Recognising achievement and assessment
What do we mean by achievement?
Everyone knows the importance of getting formal qualifications at school – but young people are involved in a wide range of activities and have other important achievements that many never hear about. Through activities such as:
- youth work
- volunteering
- part-time employment
- hobbies and interests
- projects that they undertake across the curriculum and their participation in the life of the school
- helping care for a relative at home.
Young people are developing important skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work, that can be of real value to them as they grow up and when it comes to getting a job or going to college or university.
We want to make sure that young people get full recognition for all their achievements – not just their exam results.
Why do we need to recognise achievement?
Giving greater recognition to achievements that are important to them can increase young people’s self-esteem, improve their motivation and keep them interested in learning. The process of recognising achievement is valuable in encouraging young people to reflect on their learning. It can help them talk about their learning and achievements in interviews with adults in the school or community, colleges or higher education, or potential employers.
Recognising achievement, however, shouldn’t be a “tick-box” exercise involving lists of activities, but should focus on helping young people to understand the skills they have developed through these activities and enable them to better describe to others how they can demonstrate and build on those skills. It must have credibility with young people, their parents, employers, universities and colleges.
Curriculum for Excellence: Building the Curriculum 3 – A Framework for learning and teaching emphasises the importance of providing opportunities for personal achievement, stating
Personal achievement provides children and young people with a sense of satisfaction and helps to build motivation, resilience and confidence. All establishments need to plan to offer opportunities for achievement and to provide the support and encouragement which will enable young people to step forward to undertake activities which they find challenging. This is one of the key areas where schools need to work closely with voluntary youth organisations…
The document also goes on to emphasise the importance of recognising personal achievements and provides three reflective questions for practitioners to consider:
- How can you build on your practice in personal learning planning to support young people in evaluating their development in terms of skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work?
- A summary of personal achievement should be supported and informed by a variety of partners. How could you develop partnership working to build a shared picture of achievement particularly in literacy and numeracy?
- How could you ensure that frameworks for recognising personal achievements motivate and support all young people?
So what exactly are we doing about this?
Many education authorities, schools, colleges and other education providers across Scotland are already recognising their pupils’ achievements in a range of ways – for example through the use of certificates, school notice boards, on-line portfolios, awards ceremonies etc. Many are looking to develop an approach to this. We want to build on this.
As part of the wider Curriculum for Excellence programme, the Scottish Government, in partnership with Learning and Teaching Scotland, local authorities and other key partners, is looking at how to support local authorities, schools and other education providers in recognising achievement.
Alongside this, the Scottish Government and LTS are also taking forward work to promote and develop partnerships between schools and youth work and ensure that the wider youth sector are able to contribute fully to the development and delivery of Curriculum for Excellence. Youth work can provide young people with a wide range of opportunities to develop skills, contribute as active citizens and gain valuable personal achievements outside the classroom. The PDF document Amazing Things – A guide to youth awards in Scotland, was published on 25 July 2008. This document is an essential guide to the various youth award schemes in Scotland and will be an invaluable tool for schools and other establishments in planning opportunities for young people’s achievement.