What is the aim of assessment in Key Stage 4 and 5?
At Felixstowe School our aim is that our students learn their curriculum well so that they know more and can do more. This knowledge and capability will prepare students 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 do this we use both:
Formative assessment – as an ongoing element of our teaching to check for student understanding.
Summative assessment – to assess how well students are learning and remembering the curriculum.
What do we assess in Key Stage 4 and 5?
In Key Stage 4 and 5 we assess against guidelines laid down:
- by Ofqual for all qualifications
- by Examination Boards for individual qualifications
What does formative assessment look like?
Checking for student understanding might take the form of:
- Questioning in lessons
- Live marking of students’ work
- Quizzes and tests in lessons or set as homework
- Other forms of retrieval practice for students
- Practice examination style questions or essays in class or set as homework
- Pre-testing to see what prior knowledge students already have
- A gap analysis assessment to identify any gaps in knowledge that a student/ class or year group might have.
Teachers will use this formative assessment to help them plan lessons and provide feedback to students about what they need to do next. Such feedback will concentrate on students’ learning gaps and how to close these.
What does summative assessment look like?
Assessing how well students are learning and remembering the curriculum might take the form of:
- A test, exam or assessment
- An exam style question taken in timed or ‘closed’ conditions
- An extended piece of work.
How do we report on student progress in Key Stage 4 and 5?
In Key Stage 4 and 5 we report mock examination results, and we also assign Professional Predicted Grades (PPGs). These represent a teacher/ curriculum team’s judgement on the grade that best represents how the student is likely to perform based on a range of performance factors including:
- current performance informed by assessments
- the effectiveness of the student’s learning routines
- the relative weighting of examined and non-examined content
The PPG is also affected by how much of the course has been covered, as students tend to perform better in some areas of a course compared to others. The teacher will take this into account when assigning a PPG.
Attitude to Learning
We also report on the student’s attitude towards their learning.
Teachers decide on the A2L according to the ‘best fit’ from the level descriptors below:
A student who is exemplary…
Means: Always giving of your best
A student who has demonstrated initial knowledge…
- Positively contributes to the lessons, which may include helping others or engaging in class discussions
- Demonstrates exceptional approach to learning during lessons
- Completes work to their best possible standard
- Is always on-task and engaged
- Has high standards of presentation and uniform and displays good manners
- Is always on-time to lessons
A student who is positive…
Means: Working well and trying hard
A student who has a positive attitude to learning…
- Positively contributes to many of the lessons, which may include helping others or engaging in class discussions
- Demonstrates a positive approach to learning in lessons
- Completes work set during the lessons to an acceptable standard
- Is mostly on-task and engaged
- Has good standards of presentation and uniform and displays good manners
- Is always on-time to lessons
A student who is inconsistent…
Means: Improvements needed
A student who has an inconsistent attitude to learning…
- Completes work to an acceptable standard most of the time
- Is mostly well-behaved but is sometimes off-task and occasionally needs reminding of the rules and expectations
- Receives sanctions for presentation, uniform or attitude, although this is on rare occasions
- Is generally on-time to lessons, bar one or two occasions
A student who is unsatisfactory (Parents and tutor aware)…
Means: Significant improvements needed. Subject teacher has contacted form tutor and parents.
A student who has an inconsistent attitude to learning…
- Will need reminders or sanctions to ensure classwork is completed
- Displays insufficient effort with classwork
- Is often off task and can distract others
- Is occasionally late or does not have correct uniform or equipment
- Receives sanctions regularly