The Donaldson Report: A Successful Future for Assessment? – Part 1 of 3

​When the Minister for Education and Skills, Huw Lewis, addressed the Welsh Assembly at a Plenary on 29th January 2014, he spoke of the soon-to-be-published curriculum review as the ‘most significant curriculum reform Wales has ever seen’. After publication he told AMs it marked ‘the doing away with the national curriculum of 1988 and the rewriting from the ground floor up of an entirely new curriculum with a different philosophy behind it’.

This is the first in a series of three posts that explore the philosophy behind some of the curriculum reform proposals, in particular those relating to assessment. In this post we begin by summarising the core proposals of the Donaldson report, before considering the relationship between assessment and pedagogy.

Successful Futures: A Summary

In March 2014 the DfES announced a thoroughgoing review of Welsh curriculum provision. Less than a year later in February 2015 the review team, led by Professor Graham Donaldson, published Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales. The final report was radical and wide-ranging in scope, containing 68 recommendations for curriculum and assessment reform. The proposals were well-received by the education establishment and the profession alike, as reflected in feedback from the subsequent ‘Great Debate’ consultation. The DfES formally accepted Donaldson’s proposals in full and set out plans for implementation in their education strategy document, A Curriculum for Wales, A Curriculum for Life, published in October 2015.

Professor Donaldson’s call for evidence received over 700 responses which, coupled with disappointing PISA results and the 2014 OECD report on Welsh education, led him to conclude that ‘the current national curriculum and assessment arrangements no longer meet the needs of the children and young people of Wales’. To address this situation the report proposed that a new curriculum be built from the ground up with the help of practitioners, signalling a full-scale departure from the National Curriculum of 1988 which had become ‘overloaded, complicated and, in parts, outdated’.

Donaldson has proposed that the new curriculum be developed based on four core purposes, namely that children and young people develop as:

• ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives; 
• enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work; 
• ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world; 
• healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

Donaldson observed how the differing philosophies and approaches that characterised the Foundation Phase and Key Stages have led to problematic transitions that hindered progression. Consequently, he calls for 'a continuum of learning from 3 to 16 without phases and key stages'.

Structurally, the new curriculum is to be comprised of six ‘Areas of Learning and Experience’: Expressive arts; Health and well-being; Humanities; Languages, literacy and communication; Mathematics and numeracy; and Science and technology. These will be underpinned by three ‘Cross-Curriculum Responsibilities’: Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Competence. Donaldson has submitted that Digital Competence ought to be given the same weight as Literacy and Numeracy. This is an encouraging advance on the recommendations of the ICT Steering Group’s 2013 report to Welsh Government that Computing be given ‘core’ status as a ‘fourth science’, given its relationship to the other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines and in light of the emerging vocational landscape.

A Mandate for Assessment Reform

Of the 68 recommendations put forward by Donaldson, 19 deal with assessment. The report acknowledges the need for substantial reform in this area, citing ‘[dissatisfaction] with current assessment arrangements’ as ‘one of the strongest messages’ received from the call for evidence. The ‘continuum of learning’ outlined in Successful Futures is set to replace the current system of Outcomes and Levels with ‘Progression Steps’, which will relate ‘broadly to expectations at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16’. Donaldson questions both the reliability and the validity of the current ‘best-fit’ approach to assessment using levels, which he contends can only provide limited information about pupils’ achievement at best. ‘Progression Steps’ on the other hand, are to provide more of a ‘road map’ for children’s learning, as opposed to being ‘universal expectations of the performance of all children and young people at fixed points’. Each Progression Step will contain ‘Achievement Outcomes’ that reflect the four curriculum purposes and pupils’ achievement in a broader sense than simply measuring attainment. They will be written from the child’s point of view, using an ‘I can…’ or ‘I have…’ construction, and in language they can understand. Encouraging pupils to engage in self-assessment is a key aspect of Donaldson’s proposals – the impact of this approach is commended by a recent OECD review of assessment practice, as enabling pupils to become ‘self-directed learners’.

Assessment meets Pedagogy

Successful Futures makes clear the integral relationship between pedagogy and assessment, stating that ‘[assessment for learning] is as relevant to good teaching and learning as it is to assessment’. This connection between what schools teach and how they assess is explored by Daisy Christodoulou in her recent book Making Good Progress? The future of Assessment for Learning. Christodoulou argues that the effectiveness of assessment for learning hinges on whether a ‘generic-skill’ or a ‘deliberate-practice’ method of teaching is adopted. The former is based on the principle that skills are transferable and can be taught directly, whereas Christodoulou advocates the latter, asserting that skills need to be broken down and the component parts taught without necessarily referencing the targeted skill. Conversely, cognitive scientist Guy Claxton has been a long-stranding proponent of a skills-based method called ‘Building Learning Power’. Claxton contends that teaching should be about exercising pupils’ ‘mental muscle groups’. Consequently, according to Claxton the curriculum should provide a ‘comprehensive mental exercise regime’ that cultivates the capacities necessary to acquire the ‘generic ability to learn’.

Christodoulou and Claxton present two nuanced, contrasting examples of current education theory – but they also represent a decades-long, often-polarised debate as to whether the curriculum should focus on teaching pupils knowledge or skills. Donaldson considers this a false dichotomy and attempts to chart a middle way in Successful Futures:

The ‘subject against skill/competence’ debate represents an unhelpful polarisation, since both make important contributions to fulfilling the purposes of the curriculum. The structure of the curriculum should therefore ensure that the vital contribution of disciplinary learning is preserved but is supplemented by other aspects that relate directly to the needs of today and provide sound preparation for the challenges of tomorrow.

​Nevertheless, Donaldson’s proposal that the curriculum be organised into AoLEs has inevitably drawn comparisons to the structure of the current Foundation Phase, which is based on pedagogical principles aimed at facilitating exploratory learning more so than direct instruction. However, principles 3 and 4 of Donaldson’s own 12 PPs underscore his determination to pursue a both/and approach:

3)  Good teaching and learning means employing a blend of approaches including direct teaching
4)  Good teaching and learning means employing a blend of approaches including those that promote problem solving, creative and critical thinking

​Again, Donaldson is keen that what are often branded as ‘traditional’ teaching methods (or ‘direct teaching’) should not be excluded by the incorporation of ‘discovery learning or constructivism’. This striving for a more balanced approach is refreshing, although the question as to whether it can be effectively implemented in practice remains. For example, in his recent overview of Welsh education policy Philip Dixon summarises the views of Donaldson’s more cynical critics as ‘worried [that the report] had been a bit too much ‘all things to all men’.
 
A programme of implementation that devolves the responsibility for writing a curriculum to such a broad and diverse network of stakeholders raises many strategic questions. Crucially, how can a tendency toward the silo mentality be avoided? Can a unified reform agenda be realised when so much rests on interpretation of indeterminate proposals? Let’s hope Donaldson’s continuing strategic involvement as chair of the Independent Advisory Group will ensure the development process stays true to his original vision.

In our next post we will explore the emphasis Donaldson places on formative assessment, and the implications of his proposals for teacher assessment practices and accountability.