Technology Department – Policy & approaches to marking

Fundamental principle behind marking – to have a positive impact on pupil attainment, in a meaningful, manageable and motivating way.

Aspect of Marking / Questions and discussion points
Grading / KS3 (years 7&8 now, 7, 89 from sept 2017) feedback given on marked work will be formative comments directly related to the mastery statements whenever possible, grades will be provided for tests and other pieces of work that are identified as summative assessment.
KS4 Work will be assessed against Exam board criteria – which is readily available to pupils. Feedback will be in the form of comments and questions aimed at moving the pupil forward. Tests and past papers will be graded, and where possible some form of Question Level Analysis will be provided to allow learners to identify topics where they underperformed.
Corrections / Mistakes and errors should not be corrected, simply identified and learners given time to reflect and amend answers.
SPAG errors marked in line with school literacy policy.
Common errors or areas of weakness or misunderstanding will be addressed by class teachers with appropriate strategies.
Thoroughness / All pupils will receive regular feedback, based on timetable footprint and teaching intervals. The hypothesis for our marking practice is a move towards “marking less, but marking better”. Marking of homework / classwork with simple ticks should be avoided. Common pieces of work can be identified on SoL and will allow for all teachers to mark the same pieces of work, providing scope for moderation and developing best practice within the department.
Pupil Responses / Pieces of formally assessed work are to be identified on SoL, assessed by teachers and a mechanism of pupils responding is to be put in place. For example first submission of a draft, with the expectation that pupils will use feedback from marking to make improvements and re-submit at a later date. Homework tasks can be to interact with marking and respond with a written comment, or class based activities can be devised to check pupil’s understanding of the feedback they have received.
Where exam board assessment rules allow, feedback is used to improve work before resubmission.
Creating a Dialogue / Avoid Triple marking, or “deep marking” – no evidence to say that the learners will then engage with the feedback from teachers on the feedback from pupils, that was about the original feedback from a teacher. Desire here is to see how pupils have harnessed / reacted to the feedback to improve their work/knowledge or understanding. Verbal dialogue with pupils in class time will prompt them to use the feedback, whilst also allowing teachers to gauge if they understood the feedback.
Targets / Targets will be directly related to assessment criteria for the relevant Key Stage, either mastery statements or exam board criteria (Both are explicitly shared with learners). They will be the questions and comments provided by the teacher that when actioned by the learner allow an improvement to be observed. i.e. – they are able to access a higher mark, or secure a mastery statement. These can be worked on by pupils over time, in class work, coursework or set explicitly as a homework activity.
Frequency and Speed / Formative and summative assessment opportunities identified on SoL, to ensure consistency across subject / department. This also allows for a sensible interval for each year group, unit and course to be identified. Verbal feedback used as a particular focus in learning walks and formative lesson observations, helping to avoid creating unnecessary evidence.

Sources:

Eliminating unnecessary workload around marking – March 2016
A marked improvement? - A review of the evidence on written marking – April 2016
Meaningful, Manageable, Motivating Marking – Teacher Toolkit - April 2016
Ofsted School inspection Handbook- September 2015