ASSESSMENT, RECORDING AND REPORTING POLICY
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September 2016
Contents
1. Rationale 3
2. Tiering 4
3. Types of assessment 5
4. Other information 6
5. Teacher assessment data 6
6. Formative assessment – marking & written feedback 7
7. Homework 9
8. Code of presentation for handwritten work 10
9. Code of presentation for ICT-produced work 10
10. Reporting to parents 11
11. Progress Evenings 13
APPENDIX 1 14
APPENDIX 2 16
APPENDIX 3 17
APPENDIX 4 18
APPENDIX 5 20
APPENDIX 6 21
APPENDIX 7 22
APPENDIX 8 23
APPENDIX 9 24
APPENDIX 10 25
1. Rationale
Moving away from the use of National Curriculum levels, we will be adopting an assessment system that follows student progress across the curriculum.
The purpose of assessment is to support learning and teaching and ensure students make at least expected progress, in line with their ability, from KS2 to 4.
Assessment should:
· be based on developing the key knowledge, skills and understanding required for success in the new KS4 and KS5 curriculum.
· encourage and motivate students to achieve their full potential by setting them challenging and achievable targets.
· engender in students a sense of responsibility for their own learning through shared assessment practice and criteria.
· support the learning of every child by ensuring equality of academic opportunity through identification of, and provision for, students in specific groups e.g. students in receipt of pupil premium, those with a special educational need and those who arrived in school in Year 7 with KS2 results of below a scaled score of 100.
· inform teachers’ planning and enable them to effectively differentiate and challenge all students.
· enable teachers and students to gauge progress made in lessons, how far learning objectives have been met, diagnose strengths and areas for improvement, and enable future learning to be planned.
· is based heavily upon formative feedback and subsequent student response which allows all to succeed – and so develops growth mindset.
· incorporates periodic summative assessment to support ongoing formative feedback and prepare effectively for terminal linear examinations.
· provide colleagues, students and parents with reliable information to monitor progress towards end of Key Stage targets.
2. Tiering
The philosophy of target setting must be taken as a small part of a much wider AfL, personalisation and achievement agenda. The aim is to support our students in understanding their own development and progress, encouraging them to set high standards for their achievements and to ensure that all students progress and maximise their potential.
Individual Student Tiers:
Each student's KS2 prior attainment will form the basis for assigning them to a tier which represents the level of attainment by that student from KS2 to KS4 if they were to make expected progress. So a student assigned to tier 5 is expected to reach a numerate of a 5 by the end of Y11. (Appendix 1).
Students have KS2 start point data based on formal assessments at the end of Year 6 and an average of these is calculated to inform a Year 7 student’s tier. The allocation of a tier to Years 8 – 10 is based on attainment 8 estimates for KS2 fine levels and is aspirational building in value added. (Appendix 2).
Year 11 students’ target grades are based on a minimum of 3 levels of progress except for in English and maths where their target is a numerate between 9-1. (Appendix 3)
Targets should be reviewed regularly as part of an ongoing AfL dialogue. Targets will be communicated with the students from KS4 and may be increased to reflect the progress made over KS3 and appropriately challenge the students.
Whole School Targets:
Whole school targets are set for KS4 and KS5 based on the current accountability measures. These are set and agreed with governors.
3. Types of assessment
Assessment may be:
Diagnostic - establishing the strengths and areas for improvement of individual students, at the start of a course of study, to maximise potential and reduce difficulties, and thereafter to identify problems.
(a) Summative – Assessment of Learning – providing information on a student’s attainment, usually at key points in a course of study and at the end, against recognised criteria.
(b) Formative – Assessment for Learning – The process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.
Diagnostic assessment – Class Learning Accounts (CLA)
Class Learning Accounts consist of columns of data which together provide teachers with a comprehensive profile of students in their class for effective planning purposes, and are accessible from the school’s management information system (SIMS.net). (Appendix 4). Class Learning Accounts contain the following information:
· KS2 scaled scores for reading, GPVS, maths and TA writing assessments for Year 7 from September 2016
· End of year progress reached in the previous academic year.
· Tier to be achieved at the end of Year 11 or course.
· End of Key Stage 4 estimated grades from the Fischer Family Trust (FFT 25) which is provided for Year 11.
· Teacher assessments as they are submitted to SIMS.net throughout the year.
4. Other information
Within the first month of the academic year, Year 7 students take a STAR Reading Age Test, as part of the Accelerated reader programme. Results from these tests are available by October half term. These tests are then repeated termly until the end of Year 9. Where necessary, the reading age tests will continue into Year 10 & 11 as part of the literacy support programme. The information from these tests is recorded on Class Learning Accounts.
The school uses SISRA (a diagnostic data analysing tool) which all staff will access to support Teaching and Learning. After each assessment input cycle data will be transferred to SISRA by the Data Manager to enable staff to track and monitor the progress of individuals or groups of students.
Assessment cycle
The school assessment cycle comprises six cycles, each of approximately six weeks duration. These are referred to as the Autumn 1, Autumn 2, Spring 3, Spring 4, Summer 5 and Summer 6 cycles. At the end of each cycle, teachers submit assessment data into SIMS.net.
5. Teacher assessment data
At the end of each six-week cycle, teachers submit a cumulative teacher assessment for Years 7-10, for Year 11 English and maths a numerate between 9-1 and all other subjects a grade between A*-G or D*-P to SIMS.net for each student. Student work or performance must therefore be evaluated against curriculum descriptors developed within departments which are linked to the national curriculum and examination specifications. This supports Assessment for Learning by enabling students to establish the link between their performance and the teacher assessment. (Appendices 5 & 6).
From the Summer 6 assessment point in Year 10 through to the end of Year 11 and Year 13, teachers will be asked to make teacher forecasts. These are the numerates / grades that students are most likely to obtain at the end of the course based on cumulative assessment evidence, work ethic and completion rates gathered up to the point of reporting. This will enable departmental and whole school intervention to be planned. As the end of the course approaches, teacher forecasts are expected to become increasingly accurate and be in line with actual results.
A split-grade levelling system is used to indicate closeness to adjacent grades, so that, for example:-
· C1 = A secure grade C close to a grade B
· C2 = A grade C
· C3 = A grade C, but borderline and close to a grade D
Teachers will use data to identify the higher and lower ability students in a cohort/group/class, differentiate and personalise learning to meet individual needs. This information should be shared with students and parents, in appropriate ways, to support the communication of progress.
By October half term, up to date stickers should be displayed on student files/books and updated after each assessment cycle.
6. Formative assessment – marking & written feedback
Ongoing marking
(i) It is not possible or desirable to mark in detail every piece of work produced by every student.
(ii) All teacher marking should be in red whereas self and peer assessment and students’ responses to literacy errors and teacher progress comments in green.
(iii) Students’ books/folders/portfolios, however, should be marked at least once every two weeks. This should be less or more frequent depending upon the proportion of curriculum time for some subjects and the qualification (Appendix 7).
(iv) Written feedback should be regular, written in a way that students will understand and of a consistently high quality with individual targeted support, which is revisited and rechecked.
(v) Written feedback should be focused on the learning objectives and planned learning outcomes of the lessons so that students can see the immediate relevance of comments.
(vi) Feedback, whether written or oral, should relate to assessment criteria or key skills. Clear guidance should explain to students how to improve their level of attainment. Teachers should use comments, annotations or marks which are line with their departmental marking policy.
(vii) High quality written feedback should be an integral part of supporting students’ underperformance and helping them to identify how to improve.
(viii) There should be clear evidence of students’ responses to feedback in green. These responses should be purposeful and indicate progress.
(ix) Self and peer assessment should be used as a feedback method, identifiable as green pen marking, to develop independence and evaluative skills.
(x) Marking for literacy should be present and identifiable through the use of red pen marking and its annotations should be in line with the literacy checklists. Students’ corrections should be in green.
(xi) Feedback should recognise effort and achievement.
(xii) Good work and effort should be rewarded through the school’s Behaviour for Learning Policy.
Detailed marking
(xiii) The school follows a CPR policy for marking. Key pieces of work must be identified in each assessment cycle for detailed marking to take place which provides summative evidence for deriving teacher assessments. At KS5 and 4, feedback to key pieces of work should relate to course-related criteria. At KS3, department descriptors should be used.
Vocational courses
It is understood that for portfolio-based courses the balance between ongoing and detailed marking which best promotes excellent progress for students will be implemented.
7. Homework
All homework completed by students must be checked, discussed or marked in a manner that validates students’ efforts for completing it and is able to feedback effectively how successful they have been (Homework timetables for each year group are distributed at the beginning of every year indicating the frequency by which homework should be set).
An extended assignment which effectively develops students’ skills as independent learners broadens the curriculum and offers opportunities for students to learn further could act as one key piece of work for detailed marking.
Examples of good practice which support formative assessment
1. Sharing curriculum plans with students which are referred to regularly throughout a course (KS4/5 normally).
2. Providing students with self-review sheets which are used at the start of a unit of work/project/cycle, are used by students and referred to regularly.
3. Sharing learning objectives and success criteria to provide context to the lesson and a focus through which feedback, self-assessment and evaluation of progress in the lesson can take place.
4. Modelling exemplar work with students, so they know what to aim for, and providing ongoing feedback during a task/project with reference to it (supports visual learners)
5. Self- and Peer-assessment: students mark their own or each other’s work against criteria in green which is made accessible and tailored to the task.
6. Students writing brief notes on how to do better next time after they receive oral feedback
7. Students responding to written feedback at the start of a lesson referred to as DIRT.
8. Communicating to students, at the beginning of a cycle, the key pieces of work which will be used for detailed marking and feedback which will also influence teacher assessments.
9. Informing students of their teacher assessments submitted to SIMS. Whilst reminding/reinforcing how they were derived.
10. Recording progress in planners and exercise-book stickers which aids recall, self-reflection and supports learning conversations with different members of staff.
8. Code of presentation for handwritten work
The following aims to reduce the number of comments that teachers have to make on issues of presentation.
1. Each written piece of work should contain:
· A title and date.
· A homework label where applicable.
2. The date and title should be underlined, using a ruler.
3. All writing should be in blue or black pen.
4. All diagrams to be in pencil.
5. Each piece of work to be ruled off with a ruler when completed.
6. Errors should be crossed out once, using a ruler. Correcting fluid is not to be used.
7. SPAG mistakes are to be corrected according to literacy guidelines.
8. Students should write in their neatest handwriting.
9. There is no need to write objectives if this slows the pace of a lesson.
9. Code of presentation for ICT-produced work
Electronic documents should contain the following:
In the Header section
· Top Left “Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form”
· Top Right “Forename Surname”
In the Footer section
· Bottom Left “Filename & Path”
· Bottom Right “Page number”
Font
· Times New Roman, Arial or similar
· Size: No larger than 14, ideally 12.
· No WordArt for headings
Paragraphs
· Paragraphs not indented
· Blank line between paragraphs
10. Reporting to parents
The data entered at each assessment cycle for each subject will be converted to report on the student’s progress in relation to their allocated tier.
KEY
+2 Exceptional progress
+1 Good progress