How I assess drama at key stage 3 (and what Ofsted thought!)
From what I’ve read over the past few weeks, it seems as though assessment in drama lessons is getting out of hand again. Some teachers are expected to evidence learning for each student, every lesson to the extent that the process is actually harming progress!
Assessment in drama is always a hot topic and, on social media, the most popular questions are usually:
- What do you assess students on?
- How do you assess them?
- How do you keep a record of their progress?
In this article, I hope to set out exactly how I approach assessment within my drama classroom and why I believe a common-sense approach is always best!
What do I assess students on?
In the absence of national curriculum status, my starting point was to remind myself of the assessment objectives set out by Ofqual for GCSE Drama. They are:
AO1 Create and develop ideas to communicate meaning for theatrical performance.
AO2 Apply theatrical skills to realise artistic intentions in live performance.
AO3 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how drama and theatre is developed and performed.
AO4 Analyse and evaluate their own work and the work of others.
I like these assessment objectives because, for me, they neatly encapsulate the core elements of learning in drama. Also, I feel that since they are intended for GCSE Drama they help to provide a straightforward and well-sequenced model for progression. I also took inspiration from the Arts Council England ‘Drama in Schools’ document that categorises drama into ‘creating, performing and responding’. I like the Arts Council categories because they’re straight forward for students to understand and remember. AO1 became ‘creating’, AO2 became ‘performing’ and AO4 became ‘responding’. You will notice that AO3 is missing — I chose to incorporate knowledge and understanding across the other 3 criteria. I felt that by creating, performing and responding, students should be demonstrating knowledge and understanding. Here’s what I mean:
To create my framework, I then looked at the grade descriptors for GCSE Drama. Here, Ofqual provides guidance as to what attainment should look like at a Grade 2, 5 and 8. Once looking at this, I extrapolated the descriptors and created a rubric to describe attainment from Grade 1–9. Here’s how I got on:
In line with my school’s KS3 assessment policy, students are assigned a ‘working at’ grade 3 times a year. In other words, if a student is given a Grade 5 in Year 7, assuming they continue to work at the same level of attainment, they should expect a Grade 5 at the end of GCSE. I realise this model of assessment isn’t perfect but it’s simple and easily understood by both the students and parents.
Isn’t that just teaching to the test?
An obvious concern of structuring assessment towards GCSE assessment objectives is that it has the potential to be restrictive and focused too heavily on merely preparing students for a test they might take in Year 11. However, I don’t think this is the case. Given how broad the assessment objectives are, there is immense potential for freedom in terms of play choices and devising topics. Also, it’s important that we consider what students need to know in order to reach the next stage of their learning. The new Ofsted EIF 2019 supports this, stating that the curriculum should be ‘coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning.’ I discussed this is more detail in my previous blog, A new drama curriculum for 2019.
How do I assess them?
Three years ago, within my faculty (Art, Drama, and Music), I implemented a holistic assessment policy to improve the accuracy of teacher assessment and to reduce teacher workload. Effectively, this means we assess students every single moment they are in our classrooms! At first, this might sound exhausting, but it’s liberating and makes our approach to assessment more authentic. When I meet a new class, I explain that they will be assessed holistically so everything they do within a lesson contributes to the grade they will see on their tracker report. I love holistic assessment for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, students are encouraged to engage with each aspect of a lesson, every lesson. It’s not enough to coast at the start of the term and then work hard in the final few lessons in the lead up to a terminal assessment. If a student is being lazy we can remind them that without their best effort we’re unable to see the full extent of their ability.
The further benefit of holistic assessment is that it accounts for student absence. Previously, I would structure large, high stakes assessments at the end of each topic. It was incredibly frustrating when, invariably, a student was absent meaning I couldn’t assess their work. Since most practical work in drama takes place within a group context, this became even more frustrating for the rest of the group who would be reluctant to share their work in the absence of a group member. Students still work towards ‘end of project’ assessments, but this is not a requirement for me to ascertain the level they are working at. I have a far better understanding of a student’s level because I am able to be more present in the classroom.
As well as student absence, I find that assessing holistically caters to the demands of a busy and sometimes chaotic school schedule. I have lost count of the number of times I have to scrap a planned assessment at a moment’s notice because half the class is on a science trip, or because I have been moved out of my studio for a first aid training session! The flexibility of holistic assessment alleviates a great deal of unnecessary stress.
While I have created specific schemes of work to cater to each of the assessment objectives, I’ve found that within most drama lessons students will broadly cover all of the assessment objectives through the varied tasks they complete. These tasks provide me with detailed and diagnostic information about their progress. During a class discussion or recall quiz at the start of a lesson, students might demonstrate their theoretical understanding of a concept (AO3). They may then move into a rehearsal period, whether scripted or devised, performing or designing, they are developing ideas for performance (AO1). Students may then perform some of their work, whether in-progress or a final piece, they have the chance to apply their skills practically (AO2). Finally, they are given opportunities to self or peer assess their work (AO4) or review a professional performance they have seen.
Just by participating in the lesson, students will have engaged in a wide variety of low-stakes assessment tasks that allow me to continually build a picture of where they’re at in my subject. Whether answering questions (out loud or written), asking questions, performing, giving feedback or receiving feedback, they are in an environment that is solely focused on helping to improve their knowledge and skills.
How do I keep a record of their progress?
Previously, I have made students keep journals or complete tracking documents. I know of some drama teachers recording performances on iPads in every lesson and uploading the evidence to a shared drive. Of course, journals and videos are great if they are intended to aid student learning but we shouldn’t be creating evidence just for the sake of it! It’s a waste of time, paper and electricity. Earlier in my teaching career, I would force my students to write reflections at the end of each lesson. It was a simple box-ticking exercise that didn’t benefit the students or me. The sad part was that so much valuable teaching and learning was lost. We were so focussed on evidencing the learning that had taken place that the learning became stunted. During a shorter term when you only encounter a class once a week, every single minute of teaching counts and I’m not prepared to waste any time.
There have been times when I have asked students to write about their work, in fact, I set extended writing and essays but that’s because it is the most appropriate task to achieve the desired learning outcome.
Tasks that are just to tick a box should be avoided. If we find ourselves keeping records because we think it will please Ofsted or because we’ve been told to then we need to stop! Ofsted even confirms this in their guidance on inspection myths.
On the subject of Ofsted…
I had an inspector in my classroom a few weeks ago. He saw feedback and assessment happening constantly throughout the lesson. It wasn’t fancy or clever. Just simple conversations between my students and I about what needed to happen next. This was occurring naturally, as it would do in any lesson. The inspector spoke to students and asked them how they knew they were improving in drama. They told him that they had ‘working at’ grades but they couldn’t quite remember what they were (at least they were honest!) but they spoke more enthusiastically about what they’d learned and what they had to improve on. No books, no teacher marking, no ‘verbal feedback given’ stamps, and no videos, just teacher and students talking. He seemed happy and we achieved a glowing report so I don’t intend to change what I’m doing any time soon!
So, how do you assess drama at key stage 3?!
