Assessment and Computing - A Practical Guide to Teaching Computing and ICT in the Secondary School - page 70

of ICT subsequently. The tendency noted already for too much concentration
on ICT for communication and presentation sometimes led to its use merely to
'neaten' work.
(HMI, 2011, p. 34).
In addition, Ofsted note a lack of baseline assessment:
… where assessment was no better than satisfactory in secondary schools,
there was very little or no information on students' levels in ICT when they
joined the school and little effort was made to determine their ability at the
beginning of Year 7. In nearly all of these schools there was no assessment
of students' ICT capabilities in lessons outside specialist classes. This was a
serious weakness as it meant that information on the strengths and weaknesses
in students' ICT performance across the curriculum could not be built in to the
teaching programme or included in target-setting and feedback to individual
students and their parents. The consequence of this was that higher-attaining
students were often 'treading water' or repeating work unnecessarily.
(HMI, 2011, p. 39)
These comments need to be taken into account as we move to Computing.
Ofsted acknowledges that progress had been made in some schools. They state
that:
When the teaching was good or outstanding:
• assessment for learning was embedded throughout the lesson with
feedback, frequent marking and praise linked into planning the next
lesson …
• teachers encouraged well-structured peer and self-assessment
• students were clear about their own current level and what they needed to
do to improve.
(HMI, 2011, p. 23)
Additionally:
where the use of assessment was good, a robust school-wide approach to
assessment was used as a key tool for improvement. The common characteristics
of this in the primary and secondary schools visited were:
• thorough baselining of pupils' current level was used, at entry to, or prior
to starting the school
• pupils were made aware of their current level and what they needed to do
to improve
• opportunities for peer and self-review were embedded in lessons
• there was regular standardisation and moderation between teachers and
particularly between schools
• a progress tracking system accessible to staff and pupils and embracing
ICT across all subjects was used
• pupils were given detailed written feedback on their work
• parents were kept regularly updated on their child's progress in ICT.
(HMI, 2011, p. 37)