Cambridge Primary

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary

Computing

Purposes for assessment

Whenever we decide to assess learners, we need to be clear about why we are doing so. Why we assess
learners (our selected purposes) will influence how and when we choose to do this. Here are two purposes for
assessing Primary learners.

1. Assessment to give information about current learning and to inform next steps
This type of assessment should happen every day during classroom activities. Whenever learners
demonstrate their current learning you can use this information to give them feedback and to inform your
next steps for them and the class.

The aim of this type of assessment is to uncover what a learner, or group of learners, currently knows,
understands, or can or cannot do. This allows you, as the teacher, to give timely and specific feedback to
help them improve. It will also inform next steps (for example, it will help you to decide whether to spend
more time on a learning objective, to go back to prior learning or to move on).

When this is the main purpose of an assessment, it is important to retain details rather than summarise
information as a single grade. For example, if a learner is to improve, it is much more useful to say
‘remember that most robots are not designed to look like a human’ than to say ‘all of the robots you have
drawn have heads, two arms and two legs’ or ‘you did that at a Grade C level’.

These informal, regular assessments are very important because you can make ongoing changes to
maximise progress during the learning process, rather than waiting until the end of a period of study.
Using assessments in this way can be called Assessment for Learning (AfL), formative assessment or
using assessment formatively. You can find information and advice on this process in Section 5 of the
Cambridge Primary Computing Teacher Guide.

2. Assessment to summarise achievement over a period of learning to give a grade

This type of assessment happens towards the end of a period of study (for example, a topic of study,
term, semester or stage). It aims to provide a summary that describes how well a learner has mastered
the knowledge, concepts and skills described in the learning objectives they have been learning over that
period.

The summary is often a grade which describes a level of performance. Common examples of grades
include bronze / silver / gold; working towards expected standard / at expected standard / above expected
standard; and letters or numbers.

The grade given can be used to compare a learner’s overall performance in different subjects or to
compare the performance of learners in different classes, stages or schools. For example, Cambridge
Primary Checkpoint for English, English as a Second Language, Mathematics, Science and Global
Perspectives all provide a grade or standardised score. Assessments used in this way can be called
summative assessments.

Although many Cambridge Primary subjects have a Cambridge Primary Checkpoint, there is currently no
Cambridge Primary Checkpoint for Computing. This document provides guidance on other ways to assess
Cambridge Primary Digital Literacy.

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Computing 1

Activities that can be used for assessing Computing
It is a common misconception that different activities are used for different types of assessment. Often the
same activities can provide information which you can use for your intended assessment purpose (i.e. to give
information on current learning and to inform next steps, or to summarise achievement over a period of
learning).

When deciding what activities and tasks to use to assess your learners in Cambridge Primary Computing, you
may wish to note the following points:

 Your learners will show what they know, understand and can do in different ways. Some assessments
can be based on what learners write or say in response to questions (for example, in group discussions).
But in Primary Computing some of the most relevant evidence will be what learners demonstrate through
the production of algorithms, programs, representations of data and/or through your observations of them
discussing computer software or hardware.
 Give your learners the opportunity to perform tasks that reflect their age and attainment. The suggested
activities in the schemes of work give suggestions of age-appropriate activities, although you can
substitute these for other activities. Opportunities for assessing Primary Computing include when
learners:
o create algorithms for sets of specific instructions
o create programmes that combine programming constructs
o correct or change algorithms and programs
o explain the differences between input and output, software and hardware
o interact with different datasets to show how they are collected, stored and analysed

 Learners should have experience of creating algorithms and programs for different contexts. They should
also be able to demonstrate the use of different programming constructs and be able to combine these in
their programmed solutions. You can choose how many of these you wish to assess.
 A single piece of work or activity is unlikely to cover all of the learning objectives although it may cover
learning from more than one. Aim to build a more comprehensive representation of learners’ knowledge
by looking at learners’ work and interactions in a range of contexts and through a range of activities.
 Seek to identify whether a learner can consistently achieve a learning objective over a period of time
rather than focusing on a single piece of work.
 It can be very powerful to involve learners in identifying their progress and next steps. In Primary
Computing you can use digital tools, across a range of contexts and media, to record the process a
learner used to improve their knowledge or skills as well as to identify how their knowledge and skills
came together in their final project or other output. As an example, learners can create a portfolio of their
algorithms and programming projects. They can also add comments to their program code to explain their
intentions, achievements, and future goals.

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Computing 2

Recording achievement
We strongly recommend that you agree an approach within your school which means that records are simple,
quick and easy to keep and maintain. Extensive, frequent record keeping can easily distract you from more
important classroom activities.

The learning objectives in the curriculum framework provide a structure against which learners’ knowledge,
understanding and skills development can be checked. One possible approach for checking progress against
the learning objectives is:

Working towards the learning At standard of learning Above standard of learning

objective objective objective

Learners can apply some, but Learners can apply the Learners can apply the
not all, of the knowledge, knowledge, understanding knowledge, understanding and
understanding and/or skills and/or skills described in the skills described in the learning
described in the learning learning objective in some objective in a wide range of
objective in limited contexts contexts, especially familiar contexts, including unfamiliar
only. and simple contexts. and complex contexts.

Learners may demonstrate Learners may start to

some of the knowledge, demonstrate some of the
understanding and/or skills knowledge, understanding
described in the learning and/or skills described in the
objectives for a lower stage. learning objectives for a higher
stage.

A possible method for recording progress based on this approach is described below.

Have a look at this description of a Stage 6 learner:

Safiya wants to demonstrate that she knows the similarities and differences between two robotic
vehicles: a public service taxi and a warehouse floor robot in a distribution company.
She wrote a clear design brief for both vehicles demonstrating her understanding of inputs, wireless
technology, and aesthetic requirements of the vehicle design.
However, she was unable to specify the benefits of the two vehicles compared to machines
controlled by a human operator.

Here is an example with learning objectives from the Managing Data, Networks and Digital
Communication and Computer Systems strands. It records whether this learner is working towards, at, or
above the standard of each learning objective.

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Computing 3

 Managing Data Working towards / At /
Above
6MD.07 Know that data is used to solve problems within a range of industries, Above expected standard
including health, manufacture and retail.

Networks and Digital Communication Working towards / At /

Above
6DC.02 Explain that devices can transfer data wirelessly using radio waves, At expected standard
including wi-fi and cellular networks.

Computer Systems Working towards / At /

Above
6CS.01 Know how to select hardware and software components, while Above expected standard
considering a range of factors such as functionality, cost, speed and aesthetics.
6CS.07 Know that robots can work autonomously. At expected standard
6CS.08 Identify benefits of using robotics in industry, such as car manufacturing Below expected standard
or food production.

Giving feedback to learners

Your records can be used to give feedback to learners. For example, you can discuss with a learner their
progress towards particular learning objectives and what they need to do to improve further. This is particularly
important if your purpose for assessment is to give information about current learning and next steps.

You can find more information on giving feedback in Section 5.5 of the Cambridge Primary Computing
Teacher Guide.

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Computing 4

Reporting results
This section applies to anyone who is responsible for deciding the reporting strategy for their school or subject.

Consider these different styles of reports and their accompanying strengths and weaknesses.

Report 1: a summary statement for the subject

Computing At expected standard.

Report 1 is simple to understand and makes it easy to compare a learner’s attainment between subjects. It is
likely that this style of report will require limited record keeping by teachers. However, there is not enough
information to indicate how an individual learner might make progress.

Report 2: a summary statement for the subject and a comment

Computing At expected standard. Demonstrates good awareness that
computers function using a
combination of hardware and
software, inputs and outputs.

Report 2 is similar to Report 1 but the additional comment lets teachers give some feedback on how to
progress further.

Report 3: a summary statement for each curriculum strand

Computing At expected standard.
Computational Thinking Working towards expected standard.
Programming At expected standard.
Managing Data At expected standard.
Networks and Digital Communication At expected standard.
Computer Systems Above expected standard.

Report 3 is still simple to understand but might require more time for teachers to complete than Reports 1 or 2.
It allows learners, and their parents, to identify strengths and areas for improvement within a subject as well as
compare between subjects.

Report 4: a summary statement for every learning objective (excerpt)

Managing Data
6MD.01 Identify the role of different computing tools At expected standard.
when planning a statistical investigation.
6MD.02 Design an appropriate form to capture Working towards expected
continuous data for a given purpose. standard.
6MD.03 Design a spreadsheet that includes a At expected standard.
combination of features, including cell referencing,
arithmetic operators and functions (SUM, AVERAGE).
6MD.04 Select data that is relevant for a particular Above expected standard.
purpose.
6MD.05 Design and create a single table database, Working towards expected
including data attributes and data types, for a given standard.

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Computing 5

 purpose.
6MD.06 Know how to use phrase searching to find Working towards expected
information in a database. standard.
6MD.07 Know that data is used to solve problems within At expected standard.
a range of industries, including health, manufacture and
retail.

Report 4 is a much more detailed and extensive document as it lists every learning objective. This level of
detail can be confusing for non-specialists to understand (i.e. parents) but can help identify particular areas of
strength and areas for improvement.

You can choose to use different styles of reports at different times of the year. For example, you could use
Report 2 at the end of Terms 1 and 2. Then you could have a fuller report in the style of Report 3 at the end of
the school year.

Whichever type of report you choose to use, it is important that it provides value to learners and parents. It is
also important that it does not take too much time for teachers to produce. Teachers can also get value from
monitoring the progress of a class by identifying areas that their current class needs more time on, and ways
to improve their teaching for future classes.

Copyright © UCLES September 2021 v1

Assessment guidance for Cambridge Primary Computing 6