Marking and Presentation Policy

Rationale

Marking Principles

Presentation Principles

Marking

Why we mark:

Closing the gap strategies

Making comments

Marking spelling

Effective marking to encourage thinking

Use of success criteria

Rationale

Our whole-school policy for marking and presentation relates to the ethos of the school and the aims and objectives we seek to achieve in all curriculum areas.

Each child's development requires an understanding of their individual needs so that they can develop intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally,

To ensure this on-going development all marking must be positive, clear and appropriate in its purpose, productive in its outcomes and child-centred.

The marking of work throughout the curriculum should be a combination of, a recognition and expression of the child's achievement, as well as a method of guidance and highlighting of teaching points.

The standards of presentation expected of children are designed to engender pride in their work and assist in clarity and aid understanding. Back to top

Marking Principles

* The main purpose of marking is to raise achievement


* Marking contributes to our Assessment for/of learning processes


* Marking is sensitive, constructive and mindful of the emotional impact of the assessment

* Marking should always be positive recognising progress and achievement rather than failure

* Marking should be clear and constructive giving information and guidance to aid improvement Back to top

Presentation Principles

All work done at Green Lane Primary School is valued as important.

Good presentation of work is therefore a priority, serving to give a sense of pride in achievement and a means of valuing the people who will share it.

Good presentation of work is important in order to encourage children to:
∙ be proud of their achievements, by doing their best work and presenting it well;
∙ value every activity;
∙ respect the equipment they are given, by using it carefully;
∙ do their best quality work, in order to enhance their school environment;
∙ persevere with tasks until completed and aesthetically pleasing. Back to top

Marking

When we think of marking what is it that immediately comes to mind?

Is it - marks out of ten?

Is it - a page with lots of ticks?

Is the picture that comes to mind ? a page covered with crossings out and comments in a furious tone?

Whatever we think of marking, it is important to remember that marking is feedback. Back to top

Why we mark:

The main purpose of marking is to raise achievement.
To benefit pupils, teachers and parents, by checking in a diagnostic way to see whether concepts have been understood.
TO offer an opportunity to celebrate achievement and demonstrate that the work done is valued and appreciated.
To provide a dialogue between child and teacher during which appropriate feedback can be given.
To identify / check / monitor children's progress and thereby identify children who need more support or challenge.
To help pupils identify important aspects of the work they are doing, involve them in reviewing their work and setting future targets.
To aid future planning for teaching and learning
To provide evidence for both formative and summative assessment. Back to top

Closing the gap strategies

The latest research into the impact of teachers? marking on pupil achievement has suggested the following strategies to close the gap between the learning objectives and achievement:
Highlight three places where the child has written the best aspects against the learning objective and indicate where some improvement can be made.
Use ?Closing the Gap? comments:
Reminder prompt ? most suitable for more able pupils:
?Say more about how you feel about this person.?
Scaffold Prompt - For children who need more help:
(Question) ? ?Can you describe how this person is a good friend??
(Directive) ? ?Describe something that happened which showed you they were good friends.?
(Unfinished sentence) ? ?He showed me he was a good friend when . . . (child to finish)
Example Prompt ? for children of below average ability:
Use something like ? ?He is a good friend because he never says unkind things to me.?


Research has shown that the pupil, who gets negative feedback on oral or written work, does not make as much progress as a pupil who receives positive feedback.

It is, therefore, the nature of the marking that is important in the marking process.

The aim of marking, at Green Lane Primary School, is to provide positive feedback that will engage our children more productively in the improvement of their work.

Marking does not mean correcting every error. Children under the guidance of the teacher can check tasks that involve a ?right or wrong? answer.

Examples of such ?straightforward tasks? would be: weekly spellings or mental maths. Back to top

Making comments

Teacher comments on written tasks should refer back to the learning objective, or success criteria, as the focus for marking.

Comments should encourage pupils to develop the skills and understanding of the key features they have learned in a particular lesson.

Has the objective been achieved?

What further work needs to be done?

What are the areas for improvement?

Marking comments should be very focused and precise and give advice on the next steps forward.

Marking should always give positive praise and encouragement, even when pointing the way towards improvement.

It is, therefore, necessary to highlight what has been done well before giving guidance on how to make improvements.

It is helpful to use a signalling phrase or sentence such as:

Watch out for:

Next time remember to:

Tricky words to learn:

Add these words to your personal spelling vocabulary: Back to top

Marking spelling

Effective marking leads to improvements in spelling. On many occasions, spelling may not be the focus of the lesson.

Effective marking of a spelling error happens when the child responds to it. In the best practice, the error is marked by the teacher, noted by the child and then added to their personal spelling list.

Teachers should mark spelling in a way that fits the pupils? stage of development as a writer and a speller.

Spelling partners can be used to support spelling development. Pairs of children learn words chosen by the teacher ? key words and misspellings from their work. Then each one tests the other. This is a powerful learning tool and adds relevance to the teacher?s marking of spelling. Back to top

Effective marking to encourage thinking

Reflection, after the teacher has marked work, is especially important in tasks that follow-on from one day to another.

Opportunities should be given for children to follow up their individual comments. Such opportunities will need to be planned as part of the learning process.

Children need opportunity to read their teacher?s comments, reflect on them, discuss them and act upon them.

Teachers may prompt comments from children with questions.

What were you pleased with?

What would you like to do better?

What did other people say about your writing?

Children need to be taught how to reflect on writing ? their own and other people?s.

The use of response partners greatly enhances children?s ability to look at writing with a critical eye. It teaches them how to use the vocabulary of writing and helps them to think more carefully about their own writing.

See Peer Assessment/ Self Assessment in Assessment for learning Policy
Positive praise comments, combined with merits and stickers, are always rewarding for learners - young and old. Raising self-esteem, through effective marking, is a powerful way to raise enthusiasm and achievement. Back to top

Use of success criteria

The use of success criteria, when used effectively, raises achievement.

Across a year, children should experience the use of success criteria - in varied forms - to help them focus on improving their work.

Success criteria will often be verbal and teachers and pupils should go through a process of ?working-up? what is needed to achieve a lesson?s learning objective. This process promotes focused thinking.

Success criteria may be added before a piece of work, copied from the board or in the form of a sticker. This acts as a guide to the following work.

Success criteria can provide a check list for self/peer assessment.

Success criteria may also be written on the whiteboard or displayed on the IWB. Then the criteria displayed can stimulate discussion and, if left up during the lesson, can be referred to throughout the on-going work. Back to top