Assessment Principles

We recognise that assessment and curriculum cannot be viewed separately. In order to develop a powerful knowledge-based curriculum (with skills based on the accumulation of this knowledge), we must support this with valid, reliable and useful assessments to assess the intended curriculum.

Our assessment principle is that our pupils learn their curriculum well so that they know more and can do more.  This knowledge and capability will prepare pupils well for success in Key Stage 4 and beyond.  It is also important that any gaps are identified in Key Stage 3 so that these can be effectively addressed.

To achieve this, we use both:

Formative assessment – as an ongoing element of our teaching to check for pupil understanding. Teachers will use this formative assessment to help them plan lessons and provide feedback to pupils about what they need to do next. Such feedback will concentrate on pupils’ learning gaps and how to close these.

Summative assessment – to assess how well pupils are learning and remembering the curriculum. Effective and timely summative assessment design is also a tool for understanding pupil progress and reflecting on the taught curriculum to inform teaching and inform future planning.

Cumulative Sufficient Knowledge

Our Assessment approach supports middle leaders in planning and designing an effective curriculum, as Heads of Departments (HoDs) will need to identify the endpoints that they wish pupils to achieve.

HoDs will need to consider what key concepts and skills pupils must grasp at each assessment window and ensure these endpoints are shared with pupils and parents in the form of learning thresholds in the assessment booklets.

To ensure progression, we understand that knowledge and skills do not exist in isolation. They build on what pupils already know and can already do. Our assessments will assess pupils on what they have been taught both in the current term and in previous learning studies. Pupils will be taught concepts and skills in an order that enables them to make useful connections. This is what we understand as sequencing in the curriculum.

In addition, feedback and intervention is an essential aspect of our assessment model. We need to provide feedback so that the gaps in pupils’ knowledge do not accumulate as new learning is layered on top as part of our curriculum sequence. If we do not intervene and prevent these gaps from increasing, pupils’ ability to acquire complex skills will be limited as these may often rely on the foundation of knowledge.

When will the assessment take place?

Pupils will typically sit three summative assessments per year in Key Stage 3 and at least two summative assessments in Key Stage 4 & Key Stage 5. The reduced assessment and data points support middle leaders to assess pupils where is most sensible in their curriculum plans to be able to use data effectively to inform practice but are arranged in a window to support pupils and parents.

At the beginning of each term, we will send out an Assessment Booklet, which outlines when pupils will be assessed and the assessment criteria.

How do we know that teachers are making effective judgements and marking accurately?

Within our school calendar, we ensure departments have the opportunity to standardise assessment and have opportunities for moderation. This takes place in all subject areas to develop an effective understanding of assessment. We encourage all HoDs to develop links with other local schools.

Middle leaders are supported and are offered support on how to create a valid and accurate assessment, make use of trackers and use the data to intervene.

We actively encourage staff to train as markers for their exam boards or have been trained in exam marking to increase marking ability.

In Key Stage 4 and 5, we use sections of or full exam papers from previous years as a means of assessing pupils mid-year (e.g. mock exams), grade boundaries are adjusted accordingly, and any grades are reported. It also means that every cohort is judged against a criteria rather than purely against their own cohort so that standards do not slip.

Broadly speaking, the 9-1 performance of a large cohort of pupils should conform to the bell curve distribution of results.

Over time, departments will continue to build examples of pupils' work from assessments, which will exemplify what a strong response to a question looks like and these can be shared with staff and pupils.

What will assessments look like?

Departments are free to choose what style of assessment should be set during a term. The aim is to check the understanding and progress of pupils. Assessments are designed with these standards in mind, and through accurate judgements made throughout Key Stage 3 we can ensure all pupils are ready for the next stage.

Most assessments are set in a classroom and under test conditions. Some departments may arrange for assessments to be completed in exam conditions in the Alan Hearne hall to familiarise pupils with exam conditions.

Parents will be informed of upcoming assessments and Curriculum Maps should clearly illustrate the choice of assessment and demonstrate how this is aligned with the sequenced curriculum.

Assessments might take the form of:

How do we set targets?

When pupils join Wanstead High, we make use of their achievement scores at Key Stage 2 SATs tests taken in year 6, to assign each pupil to an attainment band. Where no Key Stage 2 data is available, we will use reading ages or consider other assessments to make a best-fit allocation.

These attainment bands group pupils into groups to indicate the expected level of attainment at the end of a GCSE course. This is calculated externally by the Fischer Family Trust based on a variety of socio-economic factors and Key Stage 2 performance. Our targets are based on FFT5. If a pupil achieves their FFT5 score, this means that their progress is in line with the top 5% of similar pupils nationally. These targets are therefore generally quite ambitious, which is why we are using them for your child.

We understand some subjects where these may be less useful in identifying prior skills, such as Music, Art, Drama and Physical Education. To resolve any uncertainty, we make use of data from Fischer Family Trust, which uses national data to assign targets based on starting points for each subject.

It must be stressed that this process is only a starting point. We recognise that Key Stage 2 tests only measure attainment at one snapshot in time. For this reason, we don’t assign rigid ‘flight paths’ for pupil progress; to do so would seem to be entrenching pre-existing inequalities in attainment measured at that one point in time. We also recognise that pupil progress isn’t linear and rarely follows predictable trajectories.

Each year the attainment bands will be reviewed so that pupils can move up to a higher band if their progress suggests they need greater challenge – if they are repeatedly ‘making more than expected progress’ across multiple subjects.

What do attainment bands look like?

Based on pupil’s identified starting points, pupils will be on entry will be placed into one of five attainment bands for each subject.

These attainment bands are not fixed and where a pupil is working consistently at the level above, their profile should be changed. No pupil can be moved down bands.

KS2 Score	EndOfYr7	EndOfYr8	EndOfYr9	EndOfYr10	End KS4
80-87	Initial	Establishing	Substantial	<2	<3
88-96	Establishing	Substantial	Complete	3	4
97-105	Substantial	Complete	Fluent	4	5
106-114	Complete	Fluent	Fluent	5+	6+
115-120	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent	7+	8+

How do we determine if a pupil is making progress?

At Key Stage 3, we set benchmarks (end points) for each subject and specific learning thresholds for each term. We use these benchmarks to determine progress against a pupil’s attainment band.

Pupils have been assigned an attainment band. These bands are designed to be aspirational and the minimum attainment that pupils need to aspire to during Key Stage 3. The meaning of each learning threshold is different in different subject areas as these will be detailed in XXXX. In a simplistic form, pupils working at a fluent threshold are working at a higher level than those working at the initial threshold.

For example, If a pupil is designated as with an attainment profile of a “Complete Learner” at the end of Year 8, however, based on classwork, assessment outcomes and homework, they have demonstrated knowledge of a “Substantial” learner, they would be “below expected progress”.

We recognise that it is not possible to accurately predict GCSE grades for pupils in Key Stage 3 with the current exam specifications.  As such, these thresholds do not represent predicted GCSE grades, but instead provide an indication of how a pupil is progressing in each subject, often derived from the strands outlined in the Key Stage 3 National curriculum.

At Key Stage 3 we use three levels of progress descriptors:

• More than Expected progress
• Expected Progress
• Less than Expected progress

With regards to tracking progress, it is reasonable for a pupil to achieve the same thresholds throughout Years 7 to 9. Maintaining a threshold from Year 7 to Year 9 is a reflection of progress itself, due to the increasing difficulty in content, skill and application, year on year.  Equally, it is reasonable for a pupil’s attainment to fluctuate at times.  A learning journey is rarely a linear and direct path as individuals develop core skills at different rates.  In all instances, staff will ensure that pupils are aware of how to improve and progress, continuing to liaise with parents and guardians accordingly

 

At Key Stage 4 and 5, comparison against previous terms outcomes and targets will highlight progress.

How do we report to parents at Key Stage 3?

At Wanstead High School, we will be using both attainment and progress to report on pupil achievement.

We will send assessment reports to parents at the end of each term and these will present the following:

Termly Assessment Outcomes: This is an overall score or percentage for a pupil, which is derived from a summative assessment for that term.

Termly Average Outcomes: This is an average score or percentage for the cohort being assessed. This will give an indication of how a pupil has performed compared to the cohort for the main summative assessment in that term.

Teacher Judgement: This is the teacher’s judgement, taking account of classwork, extended projects and formative assessments, to indicate the pupil is making progress against specific curriculum thresholds (end points).

End of Year Target: This will be an indicator of where a pupil should be with regard to attainment bands for that subject.

Progress indicator: A measure of the gap between the school’s end of year target for a pupil compared to their attainment bands.

How do we report to parents at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5?

We follow the same principles as above but rather than curriculum thresholds, we make use of standardised mark schemes and exam materials to provide a Current Working at Grade and a Predicted Grade.

• Current Grades: These grades are based on the pupils’ performance at the current time and are not projected or predicted grades. It is important that the pupil understands what this grade means in relation to curriculum coverage.
• Predicted Grade: The predicted grade is the teacher’s professional judgement of what a pupil is most likely to achieve based on the pupil’s approach to the subject to date and mock grades.

The grades are in the form of the number 1-9 or a letter, depending on the grade system used for GCSE, A Level or vocational subjects. Teachers will be asked to fine level the grades of pupils based on professional predictions of performance.  ‘Whole’ grades will be reported in the final examinations, with the fine grading being used only to show a pupil’s progress during the course. A pupil’s target grade will always be a whole grade. If pupils sit a Mock or Challenge Week assessment, they will also receive these outcomes as a grade.

Fine grading is based on very clear and simple criteria, where each grade is split into three parts. This then allows us to track attainment, predict performance and offer additional support, which is more closely tailored to the needs and progress of the student.

 

GCSE Fine Grading
Grade	Description
9+	Very Confident 9
9	Confident 9
9-	Marginal 9
8+	Very Confident 8, pushing a 9
8	Confident 8
8-	Marginal 8
7+	Very Confident 7, pushing an 8
7	Confident 7
7-	Marginal 7
6+	Very Confident 6, pushing a 7
6	Confident 6
6-	Marginal 6
5+	Very Confident 5, pushing a 6
5	Confident 5
5-	Marginal 5
4+	Very Confident 4, pushing a 5
4	Confident 4
4-	Marginal 4
3+	Very Confident 3, pushing a 4
3	Confident 3
3-	Marginal 3
2+	Very Confident 2, pushing a 3
2	Confident 2
2-	Marginal 2
1+	Very Confident 1, pushing a 2
1	Confident 1
1-	Marginal 1
U	Fail

 

BTEC Fine Grading
Grade	Description
D*+	Very Confident Distinction*
D*	Confident Distinction*
D*-	Marginal Distinction*
D+	Very Confident Distinction, pushing a D*
D	Confident Distinction
D-	Marginal Distinction
M+	Very Confident Merit, pushing a D
M	Confident Merit
M-	Marginal Merit
P+	Very Confident Pass, pushing an M
P	Confident Pass
P-	Marginal Pass
L1P+	Very Confident Level 1 Pass, pushing a P
L1P	Confident Level 1 Pass
L1P-	Marginal Level 1 Pass
U	Fail

 

CamNat/OCR Fine Grading
Grade	Description
L2D*+	Very Confident Level 2 Distinction*
L2D*	Confident Level 2 Distinction*
L2D*-	Marginal Level 2 Distinction*
L2D+	Very Confident Level 2 Distinction, pushing an L2D*
L2D	Confident Level 2 Distinction
L2D-	Marginal Level 2 Distinction
L2M+	Very Confident Level 2 Merit, pushing an L2D
L2M	Confident Level 2 Merit
L2M-	Marginal Level 2 Merit
L2P+	Very Confident Level 2 Pass, pushing an L2M
L2P	Confident Level 2 Pass
L2P-	Marginal Level 2 Pass
L1D+	Very Confident Level 1 Distinction, pushing an L2P
L1D	Confident Level 1 Distinction
L1D-	Marginal Level 1 Distinction
L1M+	Very Confident Level 1 Merit, pushing a D
L1M=	Confident Level 1 Merit
L1M-	Marginal Level 1 Merit
L1P+	Very Confident Level 1 Pass, pushing an M
L1P=	Confident Level 1 Pass
L1P-	Marginal Level 1 Pass
U	Fail