drive what happens in schools in a way that could have both unintended and problematic consequences.
Welsh Government’s response to the scoping study is brief. They recognise that “extensive additional research & monitoring will be required, including in particular to understand how learners are progressing and if and how educational standards are improving in Wales”. They also want to take into account the second research study reporting in the Autumn. So, in true lawyerly language, Welsh Government accepts the need for more data, the appropriateness of the approach and that change should start as soon as possible, but don’t say what that change will be.
So, here we are, just a few working days left before implementation of CfW begins, with no firm idea of what data schools will be asked to provide to show if standards are improving. Rest assured though, there will be a smaller scale initial project running next year to understand the experience and learning from the first year of curriculum implementation, but we aren’t told what that will look like either.
If you’ve nothing better to do and you’d like some additional reading, you can read both the scoping study and Welsh Government’s response by clicking on the buttons below.
Or, if you’d like practical support on curriculum design, teaching and learning or assessment in CfW next academic year, just contact us on enquiries@impact.wales .
