Assessing Religion and Worldviews Part 2

This is the second part of a blog exploring effective assessment in Religion and Worldviews. If you have not read part 1, you can access it here Assessing Religion and Worldviews Part 1

In this blog I will consider the question, is there a correct method of assessment in Religion and Worldviews? I came to ask myself this through my Farmington research where I interviewed and observed both Primary and Secondary teachers. Nationally, RE is currently experiencing a cultural shift from the World Religions paradigm to the Religion and Worldviews approach. Those schools who have adopted or are working towards a Religion and Worldviews approach will be thinking about their assessment processes; do they need to change? I found through my interviews that teachers are reflecting on the purpose and of assessment, the best methods and at what point in the curriculum assessment should occur.

With regards to the timing of assessment, it seems there are various ‘end points’ where assessment is useful. These are:

• Once key concepts have been learned and pupils are starting to use the in their thinking, speaking and writing
• When substantive content has been framed in disciplinary questions, assessment can allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding

As noted in my first blog, a coherent, progression curriculum is essential, and assessment needs to be built into this from the start. This includes a capacity to revisit key concepts and substantive knowledge. Therefore curriculum design should include ‘end points’ where key concepts, substantive knowledge, disciplinary analysis and connections can be assessed. Pupil progress will be held against the smaller and wider aims of the curriculum.

In my department we were interested to explore how far the Religion and Worldviews approach requires a different approach to assessment. We see key concepts as the knowledge blocks, adding to pupils’ overall substantive knowledge development. These are embedded in each unit, and are partly what we asses, but not solely. We see the key concepts as enabling students’ demonstration of disciplinary knowledge and skills. Success criteria includes how students demonstrate knowledge of key concepts but more, how key concepts are used to evaluate, analyse and debate philosophical, theological and social scientific enquiry questions.

How do we assess students’ disciplinary thinking? Pupils’ disciplinary knowledge is developed through engaging with each unit’s enquiry question, which address a particular type of knowledge; philosophical, theological or the human and social sciences. Therefore, pupils are assessed through their engagement with different disciplinary questions. This allows for consistency across each key phase but also allows continuous assessment based on consistent concepts, knowledge and skills.

Through taking such a multi-disciplinary approach we recognise that substantive and disciplinary knowledge needs to be revisited over time to build up a rich understanding. Through this work we have found that assessment design also needs to follow this approach; an increasing critical engagement over time with rich disciplinary questions as pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world grows.