Assessment recording reporting

ASHTON COMMUNITY SCIENCE COLLEGE School Policy for ASSESSMENT, RECORDING AND REPORTING (ARR) This policy sets out the ways in which Ashton Community Science College fulfils all statutory requirements relating to record keeping, assessment and reporting.

This document has been produced with reference to the LCC guidelines on “Developing a Whole School Policy on Assessment, Recording and Reporting”.

“Assessment is at the heart of the process of promoting children’s learning. It can provide a framework in which educational objections may be set and student’s progress charted and expressed. It can yield a basis for planning the next educational steps in response to children’s needs. By facilitating dialogue between teachers, it can enhance professional skills and help the school as a whole to strengthen learning across the curriculum and throughout its age range” T.G.A.T. Objectives 1. To fulfil all statutory requirements relating to record keeping, assessment and reporting.

2. To deliver the ARR policy through a whole school approach which is in keeping with the school's aims and ethos - the overall work ethic, the values placed on achievement, the rewards for it, the self-motivation of students and the encouragement of parental support.

3. To ensure that ARR is free from stereotyping, generalisation and bias, particularly in relation to age, gender, ethnic origin, religious belief, social class and special educational needs.

4. To ensure that ARR is linked to whole curriculum planning, organisation and delivery and, within this setting, to enable teachers, through the assessment process, to plan effective learning experiences for all students by matching the curriculum to the individual and longer term needs of the students.

5. To provide a sound basis for recognising and giving credit for a wide range of achievements.

6. To help motivate students to set and achieve targets which will enhance their learning and increase selfconfidence.

7. To provide, at regular intervals, information relating to student progress and achievement in a form which is constructive, meaningful and useful to all concerned - students, teachers, parents, employers, etc.

8. To ensure the validity of the process through monitoring, review and evaluation, as part of the School Improvement Plan.

9. To ensure that adequate resourcing is available through the budget to enable the ARR policy to be delivered.

Policy into Practice Whilst it is clearly recognised that assessment, recording and reporting are very closely linked, each section will be dealt with separately.

A.

Assessment a) Assessment opportunities and methods, including appropriate differentiation, should be included in the planning of all programmes of study.

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Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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b) Assessment should be an integral part of the learning process. It should complement and inform rather than interrupt the teaching and learning process. c) Assessment should be based on a variety of evidence and modes, and methods of assessment must be suitable for the purpose for which they are used. They must also be based upon explicit, shared criteria (see marking policy) and be both valid and reliable. d) Staff should use Assessment information to evaluate their teaching programmes. e) Faculties should evaluate their methods of assessment and refine them accordingly. f)

Heads of Faculty/Subject should monitor the implementation of the ARR policy for all staff within their department.

g) Faculties must ensure that students are adequately prepared for assessment tests and External Examinations, and, in particular, see that appropriate provision is made for all students with Special Educational Needs. h) Students must be involved in the assessment process and they should be assisted to recognise, and articulate their achievements i)

Assessment of students’ performance should highlight strengths and areas to develop, as outlined in the marking and feedback policy.

j)

Assessment should be designed to encourage students to aim for higher standards and plan the next stages of learning, this process being enhanced by review and action planning on an individual basis.

k) Careful and sympathetic consideration should be given to all students, but particularly those with Special Educational Needs. l)

Year 10 and 11 students should be given appropriate guidance through the School’s ARR system to enable them to complete coursework to the best of their ability. In addition, Year 11 students deemed to be ‘at risk’ should be closely monitored on an individual basis.

m) The School’s ARR system should contribute towards the finalising of entries for Year 11 students taking external examinations. n) In addition to its own system, the School will co-operate fully in implementing any assessment/testing procedures required by the LEA e.g. curriculum related staffing tests in Year 7. o) Full details of the school’s assessment system is provided in Annex A at the end of this policy.

B.

Recording a) Recording should be ongoing and regular, especially where it relates to National Curriculum (N.C.) assessment and examination work. b) Faculties should continue to use examples of levels for N.C. assessment purposes however should also be aware of the removal of levels and be planning ahead for this. c) Only information which is deemed to be useful and valid should be recorded, and in a form which is easily understandable and usable. d) Students should be involved in the process, especially in terms of feedback and achievement records such as Progress File. e) All feedback for recording purposes should adhere to the methods outlined in the School’s Marking and Feedback Policy. f)

All deadline dates for the completion of assessment must be met to preserve the efficiency and effectiveness of ‘the system’, and full details are available in the school calendar.

g) The School must retain sufficient information to enable references to be written after students have left.

This policy is reviewed by the Curriculum Committee

Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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h) Records produced should serve: • • • • • • • C.

to recognise achievement to monitor progress to document evidence relating to N.C. assessment to inform planning and evaluation to inform staff when assigning students to teaching groups to inform a new teacher when staff changes occur to act as a basis for reporting.

Reporting The following key principles must apply to all reporting procedures: a) Reporting methods must meet all statutory requirements. b) Reporting should take place at regular intervals throughout the year, as agreed in advance. c) Reporting formats should be agreed and observed by all staff. d) Reporting must be based on the School’s assessment and recording processes. e) Reporting must summarise attainment, highlight achievement and inform future learning needs. f)

Reporting processes should aim to secure the involvement of parents.

Reporting will take many forms: i)

Parents’ Evenings

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ii)

Assessment Grades -

iii)

Target Setting

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iv)

Additional Formats -

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there will be at least one Parents’ Evening for each year group per year.

Parents’ Evenings will be timetabled to coincide with important stages of the school year e.g. Year 8 before ‘options’.and shortly after year group assessments have gone home to parents unless exceptional circumstances prevail, all staff must attend Parents’ Evenings for students they teach. where appropriate, ‘follow-up’ letters should be sent by the Progress Leader to parents who do not attend. all grades awarded must relate to effort and attainment. all grades should be awarded in line with school policy, . assessment grades will be issued at appropriate times throughout the year e.g. to coincide with Parents’ Evenings.

Heads of Faculty must ensure that deadline dates are adhered to for the completion of assessments. any queries resulting from assessment letters must be followed up by the appropriate Progress Leader MEGs will be sent home with an accompanying letter after the first data capture. Year 7 MEGs will be handed out at the Year 7 settling in evening. staff are encouraged to send letters home which praise students for doing good work. staff are encouraged to contact parents where problems exist, particularly with regard to coursework, homework and a poor standard of work in general. at 16+ transfer, the School must provide appropriate information relating to Year 11 students. when students change school before the 16+ transfer, all appropriate information must be sent to the receiving Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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school.

D.

Statutory Requirements The School’s ARR policy is designed to meet the statutory requirements laid down in ‘THE SUBJECT ORDERS’ and takes into account legislation indicated in the many relevant circulars.

E.

Agreed Criteria for Assessment and the Recognition of Achievement All teachers need to develop a shared understanding of standards in the New National Curriculum, so that standards can be applied consistently when coming to a judgement on each student’s performance at the end of Key Stage.

Developing a common understanding of standards in a subject can include the consideration of: • • • • •

F.

QCA’s Exemplification of Standards booklets national tests or tasks samples of students’ work relating to particular level descriptions teachers’ overall judgements about the work of individual students subject moderation involving all staff, co-ordinated by the Head of Faculty.

Arrangements for Monitoring and Evaluation The School must check that judgements continue to be consistent and accurate, and that their arrangements for the assessment, recording and reporting of student achievement are effective and manageable.

To this end the School employs the following strategies: • • • •

G.

an Assessment team evaluate the assessment procedure the ARR policy is linked to the School Improvement Plan, putting into practice its aims and objectives Student progress is an agenda item at SLT, Year Meetings, Faculty Meetings and Middle Leaders Meetings. comments are invited from parents on the return of the assessment letters

Practical Issues a) Inset should be provided for all new staff through the School’s ‘Staff Induction’ programme. b) To allow the ARR process to be delivered, time should be provided for all staff through: • • • •

Departmental meetings after school, Year Leader meetings and Year meetings after school, special student review sessions during the school day between the Vice Principal and Progress Leader to monitor individual year group progress PPA time

Annex A Assessment Reporting and Recording Policy Rationale

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•

To enable patterns of progress/underachievement to be identified across cohorts, Low, Middle, High, gender, Pupil Premium, SEN, Children Looked After, ethnicity, subjects and individual teaching groups.

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To show how cohorts are progressing in relation to their target grades.

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To identify students in a group who are not making expected progress, identify possible causes or inform necessary changes.

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To inform faculties of areas of strength and areas that require improvement.

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To provide evidence for faculty SEF, determine targets for FIP and identify any possible training/support required.

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To enable the Leadership Team, Heads of Faculty, Subject Leaders and Progress Leaders to identify students that are not making the required progress and intervene where necessary.

Expectations Students entering from Primary School are expected to make a minimum of 3 levels of progress from KS2 to the end of KS4.

An Aspirational target of 4 levels progress will also be set.

Minimum expected progress for each year should be a minimum of two sub-levels.

Maths and English will use SATS results with sub levels to set targets.

End of Year 7 targets will be set 2 sub levels above these KS2 results.

All other subjects will be based on a mean average of English and Maths SAT results with sub levels .

The expectation for non-core will be exactly the same as core subjects which will enable a minimum of 2 sub levels per year, with the exception of MFL which will be one level less due to the fact students have no prior subject knowledge.

Post 16 targets are generated using the ready reckoner toolkit which uses the average point score at KS4.

Progress Checks and Formal Assessments To support effective monitoring and quality assurance there will be a whole school data capture for KS4 groups every half term and KS3 every term. In all years the data inputted will reflect the level that the students are working at. In addition at the end of year 10 there will also be a be a prediction grade that the student is likely to achieve at the end of their course. Teachers will use recent assessment data, class work and homework as an indicator of this grade.

In Year 11 every data capture will include the grade the students are working at AND a prediction grade.

Heads of Faculty and Subjects need to ensure that the data is valid, reliable and quality assured. Additionally class teachers will also input an intervention strategy for any students achieving below target from term 2a.

Analysis of Data The progress of all students is visually tracked in Faculty and subject tracking sheets and whole school through SIMS in the following ways: Blue = Above target Green = Target reached Amber = 1 GCSE Grade or 1 Sub level below target Red = 2 GCSE Grades or 2 Sub levels or more below target For KS4 each year groups data will be available in SISRA ANALYTICS. An overall summary spreadsheet will also be provided for SLT. In KS3 each faculty, subject and year group will be provided with an assessment spreadsheet that enables them track the progress of all learners across all year groups. These highlight student that are above, on or below target to aid any required intervention.

After every data capture there will be feedback to SLT. Through Line Management meeting with Heads of Faculty, SLT discuss the data agreeing strategies for closing any gaps in attainment and achievement. Those staff that have leadership responsibility for discreet groups including Student Premium, SEN and HAMAT report back to the Extended Leadership Team on the progress of those students.

NB. The traffic light system for progress will not be used on the assessments that are sent home until term 2a.

This policy is reviewed by the Curriculum Committee

Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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Roles and Responsibilities Governors will: • Work with the team leading data to ensure all aspects of the policy are implemented successfully.

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Receive updates on data captures at the curriculum and staffing meetings.

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Receive training on understanding the new accountability measures and how targets are set.

Senior Leaders will: • Analyse the data to gather a strategic overview of student achievement across school •

Monitor overall standards within year groups, across subjects and make comparisons with external data, such as Fischer Family Trust, Local Authority targets/predictions. This may be used to assess both teacher and student performance relative to both local and national data and targets.

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Work with HOY and HOF through line management meetings to identify students of concern and agree strategies for raising standards of attainment and achievement

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Ensure the data policy/flow chart is implemented in day to day practice

Progress Leaders will: • Monitor overall standards within their relevant cohorts across a year group.

• Coordinate and liaise with SLT, form tutors and HoF. • Identify those students and the relevant interventions required to maintain and improve their performance.

• In consultation with senior team implement intervention • Disseminate information to parents via standard letters, termly reports and telephone • Invite parents in for consultation where necessary and appropriate HoF/Subject will: • Monitor overall standards in all year groups within their faculty/subject using the subject tracking sheets that have been developed by the data officers making comparisons with local and national data • Ensure the data entered in SIMS is valid and reliable by conducting quality assurance checks after every data capture.

• Analyse performance of year group, class and individual student towards Minimum Expected Grades/Aspirational Targets.

• Liaise with subject leaders/classroom teachers to take appropriate action and intervention where necessary at subject level • Identify and implement subject specific strategies to improve year group, target student groups, class and individual’s performance • Systematically monitor, evaluate and review progress • Identify underachievers and those exceeding targets using rewards/subject specific letters/postcards Class teachers will: • • • • • •

Systematically monitor, evaluate and review progress within their classes Gather evidence of assessed pieces of work that reflect the data capture Ensure students understand the level at which they are working and how they can improve Liaise with subject leaders and form tutors to share any concerns Identify and implement subject specific strategies to improve a class and/or individuals performance Complete intervention strategy when inputting in SIMS

Reports At KS3 these are generated and sent home after every data capture. This information is then shared with students and parents. The end of year data capture will be accompanied by a form tutor report.

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Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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In Years 9 and 10 data captures are every half term 3 of these are sent home and the end of year data capture will be accompanied by a form tutor report.

In Y11 there will be data captures every half term up to the end of term 2b.A subject report will be written after the Mock exams in November and go home to parents in December.

Measures KS2 Prior Attainment Group Definitions are based on the KS2 test results attained by students on completion of the primary school phase: •

High attaining = those Level 5 and above in the KS2 tests

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Middle attaining = those at Level 4 in the KS2 tests

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Low attaining = those below Level 4 in the KS2 tests

For the KS4 Tables, where we are looking at KS2 prior attainment, we calculate the students average points score for English, Maths and Science and classify those with a points score of less than 24 as low; those between 24 and 29.99 as middle, and those with 30 or more as high attaining.

Expected Progress KS2-4 KS2 Level 6 5 4 3 2 B/N A

GCSE Grade A B C D E E B

KS4 Point Score GCSE Grade A* A B C D E F G U Btec Level Level Level Level Level

2 Distinction * 2 Distinction 2 Merit 2 Pass 1 Pass

OCR Level Level Level Level Level Level Level

2 Distinction * 2 Distinction 2 Merit 2 Pass 1 Distinction 1 merit 1 Pass

Current Points 58 52 46 40 34 28 22 16 0

Points from 2016

Current Points

Points from 2016

Current Points

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

8 7 6 5 2.5 Points from 2016 8 7 6 5 4 3 1.5

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Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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2c 2b 2a 3c 3b 3a 4c 4b 4a 5c 5b 5a 6c 6b 6a 7c 7b 7a 8c

13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49

Data Capture and Improvement strategy completed by class teachers

Data Capture accuracy and Quality Assurance by HoS and HoF

Data Analysis carried out by Data Manager and presented to HoF and HoY.

Intervention at HoF/HoY level.

Data Analysis presented to SLT- breakdown of all groups.

Intervention

by SLT- key groups.

Line managers meetings with HoF and HoY to focus on intervention of underperformance.

Monitor and evaluate Update SEF.

NB. Improvement strategies for PROGRESS to start in January.

This policy is reviewed by the Curriculum Committee

Date of last review: Autumn 2014

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