Priority areas: How can education practitioners and leaders support reading and formative assessment?

SPC-EQAP has identified two priority areas that apply across all recommendations for education practitioners and leaders: (I) support is needed for student reading performance; and (ii) formative assessment practices. These areas can have substantial effects on student performance.

Education practitioners and leaders can improve student reading performance through implementing the recommendations in the section below: crucially, delivering targeted interventions for student performance (1); reviewing performance of schools and other educational organisations in areas highlighted by PILNA findings (2), supporting professional development of teachers (3), and strengthening the structures that enable good quality teaching (4).

These groups might also consider:

• Further embedding reading in the classroom and curriculum – this could include:
  • having a dedicated library lesson once or twice a month;
  • building a dedicated time for reading every day into the school timetable;
  • asking students to keep a ‘reading diary’ of what they have read; you could add additional elements, such as asking parents to sign-off that reading has happened or indicate whether the student was reading or being read to;
  • having a class novel to read, as well as ensuring students are reading independently; teachers and students should read aloud from the novel, including ‘guided reading’ sessions when students explore and answer questions about the story together;
  • having class discussions about books, book reviews, or presentations about texts; ando creating activities to help students engage with stories in different ways, e.g. drawing (creating storyboards or posters) or acting, which can involve scripting for TV or radio, creating film trailers, radio adverts.
• Strengthening or creating ways to encourage reading – this could include:
  • appointing a ‘literacy lead’ to find opportunities for promoting literacy across all subjects;
  • teachers, from all subjects, sharing what they have read or are currently reading;
  • creating a dedicated book corner or area in the classroom to read or exchange books if your school does not have a library;
  • creating classroom celebrations of reading, e.g. having students design a bookmark for each book they have read and displaying these on the classroom wall;
  • starting a ‘book club’ for students;
  • hosting school reading competitions each term;o asking family or community members to come in to read and be read to, during dedicated reading time; and
  • inviting authors and storytellers into the school and creating an event around the visit.

Education practitioners and leaders can support formative assessment practices by implementing them in their classrooms and schools, developing the formative assessment competence of teachers and educators, and advocating for their use in the wider education system. Formative assessment activities are used to see where students are in their learning and for teachers to adapt their teaching accordingly. This adaptation can include moving on if the student is ready, or simple re-capping if the student needs some reinforcement or re-teaching of the learning outcome.

Some key considerations for implementing formative assessment practices include (OECD, 2008):

• establishment of a classroom culture that encourages interaction and the use of assessment tools;
• establishment of learning goals and tracking of individual student progress toward those goals;
• the use of varied instruction methods to meet diverse student needs;
• the use of varied approaches to assessing student understanding;
• feedback on student performance and adaptation of instruction to meet identified needs; and
• active involvement of students in the learning process.

Some key activities used in formative assessment include questioning, feedback, peer assessment, and self-assessment. Formative assessment can also be partnered with retrieval practice (also known as the ‘testing effect’), which develops student confidence.