Thinking out of the SATs box - Assessment through talk
By Valerie Coultas

As the written SAT exam becomes the dominant mode of testing at 7, 11 and 14 year olds there is less time for thought about other forms and modes of assessment. This paper argues that re-establishing the importance of assessment through talk—speaking and listening-- would not only promote good teaching but also signify a completely different approach to assessment. This approach would empower both pupils and teachers.

Oral assessment has been used in schools for many years. In nearly every lesson a teacher uses questions, at some point, to establish whether or not the pupils understand the topic or concept being taught. Drama teachers use evaluation of role plays, improvisation and performance to teach their subject. Modern Language and English GCSEs also assess the quality of pupil talk. Modern Languages has separate attainment targets for speaking and listening. English assesses speaking and listening as one attainment target.

But the English Literature AQA GCSE also assesses pupils understanding of literature through talk. The oral response option allows the teacher to interrogate the pupils closely to ensure they have studied the play or novel at a deep enough level to be awarded a particular grade. Through a presentation or a discussion the pupil has to show, for example, understanding or insight into dramatic action, characters, setting, context or themes. The Media Studies GCSE also has a practical assignment that can include assessment through talk for example if the pupils are asked to simulate a news team to create a radio news programme. Pupils enjoy the challenge of these oral assignments and feel an immediate sense of accomplishment on completion of such oral tasks.

Prior to the National Curriculum there was much greater flexibility in the use of oral assessment for all exams. The CSE mode 3 and the Certificate of Extended Education were exams devised by teachers and there was more opportunity to include oral assessment modules in a range of subjects.

The Cox Report (1989, P118), that informed English in the National Curriculum(1990), did not in fact advocate the kind of rigid, written SATS that have been imposed on children and the teaching profession. This report suggested that schools and teachers ‘should have some choice of alternative contexts from a bank of SATs’ covering the three attainment targets. In primary schools Cox (1991) suggested that ‘pupils responses should be mainly oral or practical except where the target requires some writing or graphical work by the pupil.’(P118). The original report suggested that the task should be conducted over an extended period and should reinforce teaching and learning and not be a bolt on activity. Cox (1995,) also stated that he was ‘quite happy at GCSE… for assessment to be based on 80 per cent coursework.’(P 15)

What a difference between this and the present testing regime? Why did we move from some reasonably sane educational ideas to the dreadful, dreary SATs papers? How come speaking and listening became the Cinderella strand until the GCSE exam?

The reason is very simple. Speaking and listening and assessing reading aloud have to rely on teachers’ judgements and neither the Conservatives nor the present Labour government will allow teachers to make the really important judgments on pupils. Speaking and Listening is the educational casualty of the drive towards centralisation. If you want to raise standards from the centre, using league tables to name and shame, you have to have standardised written papers. The political imperative drives the educational agenda not the needs of the pupils or good teaching practice.

This agenda helped to influence the National Literacy Strategy (1998) which originally gave little direct advice on teaching speaking and listening and drama at key stage one and two. The operating definition of literacy in the strategy was reading and writing because this was what would be tested in the SATS. This omission has to some extent been recognised and corrected by the publication of the new QCA documentation on Speaking and Listening (2003) which now offers new advice for primary teachers. The Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools documents of the Key Stage Three strategy (2003) also accord more value to group work and speaking and listening than the original framework.
The SATS remain written tests however and this, quite naturally, directs the energy of most schools away from oral assessment even if teachers have tried to maintain it as part of their lesson pedagogy. At 7, for example, teachers in the pre-SAT era would listen to the child read aloud to make a judgement about their decoding skills, their fluency and comprehension. This is exactly what the first three levels of En2, Reading, are framed around—judgements on decoding, fluency, understanding. Which is the most appropriate form for that judgement to be made? A written test or reading aloud? The answer is obvious. The new KS1 SAT allows the teacher to decide when to test reading and writing but still prescribes the test and the mark scheme. Crucially however, speaking and listening is given no role within the formal SAT paper prescribed by the government-- even at the beginning stage of a child’s education.

What other ways could speaking and listening be used in Maths and English at this age? It is clear that primary school teachers could create a much better, more rounded, developmental assessment at this age than the present SAT-- if they were allowed to.

At 11 and 14 it would be quite possible to develop an assessment based on speaking and listening, drama or group work that tested reading, response to literature and writing based on the idea of a controlled assignment. A teacher, after studying a text, might choose for example writing in role as a character, prepared by a speaking and listening activity such as hot seating. This involves assessing all the attainment targets in one assignment but it is linked to good practice in teaching the pupils to plan their writing and will therefore help the students to produce their best piece of writing. The assessment is integral to the teaching.

The added bonus of this approach is that these types of assessments in the primary and secondary phase would tell the teacher a lot about the pupil’s potential and make it possible to give accurate feedback on how to improve. Such assessments stimulate collaborative thinking and encourage originality, evaluation and problem solving. They also allow for the use of ICT in a variety of ways. These higher order presentation skills are valued in the workplace and will help pupils participate in the adult world with more social and academic confidence.
There is no reason why every subject could not adopt an oral component as part of the system of assessment. As an Assistant Head in charge of assessment, I encouraged teachers to use these more inventive forms of assessment during the school assessment week, each half-term. Why not get the pupils to demonstrate their ICT skills through their own presentation of a topic to the rest of the group? Why not arrange a debate with pupils as 19th century politicians on votes for women? Why cannot a particular painting be researched, analysed and introduced to the class by the students, rather than the art teacher? Such activities can create memorable learning moments for students. Students learn more by finding out and teaching others than they do by just being filled with information. Students will listen closely to their peers, particularly when they know that a lot of preparation has taken place beforehand.

Let’s start thinking out of the SATs box and use our knowledge of what really constitutes good teaching and learning to create wider and more developmental forms of assessment. Can’t we get the pupils talking about what they know rather than always having to write it down?

Cox, B (1991) Cox on Cox: An English Curriculum for the 1990s London: Hodder and Stoughton
Cox, B (1995) Cox on The Battle for The English Curriculum London: Hodder and Stoughton
DES and the Welsh Office (1989) English for ages 5-16 (The Cox Report) HMSO
DES (1990) English in the National Curriculum HMSO
DFES (1998) The National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching Cambridge University Press
DFES (2003) Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools: Pilot, Unit 7: Group work DFES
DFES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment A strategy for primary schools DFES Publications
DFES (2003) The Primary National Strategy Speaking and Listening for Key Stages One and Two DFES Publications

V.Coultas@kingston.ac.uk