Pupil Assessment & Reporting by RGS Worcester

Pupil Assessment & Reporting The Royal Grammar School

September 2012

Pupil Assessment and Reporting from September 2012 At each reporting point, grades known as Progress Grades will be produced; for each pupil these will consist of: (a) an attainment grade (b) an achievement grade (which will be calculated by iSAMS – the School Information Management System) (c) an application grade (a) The Attainment Grade This will be defined by the best-fit single letter grade between A* and U for all years. Wherever possible, these grades should be the outcome of a range of assessments designed to test all the relevant assessment objectives as defined in departmental handbooks/schemes of work in the proportion required by any specific subject specifications. They should normally be based on at least three assessments and not on a multiple of the same assessment objective. A series of grade descriptors for attainment grades will be found in Appendix A. (b) The Achievement Grade The two key factors in constructing achievement grades for Years 8-13 will be (1) the pupil’s minimum attainment grade (MAG) in that subject and (2) actual attainment of that pupil as shown by grades given by the teacher across the reporting period in question. The MAG is a calculation based firmly on the MidYIS (Years 7-11) or ALIS (Sixth Form) grade for that pupil in that subject. CEM (the Centre for Educational Management at the University of Durham; the institution nationally used for value-added data) provides the School with a predicted grade in each subject based on a test currently taken by all pupils in Year 7 and Year 9 for MidYIS grades and an adaptive test plus GCSE results to provide ALIS grades in the Sixth Form. From these grades we will calculate the MAG – that is the grade which we would recognise as the minimum acceptable level of performance. Thus if a pupil has a MidYIS grade in History set in the middle of the A to B band (CEM transmits grades in numerical form to one decimal place so such a calculation is simple), the MAG would normally be B. We will review MAGs annually after the Internal School Examinations. Now the achievement grade can be calculated. We want to use the word ‘achievement’ because it contains a judgement on what has been attained. The pupil’s attainment grades show what he/she has done; the MAG shows what it was reasonable for us to expect. So if attainment is higher than expected then the achievement is positive; if the attainment is lower than expected then it is not. Therefore we will express this outcome in terms of degrees above or below the MAG and the iSAMS system will allow us to colour-code that when we share the information with parents. So attainment above MAG will be set against a green background, attainment equal to MAG against orange and attainment below MAG against red. As the system will know the MAG, then the insertion of the attainment grade will automatically generate the correct colour. (c) The Application Grade There will be five application grades, 3*, 3, 2, 1, 0. The criteria for each one will be based on definitions of appropriate engagement with learning such as SMART effort, cooperation in group work, classroom contribution, punctual submission of homework, initiative. The use of the 0 grade will be rare, as it will signify little measurable engagement with learning. The use of such a grade must be preceded by consultation with the relevant pastoral contact and with parents.

Grade advice for application grades will be found in Appendix B. One salient problem with the use of one grade to cover a series of criteria is that it is not always evident to the recipient why the overall grade has been awarded. If the grade is less than 3 * or 3, for example, which of the boxes, exactly, are unticked? It is therefore important to convey to pupils the basis of the grade and we will do this by issuing a checkbox table for each pupil when each grade is issued. See Appendix B for worked examples.

Appendix A: Grade descriptors for Attainment Grades: Work should be graded on a scale commensurate with the national standard of work suitable to that year group or to that stage of the course; if the work is significantly more or less difficult than that standard, then the grading or marking should make this clear. The grades obtained, therefore, will allow teachers, tutors, parents and pupils to obtain an accurate picture of current progress. The grades will not be directly predictive, but will indicate the likely outcome at GCSE or Advanced Level if this standard was reproduced. Progress grades should in all cases bear a direct and evident relationship with the grades awarded for pieces of work throughout the period. Pupils should be able to construct their own attainment grade from the grades received across the period. A*

This pupil’s work meets all the criteria being tested at a very high level of understanding. Approx 90%

This pupil’s work meets all the criteria being tested at a high overall level of understanding. Approx 80%

This pupil’s work is mainly successful in meeting the criteria being tested / it shows a good but incomplete level of understanding. Approx 70%

This pupil’s work is only partially successful in meeting the criteria being tested / it shows an incomplete level of understanding. Approx 60%

This pupil’s work is not sufficiently successful in meeting the criteria being tested / it shows an incomplete level of understanding. Approx 50% This pupil’s work is inadequate in meeting the criteria being tested / it shows a low level of understanding. Approx 40%

E U

This pupil’s work is consistently inadequate in meeting the criteria being tested. Less than 40% • •

•

Departments must consult and lay down internal guidelines concerning the spread and weighting of achievement grades across any given year group. The grades refer to achievement measured against standards expected of that year group and these should in turn be held against the mirror of the likely outcome for any given year group. All grades should be possible within each subject.

Appendix B: Guidance on awarding Application Grades [1] The key criteria will be divided into core criteria and extra criteria. In brief: Core criteria • punctual homework • work of suitable quality • arriving with the right equipment and material for the lesson • punctuality to lessons

Extra criteria • SMART effort – not just a preparedness to put time in but to look for ways of reaching solutions, using appropriate sources of help or information beyond what is prescribed • classroom contribution • initiative: evidence of interest or engagement beyond the classroom • any extra criteria that the Department may wish to add by agreement with MJR Thus the top application grades can only be awarded where the pupil has met all of the core criteria; if any of the core criteria are not met, then 1 is the best grade that may be awarded. Guidance on how to interpret these criteria is to be found in departmental handbooks. [2] Brief grade definitions 3*

The pupil is meeting all of the criteria substantially. The aim is to encourage as many pupils as possible to reach this level in time but at the outset, while pupils become used to what is required, there may well be relatively few. This is a special grade to reward a very positive degree of application.

The pupil is meeting all of the core criteria, and all but one of the extra criteria.

The pupil is meeting all of the core criteria, and all but two of the extra criteria.

The pupil is meeting three or four of the core criteria.

The pupil is failing to meet two or more of the core criteria. This is a serious situation and would lead to communication both with tutor and home.

[3] Some illustrations: Core Criteria punctual homework suitable standard of work equipment lesson punctuality Extra Criteria SMART effort class contribution initiative Grade

Met ! ! ! !

Core Criteria punctual homework suitable standard of work equipment lesson punctuality Extra Criteria SMART effort class contribution initiative Grade

Met ! ! ! !

Core Criteria punctual homework suitable standard of work

Met ! !

! ! 3

equipment lesson punctuality Extra Criteria SMART effort class contribution initiative Grade

! ! ! 1

As these worked examples show, this is raising the bar where achieving a good application grade is concerned; that’s the idea, because we want to highlight key aspects of good learning and have pupils implement them as a core part of their approach. Once pupils know how this works, they will be able - and will generally want - to tick all the boxes. [4] Grade criteria interpretation: Core criteria • punctual homework: departments must specify details here as there is a good deal of departmental variation possible. Be firm with deadlines please; Monday’s lesson before break does not mean Monday lunchtime or Tuesday morning or “I’ll e-mail it tonight.” • work of suitable quality; this is an ipsative (‘measuring yourself against yourself’) judgment based on what you know you can expect from a specific pupil (MAG is the guideline) • arriving with the right equipment and material for the lesson; lots of variety here too ranging from textbook/exercise book to forgetting the handout that was started in the last lesson to PE or Games kit. Frequent failure here needs to be put right and thus signposted in the application grade for attention. • punctuality to lessons; failure to observe punctuality on more than one occasion. These are the core criteria; failure to meet them is firmly signposted and is expensive in terms of a low grade. However, they are all targets that any pupil, regardless of ability, can meet. Extra criteria • SMART effort – not just a preparedness to put time in but to look for ways of reaching solutions, using appropriate sources of help or information beyond what is prescribed • classroom contribution; collaborative or group work, sharing ideas, cooperation, a contribution to the nuts and bolts of a successful classroom environment. • initiative: evidence of interest or engagement beyond the classroom; the emphasis is on evidence but it can be material from outside the classroom entered into written work, a willingness to pursue topics or skills via visits (I asked my Mum to take me to a castle/play/ice hockey game / the local library) watching TV programmes / films / podcasts/ unbidden etc • any extra criteria that the Department may wish to add by agreement with MJR

Appendix C: Timetable For Grades and Reports Year

Progress Grades

Reports

Parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Meetings

MMLLT

M=Michaelmas

L=Lent

T=Trinity