Pupil Assessment - Pupil Z is female and in Year 9. The school has her ethnicity recorded as Afghani, which was confirmed when interviewing her. Pupil Z is listed on the school EAL register and is currently working at between levels 2 and 3 of English Le

University Degree Education and Teaching

Pupil Assessment 2

Background of pupil

The pupil chosen in this assessment will be referred to as Pupil Z and has been chosen as a contrast to the pupil studied in my first assessment. Pupil Z is female and in Year 9. The school has her ethnicity recorded as Afghani, which was confirmed when interviewing her. Pupil Z is listed on the school EAL register and is currently working at between levels 2 and 3 of English Learning; that is she is growing in confidence in the English she uses and she interacts with her peers. She is able to use her English to write basic accounts of activities that she has undertaken, however, the formation of these accounts is sometimes incomplete. Once thing that is noticeable when looking at her class work and homework is that the majority of the work she produces is copied, word for word from the texts that she uses at the time.

Pupil Z arrived in the UK in December 2010, and is one of three children– her elder brother is currently in London, studying at a different school and her younger brother is still in Afghanistan with her mother, waiting to join the rest of the family. The school has no KS2 or KS3 data on Pupil Z and she was placed into Set 4 immediately on her arrival.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to also interview her father at parents evening and discuss her home life with both of them. At home, her brother is the main English speaker, acting as a translator for her father (who has a basic grasp of the language) but the main language at home is Pashto. One thing discussed at the meeting was how beneficial it would be to have Pupil Z to read a chapter from a chosen book to her father every night as a way to improve both of their English.

Work chosen

For this study I have chosen three pieces of work which Pupil Z has carried our while I have been teaching her. The first piece (A) was an activity set in class in which pupils had to research the effects and role of B Vitamins in the diet. This was ICT based, with the use of class laptops and was mainly an independent learning task. The second piece of work (B) was class work, looking at the effect of legal and illegal drugs. Finally, the third piece (C) was a piece of homework that was a follow up ...

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Work chosen

I have also decided to draw upon Pupil Z’s mock exam grades that were sat in May 2010 as a measure of her attainment, although the value of these grades will be discussed later.

Attainment drawing on the samples of work

Firstly, let’s look at sample A. This piece of work was to be completed in an allocated 35 minute slot. The pupils were allowed to work in pairs on the task. Pupil Z said she did not understand the task due to her grasp of English. I made the effort to group her with another pupils who spoke Pashto, but who had been in the country for three years and so had a better grasp of the language. Along with this, Pupil Z had the help of the strategy support assistant (see ‘working with other staff’ case study) to give EAL support specifically for science. Even so, the work was left incomplete. The parts that were filled in were directly copied from websites provided, but it did show that Z has the ability to work independently with some guidance. Pupil Z was given the target to complete work in class and if unable to, to complete at home.

Sample B was a piece of work in which the pupils were given 15 minutes in groups to place drugs into three columns; one column naming the drug, one describing the effect and one giving an example, using their knowledge of drugs from earlier in the lesson. Text books were also available. Although the learning objectives and some keywords were taken down, Pupils Z also though of her own keywords which she added (after looking at the text). As stated, pupils worked in groups of two or three but had to stick the work individually in their books. Looking at the work produced by one of the pupils in Z’s group, a stark comparison can be made and the conclusion can be made that Z is having trouble understanding the tasks set. However, when Z is questioned and explains verbally, she is able to make more sense of what she is being taught.

If we look at sample C, Z’s work has measurably improved. On closer inspection, the answers have been taken directly from the text (pupils are provided with copies of text books) and have not been put into the pupils own words. This however is encouraging as it shows that Pupil Z’s English has improved and her ability to locate information in text is improving. Again, on verbally questioning Pupil Z, her understanding of the subject matter is much improved and she displays some knowledge of scientific principles and concepts and is able to apply them in appropriate context. Her attainment is currently being hampered by her ability in understanding written English and I hope that the EAL support she is currently provided with continues.

This brings me to her actual attainment. In the mock exam previously mentioned, Pupil Z achieved an average grade of U. I attribute this to being unfamiliar with exam process and again, down to her reading and understanding of written English. On the two questions which showed annotated diagrams, Pupil Z scored her highest marks.

In terms of my judgment on Pupil Z’s attainment, language barriers none withstanding, I would say that based on class work and her verbal contributions, she is currently at highest, attaining an E grade at GCSE but, I believe she will be let down in her examination by her language.

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Mock Report:

Eastlea Community school uses a report system where the teacher is able to select a variety of comments to produce a standard report. Teachers can personalise their reports but many have said they find this time consuming and prefer the automated version.

The following report is personalised as a report that I would use to inform on Pupil Z’s attainment.

Eastlea Community Subject Report: Science

Pupil Name: Pupil Z

Pupil Z shows a basic understanding of the scientific ideas which she is taught and is able to explain these verbally when asked. Pupil Z is struggling with her written work especially when asked to write in her own words. Her reading is also an issue which I have brought up with the EAL coordinator and she will hopefully be provided with extra support after school. Her behavior in classes is excellent although she can sometimes drift away from what is being taught in the lesson.

In her recent mock GCSE examination, Z was graded at a U grade, which is ungraded. I believe she is capable of more and including her class work I believe Z to be working at an E grade level. I think that Z can achieve this grade but needs to work on her English and also needs to complete work which is not finished in class, and ensure that all of her home work is completed on time.

CURRENT GRADE: U

PREDICTED GRADE: E