Teacher Interviews

The first teacher interview was conducted with a year five teacher
on February 4th.
What do you think the purpose of assessment is?
To see where students are at the moment. To see where their
strengths and weaknesses lay what they have learned.
It helps us organise groups for sessions (spelling mastery, maths
groups). This streaming has its ups and downs a normal class,
small groups may have a issue with a question, whereas in
streamed groups, the whole class is getting stuck.
How do you plan for assessment?
Maths we always do pre-assessments. We look at AusVels and talk
about what they need to know.
Other assessments like Probe, we get a day out of the classroom to
assess all our students. That is organised through the school.
Do you support student diversity with your assessment
design?
Yes. We do a range of assessments. We have written, verbal/oral and
observations. Need to use a range of tests to get a clear picture
one test wont show you everything.
Looking at diversity, we apply for help with NAPLAN students with
extra needs are given scribes or extra time.
How do you record your students assessments? Is it
important to have a strategy?
A strategy is a must!! Predominately its all written. I have
assessment books for different topics. We use excel to record.
What do you think parent expectations are for
assessments/marking in these year levels?
It depends on the parent some are realistic about what their child
can or cannot do. There is a lot of pressure to achieve high grades
for the kids. Most parents are just happy if they are kept up to date
and informed.

The following teacher interview was conducted via emails (at

request of the teacher). It was with a prep teacher who is also the
prep co-ordinator for the school. These emails were sent/received
February 16th February 19th. The foundation of these emails has
been copied below.
What role does assessment play in such a young year level?
Assessment plays a huge role in Prep just like any other year level,
but more so as we have the task of finding out what each child
already knows so that we can meet their individual learning needs.
The range of abilities in a Prep Grade can differ greatly. For example,
some Prep children arrive at school with very good knowledge of
letter to sound relationships, however others may have no alphabet
knowledge at all. Some children come to school being able to
recognise two digit numbers or three digit numbers whereas others
may have difficulty with numbers 1-10. It is not effective teaching if
we are teaching them the basics or things they already know. As
teachers, it is very important to know your students so that we can
plan what we are going to teach them and that they are building on
their existing knowledge.
How do you plan for your assessments with preps?
We have assessments that are completed that are mandatory. The
Education Department require them to be done at the beginning of
the year in a set timeframe. The children complete the Mathematics
Online Interview and the Literacy Online Interview.
At XXXX School the Prep children do not attend school on
Wednesdays in the first term. As a result we utilise this day to
interview children on a one to one basis. This helps us get to know
the children and allows us to document their learning needs (ie.
strengths and weaknesses). This helps us with our teaching and
their learning.
Mathematics Online Interview
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/
discipline/maths/continuum/pages/mathsinterview.aspx?Redirect=1
English Online Interview
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/
discipline/english/assessment/Pages/default.aspx?Redirect=1
Additional assessments are completed as a whole grade but they
may be adapted to suit the needs of the student. eg. We may have
just completed a lesson sequence on shapes. These lessons would
have been differentiated to meet the needs of the children. As a

result some were completing activities about 2D shapes where as

others may have been looking at the box and ball (3D shapes).
What types of assessment do you use with preps?
We use the Online Assessment Interviews as outlined in the previous
question. We also use the following:
- Running Records to measure reading levels,
- PROBE testing to assess comprehension (for the children reading
above level 15)
- Letter to sound assessments
- Pre-tests / post-tests
How do you record your students assessments? Is it important to
have strategy?
A variety of records are kept. Our Prep team use:
- An Anecdotal Record book as we are constantly writing down
results throughout the day.
- Excel spread sheets are utilised for data purposes or checklists.
- The Sentral Program is used for data for whole school records.
- Visuals as evidenced in photos / videos
The strategy is important as time management to complete the
assessments is essential. You also have to factor in the children that
may be very confident in the topics but may not have the fine motor
skills to complete a sheet of questions. So you also need to adapt to
those needs too.
Also, be mindful that you are not assessing for assessing sake. Make
sure that you are using the information gained from the
assessments. Effective record keeping is essential!
In prep, do you provide students with feedback on their
assessments? - Or focus more on providing feedback to the parents?
Our feedback to the preps is mainly verbal or visual. Continual
praise to assist with building their confidence and the extrinsic
motivation of receiving stickers for their sticker chart for trying their
best is always a good way to give feedback to the children. Some
children arrive as little perfectionists and may not complete things,
as they know that what they are writing doesnt say what they want
to say. (I always remind them why they are at school ...and they all
reply...so we can learn.) This is to highlight to them that they may
not know things but we just try our best. We make sure they know
why we are assessing and tell them it helps us know what we teach
them next.
Parent feedback is essential. Teachers are a lot more accountable
now for the results. eg. NAPLAN and results of schools being online.
Whilst the NAPLAN does not affect Prep, all teachers have
Performance Development Plans, which includes the requirements

of effective communication with parents and documentation of what

we are doing to help each child.