Assessment and Reporting

Primary School presentation to parents on Assessment (06 June 2010)

Introduction

At Compass International School, we believe that effective assessment provides information to improve teaching and learning. To do this in our school we undertake two different but complementary types of assessment: assessment for learning and assessment of learning.

Assessment for learning (formative assessment) involves the use of assessment in the classroom to raise student achievement. It is based on the idea that students will improve most if they understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim, and how they can achieve this aim (i.e. to close the gap in their knowledge and skills). A range of assessment strategies are used to formatively assess students.

Assessment of learning (summative assessment) involves judging student performance against national standards. Teachers may make these judgements at the end of a unit of work or a year. Test results, too, describe student performance, in terms of levels.

We give our students regular feedback on their learning so that they understand what it is that they need to do to close the gap in their knowledge or skills development. Research has shown that their involvement in the review process raises standards, and that it empowers students to take action towards improving their performance.

Objectives

The objectives of assessment in our school are:

• to enable our students to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do in their work;
• to help our students recognise  where they are in their learning, the standards to aim for, and to understand what they need to do next to improve their learning;
• to allow teachers to plan learning that accurately reflects the needs of each student and set them appropriately challenging learning targets;
• to provide regular information for parents that enables them to support their child’s learning;
• to provide the SLT and WCL with information that allows them to make judgements about the effectiveness of the school and the quality of learning provided.

 Planning for assessment

We use the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) in the primary school and the English National Curriculum (English and Maths in primary and all subjects in secondary) to guide our teaching. Using these curricula we set out the aims, objectives and values of our school, and give details of what is to be learned by each year group. We identify opportunities for assessment within each broad unit of work. We also timetable a formal assessment week into the school calendar once a term.

We plan our lessons with clear learning objectives. We strive to ensure that all tasks set are appropriate to each student’s ability and this is achieved through well planned differentiated activities. Our lesson plans make clear the expected outcomes for each lesson.

Teachers always share the lesson’s learning objective with the students as the lesson begins. The learning objective for each lesson is clearly displayed in the classroom.

The teacher also indicates the way in which the planned activity is linked to the learning objective, that is success criteria are made clear. The success criteria can be teacher led or student led and they can be written up or shared verbally. The students receive feedback on their work against the agreed success criteria. The student is clear as to how well they achieved against the criteria and a next step or target is indicated so they can see how to move their learning on to the next level.

We make a note of those individual students who do not achieve at the expected level for the lesson, and we use this information when planning for the next lesson. We also keep this information as a record of the progress made by the class.

Assessment Strategies

Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP) is used to find out what aspects of the curriculum students have learned. This type of assessment is done by teachers in class. This information is used to inform their future planning and teaching strategies and is known as ‘Assessment for Learning’. If they know what students have learned, they know what students need to learn next. A range of assessment strategies are used across Compass International School.

All teachers use formative feedback marking as an agreed whole school approach to APP (see Marking Policy) and one piece of work is formatively marked each week in writing. Teachers assess the level at which students are learning against the agreed success criteria and can move the students learning onto the next stage by setting achievable targets or next steps for each individual. Repetition

The APP process is ongoing and the targets set are reviewed regularly through different assessment strategies.

We use Learning Portfolios in the school. Students select pieces of work that represent their best learning and keep this in their portfolio. Over time, we then develop clear evidence of progress. Pieces are also selected by the teacher that have been formatively marked and are evidence of students’ progress in Learning.

Primary School

When assessing skills in IPC in the primary school, specific skills are assessed against a rubric as Beginning, Developing or Mastering. Teachers and students can assess skills .The students are progressively more involved and more responsible for their learning. Once a student is assessed at a particular level, they are given learning guidance as to how they can develop their skills to move to the next level. 2 skills per term are assessed using the IPC rubric and the skills chosen are determined by the content of the unit.

By assessing pupil progress, the teacher can then continue to review whether an individual’s rate of progress is at the expected level for the student’s age range. If it is below, special intervention may be needed, if above the level, more challenging tasks may be set.

Standardized tests (NFER) in English and Mathematics are used each year in May to assess student learning (Year 1 and above). Early Years continue to assess pupil progress via teacher assessments). These tests are repeated every year and give an external measure of progress. New students are tested soon after admission. The result enables the teacher to compare an individual student to thousands of others across the world. We can then see whether that student is achieving at an age appropriate level and also how well this agrees with the ongoing teacher assessment.

The MAC II test of English proficiency is used to assess the level of English a pupil has to enable the teacher to determine the level of support needed. This provides a baseline to focus on students’ needs. When the teacher feels the time is right, we can use a second test to measure progress and this helps the teacher to decide whether the student needs further help or can be withdrawn from the EAL programme whilst continuing to receive support from the class teacher.

Target-setting and Data Tracking

During each academic year, we set targets for all our children in:

• Mathematics, English and IPC in primary
• All subjects in secondary

We discuss individual targets where necessary, and communicate these to parents via the school reports and during parent consultation meetings. We ask our older children to review their targets with fellow students, because we believe that this encourages them to work together and share evidence of progress. We encourage the students to involve their parents in this process.

Progress is recorded (English and Maths for primary / all subjects for secondary) against the standards set by the National Curriculum for England. These levels are put into a Data Tracker once a term following a formal assessment week.

In term 1 the teacher predicts an end of Year level based on the expected level of progress for a child of that age and any value added Confusing. Any external factors affecting the students’ progress are recorded and this data forms part of the handover notes to the next class teacher. The tracker is filled out after each formal assessment week. At the end of the academic year the final level and predicted level are compared and this data is analysed to look for trends in student progress.

Recording

At Compass we recognise various methods of assessing a child’s learning. The type of assessment that we make varies from subject to subject. We find it unnecessary to keep a formal record of all these assessments; we record only the information that affects future learning. When a student has been assessed

On our planning sheets we highlight students who have been unsuccessful in meeting the planned learning objective, or who achieve more than was planned, so that we can take the needs of these students into account when planning for the next lesson. Where the majority of the class makes the planned progress there is, of course, no need to record this, and we use our annotated lesson plans as a record of progress measured against learning objectives.

Moderation

All Learning Improvement Leaders and Heads of Department study examples of students’ work within their subject area. Subject leaders use the National Curriculum exemplification materials to make judgements about the levels of the student’s work. All our teachers discuss these levels, so that they have a common understanding of the expectations in each subject. By doing this we ensure that we make consistent judgements about standards in the school.

It is each Learning Improvement Leaders responsibility to ensure that the samples they keep of student’s work reflect the full range of ability within each subject across the Mileposts. The Learning Improvement Leaders carry out regular book scrutinies to monitor formative marking and target setting and delivery of the curriculum for students.

It is also important to review the quality of learning and give teachers feedback on the learning that their students are undertaking. We use a protocol called Looking for Learning. Looking for Learning means senior teachers going into classrooms and asking students directly about their learning. We ask them questions like:

• Please tell me what you are learning about today
• Is this new learning?
• How will you know if you have succeeded in this lesson?
• What do you do if you need help?
• Do you know why you are learning about this?

We then give feedback to the teachers and review with them the evidence collected from the students to ensure that lessons are properly focused and that students are engaged in new learning or in consolidating their learning and are a part of the process understanding why they are learning something and the connections made to previous learning and where it will lead them to next.

Reporting to parents

We have a range of strategies that keep parents fully informed of their child’s progress in school. We encourage parents to contact the school if they have concerns about any aspect of their child’s work.

In terms 1 and 2 we offer parents the opportunity to meet their child’s teacher. At the first meeting of the school year we review the targets that we have identified for their child. The parents receive a school report detailing the pupil progress so far and a learning target for English, Maths and IPC. At the second meeting of the year (which we hold during the spring term) we evaluate their child’s progress as measured against the targets. The parents are invited to Presentations of Learning where the Learning Portfolio is presented to the parents by individual students. The students share their learning with their peers and parents.

During term 3 we give all parents a written report of their child’s progress and achievements during the year. We write individual comments on English and Maths and IPC. We also include a space for parental feedback. 

The end of Year (Term 3) report details how well the student is performing against the National Curriculum for England levels of attainment, and parents are given feedback in the form of below, within, or above the expected level for their age range.

Inclusion

Our school aims to be an inclusive school. We actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual students, or groups of students.

We achieve educational inclusion by continually reviewing what we do, matching learning to individual needs, by monitoring data, and through asking ourselves questions about the performance of these individuals and groups of students. In this way we make judgements about how successful we are being at promoting racial and gender equality, and including students with disabilities or special educational needs.