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DO YOU HAVE A PROGRESS MINDSET? Use this quiz to figure out if your school is leaning towards a progress mindset. 1 How is your curriculum structured? a. Subjects have broad outlines b. Subjects are broken down into small steps 2 How do you track learning over time? a. Using small steps of learning b. Using point-in-time assessments 3 How do pupils progress over the year? a. Building their understanding over time b. Ticking off learning objectives as they go 4 What does good progress look like? a. Pupils know more and can do more b. Pupils make more steps than expected Score your answers as follows: 1: a 2, b 5 2: a 5, b 2 3: a 2, b 5 4: a 2, b 5 If you scored more than 15, you might have a progress mindset. become ‘secure’, or words to that effect. Extra steps are often added to allow the system to show ‘more progress’. Where a curriculum is based on a progress mindset, complex subjects are broken down into small steps, often with attempts to demarcate differences in interrelated concepts. A maths curriculum may, for example, be summarised using statements for ‘working towards’, ‘at expected’ or ‘at greater depth’ in each year group, with separate statements for concepts such as ‘number and place value’ and ‘fractions’. There are a number of problems with curriculum and assessment based on a progress mindset. One issue is that those working in schools may not realise that their assumptions about how children develop academically are distorted by it. Children build up knowledge over time, frequently developing (and then, we hope, resolving) misconceptions as they go, rather than starting with a base of misconceptions or lack of understanding, and ticking them off in order ( tinyurl.com/tp-CCschema ) . Another is that the progress mindset can compromise data about pupils, as those working within the system are often forced to ignore the limitations of assessment. This can easily happen in cases where systems for keeping track of children make implicit assumptions about the accuracy of assessment (by requiring pupils to be placed on a rigid, steps-based numerical scale, for example). What else can you try? Luckily, English schools currently have a great deal of discretion when it comes to assessment between the ends of Key Stages. You can use this freedom to create assessment systems that work for you. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) suggests that schools should focus on high quality teaching, targeted support and wider strategies to support pupils ( tinyurl. com/tp-EEFquality ). This gives you freedom to place students into broad categories, such as those needing support and those for whom no extra support is needed, for example (which we call an ‘action mindset’). Once this rough filter has been applied, those in the second category can be lightly monitored using a variety of assessments (monitoring attainment in core subjects, and teacher assessments of efforts and behaviour in class, for example) to check whether there has been any change in their circumstances. This frees up more time for you to use a fine filter to focus on those pupils who do need additional support to make the most of their time in school. Breaking out from the progress mindset requires a recognition that teaching and learning is complex, and that learning happens over years rather than months. It also requires an understanding of what a progress mindset looks like, and an honest assessment of the extent to which it might underpin thinking in your school. If you are fortunate, you will have read all this with a wry smile, knowing you have moved on. If not, you might want to consider what underpins your thinking about curriculum and assessment and make a break for freedom. TP Richard Selfridge is a primary teacher, writer and Insight Education data consultant. His latest book, A Little Guide for Teachers to Using Student Data (£10.99, SAGE), was published in 2024. @databusting insightinform.co.uk @richardselfridge.bsky.social www.teachwire.net | 45 AS S E S SMENT S P E C I A L