Curriculum - progress in Curriculum for Excellence

An important focus of Curriculum for Excellence is pupil participation in setting learning targets, reflecting on their achievements and taking responsibility for their own learning. It is part of 'Assessment is for Learning' (AIFL). This is why the Outcomes and Experiences use phrases such as ‘I can…’ and ‘I am able to…’ Greater ownership of personal learning leads to confidence and a sense of success through achievement.

The process of self-assessment, goal-setting and celebrating success is called Personal Learning Planning. Across learning, children will make progress by developing their learning and thinking skills. These are described in the Outcomes and Experiences by the use of verbs. For example, a pupil may begin by remembering information, then move on to understanding it, before applying it, analysing it, evaluating it and finally creating a new idea with it. The development of thinking skills is crucial to Curriculum for Excellence.

These transferable skills will equip pupils for the world of further and higher education, for work and for life. There will also be formal monitoring and tracking of pupils’ learning progress which will be reported to parents and carers.

How pupil progress will be recognised:

  • Assessment – the monitoring and tracking of pupils’ learning progress – will be undertaken by teachers throughout the Curriculum 3–18
  • From ages 3 to 15, this will be carried out within schools and centres. National examples and standards will be used which will be available to teachers on the National Assessment Resource, a new website portal for assessment in Scotland
  • Assessment will involve looking at a range of evidence, such as pupils' folios of work, rather than concentrating on test results. Assessment will investigate how well children and young people learn, how much they learn and how their learning and thinking skills are developing
  • Learners and parents will be involved in monitoring and tracking progress, as learners agree and work towards targets
  • Increasingly, computer tracking of pupil progress will ensure information is readily available
  • From ages 15 to 18, assessment will continue but qualificationswill be externally assessed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority,as currently happens.