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In this learning overview are suggested assessment opportunities linked to the assessment focuses within the Assessing Pupils’ Progress guidelines. As you plan your teaching for this unit, draw on these suggestions and on alternative methods to help you to gather evidence of attainment, or to identify barriers to progress, that will inform your planning to meet the needs of particular groups of children. When you make a periodic assessment of children’s learning, this accumulating evidence will help you to determine the level at which they are working.
To gather evidence related to the three Ma1 assessment focuses (problem solving, reasoning and communicating), it is important to give children space and time to develop their own approaches and strategies throughout the mathematics curriculum, as well as through the application of skills across the curriculum.
In this unit the illustrated assessment focuses are:
Children plan and develop lines of enquiry, posing and investigating hypotheses linked to a theme of keeping fit and healthy such as:
The average amount of sleep per night of the children in our class is over 8 hours.
We think our local football team scored more than two goals in a fifth of their matches last season.
Children read scales accurately in a variety of contexts. They decide on the degree of accuracy required when reading a clinical temperature reached or when measuring out the amount of liquid used to make a high-energy drink. They interpret the information recorded by a data-logger, recognising that the measurements taken are approximate.
Children convert between units, using decimals to two places. They compare the data about long-jump results given in millimetres, centimetres and metres. They decide on the most sensible unit to use and convert accordingly, working out how to rank the jumps in order of length. They read metric and imperial units from measuring scales that show both units or from conversion graphs; for example, they convert distances in metres in long-distance track events to distances in miles.
Assessment focus: Ma2, Fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion
As children measure, using different metric measures, look for evidence of their understanding of decimal numbers. Look for children who record measurements as mixed units, for example, 3 m 25 cm, and those who use decimal notation to record this as 3.25 m. Look for evidence that children understand the relationships between, for example, millimetres, centimetres and metres, and use their understanding of decimal numbers to express a measurement in different ways. For example, look for children who know that 1.25 m = 125 cm = 1250 mm, or that 250 ml = 0.25 l or one quarter of a litre. Look out for children who order decimal values as they compare measurements, recognising, for example, that 2.2 is greater than 2.15.
Children construct and interpret frequency tables, bar charts including the use of grouped data, and line graphs, on paper and using ICT. For example, they consider bed-times and the average daily amount of sleep of an 11-year-old, investigating possible differences between boys and girls. They draw conclusions and report them, using a word processor and illustrating their report with graphs and charts. They suggest further questions to ask, such as:
On average, does an 11-year-old who is the eldest child in their family go to bed earlier than an 11-year-old who is not the eldest child in their family?
Assessment focus: Ma1, Communication
Look for evidence of children making decisions about how to most effectively represent and explain the conclusions they have reached. Look for children who can report these in an organised and systematic way and who can use graphs and charts appropriately to communicate and justify their findings.
Children decide when and how to group the data that they have collected. For example, after a sponsored swim, they record the lengths swum by each child and record these on a bar chart. They interpret pie charts and draw conclusions. For example, they compare the nutritional information for 100 g of various breakfast cereals and answer questions such as: From the pie chart, approximately what fraction/percentage of the cereal is fibre?
Assessment focus: Ma4, Processing and representing data
As they group data, look for evidence of children creating groups that represent similar ranges but do not overlap, and that allow all the data to be represented. For example, for scores in a game, they might choose to use 0–9, 10–19, 20–29 and to represent the number of children achieving each group of scores. When grouping measurements such as the lengths of jumps, they might use less than 1.26 m, 1.26 m–1.5 m, 1.51 m–1.75 m, … and record the number of children whose longest jump is within each range.
Children compare the results shown on two pie charts related to the same topic but based on different totals. For example, these pie charts show the results of football matches of two teams. United played 30 games and Rovers played 24 games.
Children estimate proportions, such as the number of games that United lost. They consider statements such as 'The two teams won the same number of games' and explain why this is incorrect.
Children use the mode, range, mean and median to solve problems and interpret results. They begin to understand why different types of average have most meaning in specific contexts. For example, they discuss whether the mode is the most appropriate average to apply when working out goal averages over a football season.
Assessment focus: Ma4, Interpreting data
When they compare two different sets of data, look for children who choose to use the mode and range when they describe similarities and differences. Look out for children who begin to use the median value or the mean in their comparisons.
Children describe and predict outcomes from data using the language of chance or likelihood. They consider which of two events is more likely, picking a red card from a pack of playing cards or picking an ace, explaining their reasoning. They make and justify decisions based on likelihood. For example, they shuffle a set of 0–9 digit cards and place them face down. They turn over the top card on the table, then predict whether the next card to be turned over will be higher or lower. They appreciate that using their knowledge of the cards that have already been turned over improves their chance of a correct prediction.
| Objectives Children's learning outcomes are emphasised |
Assessment for learning |
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What are you trying to find out? What information are you aiming to collect? How? |
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What unit of measurement will you use, and why, to measure: |
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What is the value of each interval on this scale? What information did you read on the scale to help you? What calculations did you do? 
Approximately how many litres are there in 3 gallons? Give your answer to the nearest litre. |
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Give me an example of an event that is impossible. And an event that is certain. 
Shade this spinner so that there is a 50% chance that the arrow will land on shaded.  |
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How will you display your data? 
David says: 'The two teams won the same number of games'. Is he correct? Explain how you know. |
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Would you use the mode, median or mean to describe these test scores? Explain your answer. |
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How could you check the calculation that you have done on your calculator? 
Carol counts the matches in 10 boxes. She works out that the mean number of matches in a box is 51. Here are her results for 9 boxes. 
Calculate how many matches are in the 10th box. |
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Which graphs and charts did you show to illustrate the health benefits of one type of meal over another? |
| Activities | PDF 1MB |
| Activity 81 - Millennium |
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Objectives for Springboard intervention unit |
Springboard unit |
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Order a set of decimal numbers and identify the most significant digit when sorting numbers |
Springboard 6 Unit 1 (PDF 1.4MB) |
| Diagnostic focus | Resource |
| Rounding inaccurately particularly when decimals are involved. Has little sense of the size of a number | 2 Y6  /-DfES 1133-2005 (PDF 102KB) |
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