QTS Assessment and Feedback 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is summative assessment primarily used for?
- Guiding day-to-day teaching decisions
- Identifying learning gaps during a lesson
- Measuring student achievement at the end of a unit, key stage, or course (Correct answer)
- Providing real-time feedback during classroom activities
Correct answer: Measuring student achievement at the end of a unit, key stage, or course
Summative assessment evaluates cumulative learning at a defined endpoint and is used to report on attainment.
Question 2: Which type of feedback is considered most effective for improving student learning according to educational research?
- Grade-only feedback with no written comments
- Praise-only feedback focusing on effort
- Specific, actionable feedback focused on the task and how to improve (Correct answer)
- Comparative feedback ranking students against their peers
Correct answer: Specific, actionable feedback focused on the task and how to improve
Research, including Hattie and Timperley's work, shows that specific task-focused feedback with clear guidance on improvement has the greatest impact on learning.
Question 3: What is the purpose of the 'two stars and a wish' feedback strategy?
- To provide two grades and one improvement target
- To identify two strengths and one area for development in student work (Correct answer)
- To offer two summative and one formative assessment per term
- To give two pieces of advice and one compliment
Correct answer: To identify two strengths and one area for development in student work
Two stars and a wish is a structured feedback technique where the teacher (or peer) identifies two positive aspects and one area for improvement.
Question 4: In Bloom's Taxonomy, which level represents the highest order of thinking?
- Remembering
- Understanding
- Applying
- Evaluating and Creating (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Evaluating and Creating
The revised Bloom's Taxonomy places Evaluating and Creating at the apex, requiring pupils to make judgements and produce original work.
Question 5: What does 'marking for meaning' primarily focus on?
- Correcting every spelling and grammatical error in red pen
- Providing a numerical grade for each piece of work submitted
- Responding to the content, ideas, and understanding demonstrated in student work (Correct answer)
- Ticking correct answers on a printed worksheet
Correct answer: Responding to the content, ideas, and understanding demonstrated in student work
Marking for meaning prioritises engagement with the pupil's ideas and understanding rather than surface-level corrections.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'whole-class feedback'?
- Detailed individual written comments in every student's book
- Verbal feedback given to one student in front of the class
- The teacher identifying common patterns from marking and addressing these with the whole group (Correct answer)
- Feedback provided to the class by external moderators
Correct answer: The teacher identifying common patterns from marking and addressing these with the whole group
Whole-class feedback allows teachers to address recurring errors and misconceptions efficiently without writing the same comment in every book.
Question 7: What is the main benefit of peer assessment in the classroom?
- It completely removes the teacher's marking workload
- It helps students develop metacognitive skills and a deeper understanding of assessment criteria (Correct answer)
- It is always more reliable than teacher assessment
- It replaces the need for any teacher feedback
Correct answer: It helps students develop metacognitive skills and a deeper understanding of assessment criteria
When pupils assess each other's work they must internalise success criteria and apply them critically, which deepens their own understanding of quality.
QTS Assessment and Feedback 2
What is summative assessment primarily used for?