Reporting and Assessment
Assessment and Reporting At Key Stage 3 (Y7-9)
Assessment plays a vital and integral role within our curriculum. With our colleagues across the Trust we have designed a new system of assessment at Key Stage 3 which will enable us to track student progress through their taught curriculum at key stage 3.
We will be using a system of continuous assessment where students will complete key tasks at points in their curriculum when they are ready. This allows teachers to identify gaps and adjust their teaching to address these.
The curriculum is taught in 3×13 week cycles. At the end of each cycle, staff will look at all the available evidence from each student and report one of three statements to parents and carers. These statements are surface, deep and transfer.
Pupil progress through the curriculum will be monitored using the following terminology:
SURFACE
This indicates that a pupil can demonstrate surface knowledge of key concepts, skills and/or strategies within the curriculum covered.
“Surface learning does not mean superficial learning, surface learning is a time when students initially are exposed to concepts, skills, and strategies. Surface learning is critical because it provides a foundation on which to build as students are asked to think more deeply.”*
DEEP
This indicates that a pupil can demonstrate a deep understanding, application and extension of the key concept knowledge within the curriculum covered.
“We define deep learning as a period when students consolidate their understanding and apply and extend some surface learning knowledge to support deeper conceptual understanding. We think of this as a ‘sweet spot’ that will often take up more instructional time but can be accomplished only when students have the requisite knowledge to go deeper.”*
TRANSFER
This indicates that a pupil can transfer/apply their deep knowledge to new scenarios and different contexts. Pupils reflect on their own learning and understanding of the covered curriculum and beyond.
“Transfer learning is the point at which students take their consolidated knowledge and skills and apply what they know to new scenarios and different contexts. It is also a time when students are able to think meta-cognitively, reflecting on their own learning and understanding.”*
*Quotes from Hattie, Fisher and Frey, Professors of Educational Leadership
Unlike previous modes of assessment, these are not gradings on a particular scale. Rather, they explain the level of understanding each student has of that part of the taught curriculum. This means that students might be deep in cycle one and then deep in cycle two but will have made progress as they have a deep understanding of the curriculum taught up to that point – which they add to each cycle.
There is a video below which explains these changes in further detail.
Assessment and Reporting at Key Stage 4 (Y10-11)
We will continue to use GCSE and BTEC grades to track the progress of our students. This enables us to know, against the assessment criteria for each subject, how they are doing.
We will, however, move to a more continuous form of assessment where students will complete key tasks as they work their way through the taught curriculum. This allows them to complete these tasks when they are ready to do so. This information will be used by staff, as well as other relevant information such as other class and homework to assess where students are at the end of each cycle.
There will also be a number of mock examinations at the end of year 10 and then at two points in Y11. These are timetabled and will enable us to assess student progress in the way that they will be examined in the external exams.
We will report at the end of each cycle (we have 3x 13 week cycles in a year) a WAG (working at grade) and a PFG (Predicted Future Performance) grade which will allow parents and carers to see where their child is currently working and what the teacher believes they may achieve at the end of the course.
Assessment and Reporting at Key Stage 5 (Y12-13)
We will continue to use A Level and BTEC grades to track the progress of our students. This enables us to know, against the assessment criteria for each subject, how they are doing.
We will, however, move to a more continuous form of assessment where students will complete key tasks as they work their way through the taught curriculum. This allows them to complete these tasks when they are ready to do so. This information will be used by staff, as well as other relevant information such as other class and homework to assess where students are at the end of each cycle.
There will also be a number of mock examinations at the end of year 12 and then at two points in Y13. These are timetabled and will enable us to assess student progress in the way that they will be examined in the external exams.
We will report at the end of each cycle (we have 3x 13 week cycles in a year) a WAG (working at grade) and a PFG (Predicted Future Performance) grade which will allow parents and carers to see where their child is currently working and what the teacher believes they may achieve at the end of the course.
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