Assessment & Reporting
Assessment takes place regularly and strategically throughout each subject and Key Stage to ensure that all students make at least good progress. At Key Stage 3, in Years 7 - 9, we follow a 'step' based approach, relative to the knowledge, skills and ideas required to make excellent progress through the curriculum in that subject. Each subject area has an expectation of how much progress students should make through the curriculum over the year(s) and tracks their individual progress towards this. Students understand their progress is measured on the basis of what knowledge, skills and understanding they can demonstrate and know what they need to do to achieve the next step. This information is shared with them by each subject area.
At Key Stages 4 and 5, we follow GCSE and AS/A2/BTEC grade criteria as a mechanism to report progress. We gather many strands together to assess pupil progress including class and homework, verbal and written feedback, peer assessment, test performance etc. and our tracking ensures that pupils who begin to slip away from their target grades are identified quickly and supported through early intervention to get back on track.
Annual Parents’ Subject Consultation Evenings are further opportunities for parents/carers to discuss their child's progress with teaching staff. Parents can also access their child/children's performance information via the online system Go4Schools, using their secure log-in and password at any time.
All GCSEs now follow the 1-9 structure, with Grade 1 being the lowest, and Grade 9 being the highest. Grade 4 is considered a ‘standard’ pass grade, with Grade 5 being a ‘strong’ pass; currently, the ‘strong’ pass measure is primarily designed for the purpose of school’s accountability. The Department for Education does not expect employers, colleges or universities to raise the bar to a grade 5 if a grade 4 would meet their requirements. However, some universities (particularly Russell Group universities) have changed their entry requirements to grade 5 in GCSE English and Maths. As a school, we are looking to Grade 5 as being the minimum standard required to study a subject at A level.
BTEC and CTEC courses are graded Distinction*, Distinction, Merit, Pass, L1 Pass (which is roughly equivalent to a grade 2 at GCSE)
What grade should my child be achieving?
We set Aspirational Targets for all year groups which are set so that progress is in line with the top 5% in the country. The calculations for this are complex and are based on the SATs scores for KS3 and KS4. In the 6th Form, the target is called a MEG and the calculations are based on the average points score at GCSE (APS). Parents can view their child/children's Targets via ‘Go4Schools’ using their secure log-in and password.
How will my child be assessed?
The vast majority of assessment is done as natural and going element of the teaching and learning process in classwork and homework. As a small but significant part of the assessment mix, all students will be formally assessed for summative and reporting purposes through the combination of end-of-term, end-of-unit and end-of-year tests that best suits the subject area. Additionally, pupils and students in Year 10 and above will also sit formal mock exams. Parents can also access their child/children's examination performance information via ‘Go4Schools’ using their secure log-in and password. Please note this is often not available in the first half term of the year.
Progress measure
The approach to assessment in KS3 is designed to ensure that the building blocks for success in the subject in the longer term are in place, evaluated and responded to from Year 7 onwards. We use the data obtained from primary schools at a student’s entry into Year 7, in addition to our professional judgement, to calculate where they should have progressed to by the end of Year 9.
Assessments throughout the year will inform our judgement of the progress made by a student through the curriculum, which allows us to determine whether they are meeting, exceeding or falling below their expected progress for that point in the year, and allows us to adjust the curriculum and teaching accordingly.
The level of expected progress will be greater for a student with a higher ‘starting point’. This allows us to tailor our expectations of each pupil, in accordance with their prior achievement. In turn, teachers can then offer an appropriate amount of stretch, challenge and support to all pupils. The expected level of progress will be determined separately for English and Maths, with a combined progress expectation for all other subjects.
Most Likely Grade
The Most Likely Grade, used at KS4 and 5, is the final grade that a student’s teacher believes that they are likely to achieve at the end of Year 11/Year 13 if they continue to work at the same rate, based on their knowledge of the pupil’s current grade, target grade and the rate and success of progress through the curriculum.
The Saint John Henry Newman School Learning Reviews
At ‘The Saint John Henry Newman School’, our students take pride in the work they produce and the progress that they make as learners in every lesson. In lessons, we talk about what we learn (knowledge), how we can apply what we learn (skills) but also how we learn (attitudes for learning). We believe that knowledge, skills and attitudes for learning are vital in a fast-changing, increasingly international and complex world. We believe that producing high quality work is as important as having a growth mindset about learning. We believe that with the right support, everyone can produce outstanding work and acquire outstanding attitudes for learning.
The attitudes for learning that we have identified as being crucial to our students’ success are informed by the Newman Habits. We believe that the Newman Habits are the glue that bind knowledge and skills. They allow us to talk about teaching and learning in a student-friendly language. We passionately believe that if our students are going to embody and enact our core values of courage, ambition and compassion, it is vital that our students understand how they can apply our Newman habits to their learning.
The new reporting system is underpinned by research into how we learn. This research emphasises the importance of students mastering not only knowledge and skills but also their attitudes for learning. Research tells us that when students are taught to think about their learning, it can lead to a significant, positive impact on learning. Developing students’ capacities to be self-motivated, independent learners will also help students when they leave school and need resilience to handle the opportunities that come their way.
The new learning reviews
There are now only two descriptors in the new learning reviews: classwork and attitudes for learning.
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Classwork - the quality of the work that is produced in the lesson |
Attitudes for learning - a range of learning behaviours which demonstrate students’ aspiration to do their best in lessons |
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Students, to the best of their ability, consistently/ often/ sometimes/ rarely |
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Follow all instructions and complete all lesson steps · Are well-equipped with materials for the lesson · Seek out and apply feedback to improve learning · Ask thoughtful questions and attempt to answer all question types (e.g. cold calling) |
Demonstrate curiosity about the subject area and are keen to extend their learning · Demonstrate a positive attitude towards failure, difficulty and learning from mistakes · Collaborate appropriately with teachers and peers · Make connections between current learning and prior learning, e.g. in the form of retrieval practice |
As you can see, we have high expectations for our students. We expect that all classwork and all attitudes for learning are, as a minimum, good. We still have four different possible scores. However, level 3 is now ‘requires attention’ rather than passive. If we give your child a 3, we think that he/ she needs to rethink his/ her attitude to learning and approach to classwork. Classroom teachers will support your child in identifying how they can work towards a ‘2’ or a ‘1’. In year 11, your child might be asked to attend intervention sessions. As before, if your child is at risk of getting a ‘4’, your family will already have been contacted.
