“The Learning How to Learn project helped us to keep formative assessment at the heart of our curriculum development and also allowed us to benefit from the experience of other schools.
“After initial concerns, it was quite easy to get started on formative assessment as a small group of teachers. The philosophy of involving students much more in their learning, and in the assessment of their learning, was appealing, and had great benefits for them.
”‘It’s just good teaching’ became a motto. As we continued to develop our thinking and our practice, the challenges became more apparent. It’s much harder to encourage a larger group of teachers to engage with developments that are actually quite complex and require significant planning and thinking. Strategies for peer and self-assessment need to be developed and structured to maximise their impact.
“We clearly had a lot to learn about learning and teaching, and the work of other schools in finding solutions to these issues was really helpful.”
Jon Ryder, assistant head, Lord Williams’s school, Thame, Oxfordshire
