Powerful new collaboration between Oxford University Press and NFER makes Assessment for Learning more accessible for Primary schools

A unique collaboration between two of the biggest names in educational assessment and literacy will make Assessment for Learning more accessible for primary teachers, using existing resources. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and Oxford University Press (OUP) are delighted to announce two joint assessment initiatives; a supporting website for NFER’s new e-assessment product i-nfer plan, and a new reading assessment product called Oxford Reading Tree Assess and Progress,

i-nfer plan is an innovative and rigorously-trialled product enables teachers to obtain objective evidence of every pupil’s progress through curriculum-based challenges. Once teachers have discovered areas where pupils do need more support, they need to find helpful teaching ideas and resources fast.  OUP has been working with NFER to find ways of giving them that support as easily as possible.  OUP is therefore building a supporting website linked to i-nfer plan profiles which will enable teachers to find relevant resources at the click of a button.

Jon Williamson, Managing Director of i-nfer said: “This is a really powerful tool for teachers to identify quickly which Oxford resources are best suited to help implement each child’s ‘next steps’ feedback from i-nfer plan. Our work with OUP has resulted in a practical and time-saving resource for teachers to use every day.”  

Rod Theodorou, Business Director for OUP Primary said: “Teachers have to work hard every day to take resources from different publishers and make them work together in the classroom.  I think the time is right for publishers to help them in this task, and to do this as a service.  That’s why we will be providing this site absolutely free to i-nfer plan users.”

As we begin to realise the potential of e-assessment and data it can deliver, NFER and OUP also recognise the value of traditional book-based assessments.  That’s why they have worked together to produce their second initiative; Oxford Reading Tree Assess and Progress.  Assess and Progress delivers a powerful reading assessment toolkit that both helps teachers identify children’s reading level and what they need to do to make progress. Designed for ages 4-7 and including a range of benchmark books for Oxford Reading Tree Stages 1-11 (Book Bands Pink to Lime), Assess and Progress is carefully matched to National Curriculum levels, Assessing Pupils' Progress and Assessment for Learning. Unique Reading Assessments for every benchmark book help teachers find evidence to support their judgements of children's reading levels and next steps activities ensure they make the expected progress for their age.

Rod Theodorou and Jon Williamson agreed: “NFER and OUP look forward to developing further resources as we share the common aim to give teachers more time to concentrate on using their professional skills to improve children’s attainment.  Our two companies have a long history of producing high-quality resources and assessments for schools.  By working together we believe we can help teachers make the magic link between assessment and instruction.”

Please visit the Oxford Ideas website for more information.