ASSESSMENT AT NEWMARKET ACADEMY
An outline of our approach to assessment and reporting in 2015-‐16
A Quick Guide for Parents
A Note from the Head of School The following document outlines our response to the issue of ‘Life after Levels’. It needs to be stated that this is an interim response to the current situation, and the method of assessment used at Newmarket Academy is likely to change as the ‘Samuel Ward Academy Trust’ develops a Trust wide response to issue of Assessment. The Background In 2014, the Government removed the National Curriculum Levels for KS3 and modified the GCSE Grading system to use ‘Numerical Grades’ 1 – 9. Schools across the country have been working to develop new ways to assess progress and attainment so that students and their parents know how well they are doing and how to improve. Basic Principles: Formative Assessment and Feedback Assessment is all about helping students make progress in their learning. At Newmarket Academy we use tests, marking criteria and examples of excellent work to show students the standards they are expected to achieve and how to reach them. Good formative feedback is acknowledged as the prime factor in ensuring students make good progress over time and guides a student through the steps they need to take to improve. At Newmarket Academy we have worked hard to improve this aspect of teaching practice and we are happy to state that we have been commended on the results of these efforts by the Samuel Ward Academy Trust. Progress Every student arrives at Newmarket Academy having reached a different level of attainment at their Primary Schools. Students sit base line tests in every subject, as it is important that we take account of individual starting points when setting targets and monitoring progress. In our system, Progress Grades take account of how well each student is doing compared to where they started. All students have the opportunity to make excellent progress regardless of their starting point. Attainment Standards As well as showing students how to improve and how much progress they are making, we believe it is important for everyone to know how their level of attainment fits into the pattern of achievement in the school and nationally. In order to achieve this we will be using a 'Numerical Grade' scale.
We believe it is a good idea to use the 'Numerical Grade' scale 1 -‐ 9, the new GCSE grade scale, so that it is familiar to all and students can see their progress as they move through the years. The Process As stated previously, every student arrives at Newmarket Academy at a different starting point based on his or her KS2 outcomes. Every student has an end of Key Stage Target Grade and a GCSE Target Grade based on this starting point. For Maths and English separate Target Grades will be set based on KS2 Maths and English levels respectively. Target Grades for all other subjects are based on an average of Maths and English. Where no KS2 data is available, we will use base line test data and reading age tests to make a best fit allocation. At Newmarket Academy we believe it is important to set challenging targets for all our students. In the example below, the green section, on the diagram, represents the start of expected levels of attainment and outstanding attainment at the top end of the green section.
Key Stage 2 Average of test s cores in r eading a nd maths
test s cores
6
5
4.9 4.8
4.6 4.5 4.3 4.2 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.3 3.1 2.5 1.5
Vocational Grades
L2D
L2M
L2P
L1P
G3
4 1. Starting point from KS2 data
3
2 1
Qualifying
6 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.1
2. Aim for 6 Grades of Progress (18 steps) over 5 years
Starting point c alculated from English a nd maths National
New GCSE Old GCSE 9 to 1 Sub Levels A*-‐ G Sub Levels 9a A*1 9 9b A* A*2 9c 8a A*3 8 8b A1 8c 7a A A2 7 7b A3 7c 6a B1 6 6b B B2 6c 5a B3 5 5b C1 5c 4a C C2 4b 4 C3 4c 3a D1 3 D 3b D2 3c D3 2a E1 2 E 2b E2 2c E3 F1 1a F2 F F3 1 1b G1 G2 G 1c Q10 Q9 Q8 Q7 Q6 Q5 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q0
38 steps of progress Leading to GCSE results at the e nd of Year 11
Aim to move up 6 grades (18 steps) from the start of Year 7 to the e nd of Year 11
Students will receive an ‘Assessment Grade’ indicating that they are currently making ‘Above Expected Levels of Progress’, ‘On Target Levels of Progress’ or ‘Below Expected Levels of Progress’. In order to achieve these challenging targets, it is expected that a student will make the following steps of progress through Years 7 to 11: Year 7 -‐ 3 steps; Year 8 -‐ 3 steps
KS3
Year 9 -‐ 4 steps; Year 10 -‐ 4 steps; Year 11 -‐ 4 steps
KS4
Students will receive an Attitude to Learning grade as before; 1 = Outstanding attitude to learning, 2 = A positive attitude to learning, 3 = An inconsistent attitude to learning and 4 = A poor attitude to learning. Therefore a student that is ‘Below Target’ may well receive a 1 for ‘Attitude to Learning’. This would indicate that they are working very hard but are still finding it difficult to progress, given their starting point. There is no limit on anyone’s progress or attainment; students who continually improve beyond the average rate of progress will see their grades rise. Reporting Parents will receive regular reports throughout the year. We have arranged the reporting schedule so that our key assessments, parents’ evenings and written reports are distributed across the year.
Reports 2015-‐2016
Year
Issued
7
19/05/16
8
04/02/16
9
07/07/16
10
28/04/16
11
21/1 & 22/03/16
12
17/12/15
13
17/12/15
Parents’ evenings are scheduled for the day of report issue
Data Points 2015-‐2016 DP1 DP2 DP3 DP4 DP5 DP6
Date 30/11/15 25/01/16 28/03/16 02/05/16 16/05/16 18/07/16
Year 7 √ √
Year 8 √ √
Year 9 √ √ √
Year 10 √ √
√
√
√
√
Year 11 √ √ √
An Assessment Data Point will include grades for Attitude to Learning, End of Key Stage Target, Expected Level and Progress. End of Key Stage Target: A target set by prior attainment in Key Stage 2 and statistical prediction. Expected Level: The expected level the student is working towards in a subject, based on the most recent assessment. Expected Levels may fluctuate over the year.
A Full Written Report will include all these grades in addition to comments from each teacher and the Tutor. Attitude to Learning is graded 1 – 4 defined as follows: 1 = Outstanding attitude to learning. Takes personal responsibility for his/her own learning; always ready to learn. 2 = A positive attitude to learning; working hard to improve the quality of his/her work and usually ready to learn. 3 = An inconsistent attitude to learning, requiring an improvement in this subject; sometimes ready to learn. 4 = A poor attitude to learning and a cause for concern; rarely ready to learn. Nick Froy, Head of School Richard Hall, Assistant Head, Assessment and Reporting