AifL - Assessment is for Learning

Since 2002 schools in Scotland have been exploring and developing the approaches to assessment outlined here using a triangular model developed through the AifL – Assessment is for Learning programme. AifL’s main aim is to develop a streamlined and coherent system of assessment for Scottish schools to support learning, and ensure that everyone who needs it has the feedback they need on pupils' learning and development needs. The metaresearch conducted by Black and Wiliam and distilled in Inside the Black Box (1998) has been key in this and in stimulating change in the classroom - in the way that assessment is carried out and in changing both learners’ and teachers’ attitudes towards it. AifL has provided a model for teachers to work with and the freedom to adapt it to their own context.

AifL has allowed teaching staff to begin exploring their practice through assessment for learning and assessment as learning, and to use assessment of learning not just as a model for summative assessment, but as a forum for working collaboratively in agreeing appropriate experiences for children, gathering and using evidence of learning, sharing information in and across schools, and monitoring and planning for improvement. In other words, they have been using summative assessment information in a formative way.

Find out more about the AifL – Assessment is for Learning programme on the AifL website, where you will find a collection of case studies from schools across Scotland who have shared their experiences in doing AifL. You will also find Toolkits for schools and early years centres, both of which are based on the principles outlined in the AifL triangle and provide a framework for evaluating and developing your practice.