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. · · INTRODUCTION
EVALUATING CHILDREN'S WORK 'MARKING' INVESTIGATIONAL WORK
The activities in the STEPS Handbooks, Textbooks and Resource Evaluating and commenting on investigational work is rather
Masters provide both closed and 'open-ended' investigative like commenting on a child's creative writing. It is 'personalised'
tasks. The closed tasks help to ensure systematic coverage of work in which you can find out about the child as a creative
the Programmes of Study; the open-ended tasks, in which mathematician and gain some insight into that child's
different approaches and outcomes are possible, allow children understanding of mathematics, i.e. a powerful means of
to find their own level and explore without mathematical formative assessment. In investigatory work, not only is the
boundaries being imposed. Investigative tasks also offer the best mathematical content important, but also the process skills
opportunities for the teacher to assess attainment in relation to which children draw on to enable them to solve problems, some
Using and Applying Mathematics. of which are included within AT1.
Conventional marking systems, traditionally II' or K, do not apply
to investigational work, nor is it always necessary or, indeed,
I GUIDANCE ON OPEN-ENDED TASKS WITHIN THE HANDBOOKS I sustainable in terms of teacher time and effort to 'mark'
everything written down. Very often you can get a intuitive feel -
Where open-ended tasks are suggested in the Activities in Detail an overview - by focusing on parts of a child's recorded work.
in the Handbooks, and there is no supporting pupil material, Apart from the mathematical content, you may be able to make
guidance is generally given in the Handbook itself about what is some assessment in relation to Using and Applying Mathematics.
likely to happen or to be observed. This can be translated into a comment written on the work by
you with the date, and comments by the child.
RECORD KEEPING
Whether you use the STEPS record-keeping sheets or your own
school design, you might use a key for examples of closed or
open-ended work selected as evidence of attainment, e.g.
F for storage in a child's folder, W for an entry in a workbook,
0 for observed evidence, etc.
Anne Woodman
Series Editor
