NPQ Summative Assessments - Finding the Right Voice

The task of looking back over my notes from the most recent NPQ summative assessment marking windows has been an easy one this time round, because there’s one word I kept repeating in my notes, annotations and comments – WHO?

That’s not to say that the vast majority of responses I was marking didn’t pass, but in order to demonstrate the granular detail required for the top marks, specificity is required, so here are my top three tips for how to be precise.

1.      Remember the zombies.

This is an old trick I first remember using for an A-level English Literature class when we needed to distinguish between the active and passive voice.  When writing formally, it can sometimes be tempting to write in the passive voice, because we think it sounds more remote and removed. 

Think about when you receive a notification from a bank, for example – “Your request is being processed.”  That’s the passive voice.  And how can we tell?  Because of the zombies.  If you add the phrase, “by zombies”, after the verb and it makes sense, that’s the passive voice. 

“Your request is being processed by zombies.”  Of course.

Now, it’s good to be formal in your summative assessment, but sometimes the passive voice means you’re not being specific about precisely who will do what and how they will be supported to do so.

For example, if you write, “The behaviour policy should be reviewed”, this also makes sense if you add “by zombies” on the end, so we know it’s in the passive voice.  This might make your assessor wonder who will review it, and how they will know what to look for, because presumably they did their best the first time they wrote the behaviour policy!

A better way might be to say, “The behaviour policy will be reviewed by a focus group of pastoral and curriculum leaders, supported by me, to clarify the behaviours we expect to see in our school.”  That’s the active voice.  No zombies required.

2.      Modal verbs.

This is another throwback to my English teaching days, but it’s worth thinking about the modal verbs you’re choosing in your writing.  Modal verbs are used alongside the main verb to modify the likelihood or possibility of something happening. 

There are nine of them, and I like to think of them existing on a kind of continuum of forcefulness, from least to most:

That’s just the order I think of them, by the way – I don’t think there’s an official continuum!

Modal verbs can really change the tone of your writing.  Consider the difference between the following:

“The behaviour policy should be reviewed.”  (We’ll leave the zombies aside for now.)

““The behaviour policy will be reviewed by a focus group of pastoral and curriculum leaders, supported by me.”

It might be personal preference, but the second version sounds much more assured to me, whereas a “should” or “could” can sound a little bit vague.

3.      Mysterious stakeholders

As with the passive voice, “stakeholders” might be a word that we use to sound formal, but it can also be vague.  If you suggest, for example, that you’re going to do some stakeholder voice for the ‘Explore’ phase of Implementation, my immediate question, again, will be who? 

It’s fine to use the word, but then do go on to explain precisely who you mean – so pupils, parents, staff, governors, the wider community, and so on.

So that’s it from me on how to be detailed, specific and precise.  If you’re looking for some more general guidance on how to approach each section of the summative assessment, have a look at my blog from last April: NPQ Summative Assessment Tips. 

And for some thoughts on how to apply the updated EEF Implementation guidance to your summative assessment, you can have a read of this: Mastering NPQ Summative Assessments

If you feel like you need a bit more help preparing, I can offer support that goes into much more detail on the following topics:

·        Overall approach

·        Features of successful responses for each section

·        Common pitfalls for each section

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If you didn't pass last time and are retaking, I can take a detailed look at your responses and any feedback you’ve been given, and I can then offer tailored support to help you prepare this time and pass.