High Standards & High Expectations
Date reviewed by Governors: January 2014
INTRODUCTION
This is a whole school policy which sets out the principles and practice of assessment, recording and reporting. It outlines the rationale and responsibilities for assessment, and gives guidance for those whose task it is to professionally interpret and implement the policy.
1.Aims:
-To provide a clear, comprehensive, and rational policy which will support high standards and high expectations inlearning and achievement for every child
-To provide an assessment package which includes and integrates marking, assessment, target-setting, recording, student tracking and reporting, and which complements the teaching and learning process so that it is manageable
- To provide a policy which is owned and understood by all
2.Purpose of Assessment:
There is one overriding purpose to assessment: to support students in their learning:
-To enable students to make progress in their learning
-To provide effective feedback to students to enable further learning
-To prompt appropriate and timely interventions
- To enable teachers to judge the effectiveness of teaching methods, materials,
programmes of study, and schemes of work
- To narrow the gap between what is ‘taught’ and what is ‘learned’
-To track the progress of individual students
-To track the progress of groups of students
-To inform students, teachers, and parents
-To provide a basis for discussing and agreeing next steps
-To identify areas of the curriculum which need supporting and strengthening
-To compare the attainment of individual and groups of students with similar students in similar curriculum areas and similar schools
-To ensure that all students receive the appropriate levels of support and challenge.
3. Principles of Assessment
Assessment and reporting should:
-Be constructive, encouraging and, wherever possible, a positive experience for all
students
-Be made against known and understood criteria
- Be an integral part of the teaching and learning process, a valuable formative and
summative tool
-Aid progression in learning so that an effective learning programme will build on past achievements and set realistic and challenging targets for the future. This means that all teachers must have access to records of assessment so that progression continues from class to class and school to school
-Be carried out on a continuous basis with teachers observing the ways in which students work; asking questions to determine levels and identify difficulties; using further questions to direct students through tasks
-Provide opportunities for all students to make assessments of their own achievements and overall progress to aid their progression towards becoming mature, independent learners
-Help raise self-awareness, support future learning and, thereby, contribute towards raising self-esteem and self-image in order that students might grow in confidence and develop as adults
-Vary according to the skills or concepts taught in each area of the curriculum and on the type of learning process involved
-Contribute to a student’s progress file, which informs students, parents, employers, institutes of higher and further education and assists student entry to careers, training courses and other opportunities
-Regularly include peer and group assessment as valuable forms of assessment and
learning
The complete package will provide
a)essential lesson-based feedback to students and teachers about progress in
lessons (AfL)
b)statements, levels or grades reflecting current attainment
c)a centrally accessible record of progress
d)indicators of good achievement and underachievement
e)information on teachers’ evaluations of students’ behaviour, effort, homework and
general progress
f)individual targets with guidance related to achieving these
4. Entitlements
4.1 Students have an entitlement to an assessment process which:
-accurately tracks their progress
-raises expectations and celebrates a range of achievements
-actively involves them in review and target-setting based on clear, shared criteria
-regularly provides them with constructive, student-friendly feedback about their work
-provides opportunities for dialogue between student and teacher
4.2 Teachers have an entitlement to assessment, recording and reporting procedures
which:
-are based on clear, shared criteria
-are manageable, sustainable, consistent, useful and non-duplicating
-support quality teaching and learning
-yield reliable and valid assessments
-provide valuable feedback on which to base future planning
4.3 Parents / guardians have an entitlement to assessment and reporting practice
which:
-provides the opportunity to see each subject teacher at least once a year
-includes honest, accurate and clear assessments
-highlights their child’s success, progress and capability
-regularly appraises their child’s performance and work
-sets realistic but aspirational targets
-provides them with information enabling them to review and discuss their child’s progress and achievements across the curriculum
-affords opportunities to become more involved in the learning process and to help their children to meet learning targets
-gives parents an opportunity to provide comments for staff
- is easily available from the school
- MARKING:
5.1 The purpose of marking:
-to provide feedback to students to help them progress
-to assess students’ level of achievement (NC Levels, GCSE grades etc…)
-to inform teachers when evaluating the effectiveness of teaching and learning
-to show students where they have made errors, what the errors are, and how such errors can be avoided in the future
-to provide clear suggestions and advice for improvement
-to set targets for improvement
-to provide encouragement and recognition of effort
-to give status to the work undertaken
- a standard mark stamp will be used to provide a consistent approach for all teachers.
-a standard set of mark codes should be used.
(see Appendix 3)
5.2.How and what we mark:
-most student work will be marked
-quality marking far outweighs quantity marking
-marking in the presence of the student can be both powerful and efficient
-work at KS3 and KS4 will be marked using an Effort Grade, A to D, and a
Progress Score, 1 to 4
-schemes of work will have identifiable assessment points built into them
-a number of these assessment points will be key pieces of work or substantial tests and these should be marked and attributed with a National Curriculum subdivided level at KS3 and a GCSE grade (or other relevant grade) at KS4
plus Effort and Progress grades. These will make a major contribution to the
performancegrades and levels recorded periodically
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-differentiated assessment criteria for these identified assessment points will be made available to students
-Faculties must make it clear to students which the “key pieces of work” mentioned above are, and how they will be assessed
-The number of key pieces of work will reflect the amount of curriculum time, the nature of the subject, and the programme of study
- Where marking is in fact just a cursory check by the teacher to ensure that a piece of work has been completed, then the teacher must make this clear to the student and simply initial the piece of work and add a comment if necessary
5.3Consistency:
-The use of A to D for Effort and 1 to 4 for Progress must be used across the curriculum so that it becomes clearly understood and meaningful to every student
-Where it is appropriate or necessary to give a numerical mark (a mark out of ten for example) this should be given alongside the A-D/1-4.
-The following needs to be clearly understood by all students, teachers and parents:
EFFORT:
AExcellent – “You are hard-working and well-motivated.”
BGood – “Keep up the effort, you are succeeding.”
C Concern – “You need to increase your efforts and be consistent.”
DSerious Concern – “You are showing little interest in your work.”
PROGRESS(Based on the end of Key Stage target for the individual student)For each piece of work assessed
1Excellent – “Better progress than expected – Be proud of yourself.”
2Good – “Good progress. You are working at the right level. Well done.”
3Concern – “You are making some progress, but you should be doing
better.”
4 Serious concern – “You are not making progress.”
All descriptors taken from the student frame: ‘Your Grades Explained’ (Appendix 1)
It is expected that at KS3 teachers will award a NC (Level (2 – 8). At KS4 a GCSE grade (A* - U) or a vocational education level is required (Pass, Level 2 Pass, Level 2 Merit or Level 2 Distinction or *Distinction)
Grade equivalents:
A* = Level 2*- Distinction
A = Level 2 - Distinction
B = Level 2 . Merit
C = Level 2 - Pass
E = Level 1 - Pass
All marked work must also include a comment relating to what worked well (WWW) and even better if…… (EBI). So that students are given clear next steps advice. Teachers should also follow the “literacy” guide to correcting students work contained in Appendix 3
6.OTHER FORMS OF ASSESSMENT
There will be occasions when traditional written assessment by teachers is not suitable, possible, or appropriate. It is the responsibility of each faculty to identify alternative forms of assessment in their programmes of study. Formative assessment practices such as peer and self-assessment should support and complement the assessment made by teachers. Alternative forms of assessment should still have as their main purpose the raising of student achievement.
7.ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
It is accepted good educational practice to involve students in assessment. An essential element of student involvement is through the use of clearly understood assessment objectives. This means that:
7.1 Students should know and understand:
-what the learning objectives for individual lessons are
-what the assessment objectives are for a piece of work
-how the work is to be assessed
-what they need to do in order to meet the assessment objectives
7.2 Teachers should:
-highlight lesson learning objectives
-share assessment objectives for work so that all students understand what they need to do in order to make progress
-refer to assessment objectives when feeding back to students
-differentiate objectives according to students’ needs and abilities.
8.RECORDING AND REPORTING
8.1 The purpose of recording and reporting:
-to build a formative picture of a student’s progress
-to provide information for students so that they can review their own progress
-to track student progress and to identify areas of concern
-to provide evidence for:
writing reports
communicating with parents
placement in suitable teaching set
examination entry level
8.2 Student recording:
- students should be encouraged to participate in the recording process
-faculties should encourage students to keep their own record of marks and grades
- planners provide opportunities for students to record their own marks and grades in
the achievement section
- shared assessment records should be considered (teacher and student self-
assessment)
-students will be included in reviewing their own progress and awarding their own grades for subject performance as part of their academic tutoring within PSHE.
8.3 Teacher recording will be through Sims.net with appropriate assessments made for central tracking and reporting.
(Sims AM7 – ‘Focus-Assessment-Marksheet Entry – My Marksheets.’ Marksheets may also be accessed remotely via Somerset Learning Platform.)
-the grades entered for termly reporting purposes should reflect the students’ overall attainment and not be limited to one particular assessment period or focus
-final responsibility for each student’s assessment and progress grades available
for central access and reporting lies with the subject teacher, even in cases
where thestudent may be temporarily out of lessons. In such circumstances
communication between relevant staff is essential so that every student on roll is
accounted for in all areas of the timetable. In summary, if a student is enrolled to
a particular class on the timetable then the class teacher is obliged to ensure that
appropriate assessment information is gathered for recording and reporting to be
completed
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8.4 Learning Support (SEN and referred students)
- where necessary students in KS3 working below NC levels will be assessed using the p-scales with central reports recording a ‘B’ but with progress indicators and comments providing extra detail. In these circumstances the FLC manager or SENCO will advise on whether a customised report home is more appropriate to the individual concerned
-grades reflecting work and progress during a period of withdrawal from ‘normal’ timetable for learning support may be awarded by the Learning Support teacher and passed on to the timetabled subject teacher for school reporting purposes but it is essential that appropriate assessment procedures and materials are agreed between subject departments and FLC Learning Support
-procedures for disapplication must be completed for students if there is sufficient reason for the student not to be assessed in a particular are of the National Curriculum. All applications must be known to staff and parents with appropriate amendments to individual timetables made
9.Target-Setting:
9.1 All teachers have a role to play in the target-setting process. Target-setting is
integral to our assessment, recording and reporting practice.
9.2 Targets are reported home so that parents and students are able to reference
progress
against 3 measures – potential grade, present grade and predicted grade.
-Present: what a student would get today (based on current performance)
-Potential: what a student would get on the best of all days. (based on FFTD est, KS2 scores, CATs etc & the teacher's knowledge of the student)set by subject teachers & moderated by CTL
-Predicted: what I think they will get as a professional. (based on the teacher'sbest professional estimate of the final grade awarded- within 5% accuracy)
9.3Targets are personalised in terms of being aspirational and achievable for every student provided their behaviour, effort, homework and overall progress are in line with ‘good’ grades (BBB2 or above) i.e the standard expected in a ‘high standards, high expectations’ school
9.4Reports home colour-code highlights the importance of predicted grades.
9.5 Target-setting for end of KS3 levels and end of KS4 accreditation grades takes place in Years 7 and 10 with reference to prior attainment data, FFT estimates, CATs and an ambition to ensure that all students are challenged to make a minimum of “three levels’ progress between KS2 and KS4” and for as many as possible to exceed this
9.6 Students joining the school mid- key stage are set targets as soon as the teacher responsible is able to gather information for a reliable assessment. Admin staff will where possible ensure that appropriate information is collected from previous schools.
9.7 National Curriculum sub-divided levels are as follows:
LEVEL+
c working and achieving just within this level
b working and achieving solidly within this level
a working and achieving confidently at the top end of this level and towards the
next level
c = .0 to 0.3 b = 0.4 to 0.6 a = 0.7 to 0.9 on a decimalised scale of levels
9.8 GCSEs have targets and assessment grades as whole grades: A to U sub levels will be used – for example C1, C2, C3,
C1 = secure C with potential for a B
C2 = secure C
C3= insecure C, and likely to secure a D.
9.9 BTec and OCR Nationals have targets and assessment grades as Pass, Merit or Distinction and with reference to the appropriate size of accreditation
9.10 All other qualifications will report grades appropriate to their accreditation and
reports will be developed to accommodate so that these are as inclusive and
complete as possible
10.Responsibilities:
10.1All teachers:
-support the whole school assessment policy
-play a central part in ensuring that subject area assessments are completed
- ensure that their own marking, standardisation and moderation skills are of a high standard in terms of reliability and consistency
- maintain a centrally accessible record of assessments for tracking and reporting purposes
- communicate any assessment and progress issues relating to individual students effectively to colleagues so that appropriate responses can be made to support good learning
10.2Subject Leaders:
-develop subject assessment frameworks and systems which support whole school assessment policy
-monitor staff and ensure that assessment data is available
- contribute to the school’s efforts to ensure that appropriate intervention and personalisation work takes place to support learning progress for every student
- arrange appropriate monitoring of marking and assessment including work-scrutiny, standardisation and moderation procedures for all staff
-maintain effectively designed marksheets for subject purposes
-ensure consistency and quality in assessment within the faculty
- ensure that there is appropriate monitoring of the progress of individual students and groups of students within the subject area with appropriate comparisons to progress made elsewhere in school, across county and nationally
-help to arrange appropriate development and training of staff to ensure that appropriate skills are developed
-report any problems
Tutors
-maintain an overview of individual and tutor group performance in terms of prior attainment, targets, progress and achievement
- engage fully in ‘Academic Tutorials’ for students
- develop an awareness of individual students and advise colleagues appropriately on matters likely to affect performance
- support and challenge students effectively with regard to their work and behaviour across the school
- promote student self-review processes through PSHE
- advise HoY of noteworthy achievements in and out of school
- advise HoY of significant concerns likely to undermine progress and
achievement
- monitor and support any student’s involvement in personalised programmes
of support or other intervention designed to enhance learning progress
Year Heads
-maintain an overview of Year Group performance profile, progress and
attainment
-develop an awareness of individual student progress and monitor performance / intervention to support the achievement of cohort targets
- maintain an overview of the performance of groups within the cohort, including SEN, CIC, FSM, EAL and gender groups
- celebrate achievement and support intervention strategies
-provide pastoral data for student tracking
-monitor and support tutors in their work with students ensuring that appropriate review and tutorial time is utilised effectively
- monitor tutors to ensure that pastoral records are up-to-date and accurate