Assessment can be seen as the bridge between teaching and learning. Dylan Wiliam describes this well: “It is only through assessment that we can find out whether what has happened in the classroom has produced the learning we intended”.
Formative and summative assessment
Put simply, formative assessment informs a teacher’s planning. For example, when we pose questions to a class, the responses may inform us whether to circle back and re-teach a concept or to move on to the next concept. Summative assessment gives us a snapshot in time. For example, Topsy’s essay is Grade 6 or Tim’s project is Grade B. In reality, summative assessments are also used formatively. For example, when students sit past papers or mock exams (‘summative assessments’) teachers will be analysing responses to inform which topics, if any, need additional teaching (‘formative’ judgements). Because of this, we favour the terms formal assessment and informal assessment here at Brine Leas.
Informal Assessment
Informal assessment takes place very regularly, often without students being aware. Assessment data is gathered through questioning, through looking at students’ work, low-stakes quizzes (for example, quizzes from Knowledge Organisers) and through circulating and observing, whilst students are working.
We advocate ‘responsive teaching’ here at Brine Leas, which sees teachers respond with as much immediacy as possible, to the needs of the students.
Formal Assessments
These may be:
- end of topic tests
- past papers
- mock exams / progression exams
- project-style assessments
- formal assessment of practical skills
Making objective judgements
To support objective judgements in assessments, control measures are put in place where appropriate and where practicable. For example, key pieces of work for examination year groups are marked anonymously and / or teachers don’t mark the work of their own students. In addition, all teachers have received training on tackling unconscious bias and moderation (both within subject teams here at BLS and with subject teams at local schools) also takes place.
Progress Reports
Three times per year, progress reports are published on My Child At School. You will be alerted via email, whenever a report is published. These reports provide:
| Y7, Y8 and term 1 of Y9 | Progress Indicator and Next Steps |
| Terms 2 & 3 of Y9, Y10, Y11, Y12, Y13 | Target Grade, Predicted Grade and Next Steps |
Progress will also be discussed at Parents’ Evenings, which take place once per year. Reporting procedures change at Christmas of Year 9 to support students in making informed options choices during the spring term of Year 9.
Assessment Records
For Progress Reports to have meaning and power, it is important that students and parents know which evidence has informed Progress Judgements. To facilitate this, we publish Assessment Records for each subject in each year group. These are live links and can be found on this document: Assessment Records These key pieces of work are the focus for moderation within subject teams, to support objectivity in judgements.
Targets
Target grades are used as part of our reporting process from Term 2 of Year 9 onwards. Target grades are derived from a combination of: data from a student’s prior attainment; data from the Department for Education; data from national trends in different subjects; and teacher adjustments.
Progress Concerns
As explained above, a central thread in our teaching and assessment practice is ‘responsive teaching’. In practice, this means that we regularly check that pupils have understood (or not) the knowledge or skill that we are teaching at that moment. Since we diagnose learning gaps quickly, we can often close those gaps just as quickly, before they grow too big. Typically, responsive teaching is sufficient to keep pupils on track but on occasion, pupils in our classes need something extra. Within our capacity, providing that forms part of our daily interactions with pupils. It always has been and will continue to be.
Tier 1 Progress Concern: if we have early concerns about your son / daughter’s progress, a ‘Tier 1 Progress Concern’ will be visible on the behaviour module on My Child At School. Rest assured, we are not conflating progress concerns with behavioural concerns. The behaviour module is simply the most effective way to share this information with parents and carers. ‘Tier 1 Progress Concern’ does not carry any behaviour points and will not affect behaviour scores.Class teachers will implement classroom-level interventions, such as an adjustment to the seating plan to facilitate quick check-ins in lessons; supporting with study techniques; or signposting to some support materials (linked to their curriculum) or clubs. They will also have a conversation with the student, and make a note of the agreed actions in the child’s book or folder. Subsequent feedback will indicate whether the pupil has improved, or if progress is still a concern. Classroom-level interventions are likely to close gaps for the majority of students.
Thereafter, if additional support is needed, pupils will be escalated to Tier 2 Progress Concern. At this level, attendance at subject clinics (or equivalents, e.g. revision classes) is obligatory and pupils will be given lesson-by-lesson targets. Again, this is highly likely to bring most pupils back on track. For the few pupils who require further intervention, additional tiers of support are available. For these, parents will be contacted directly.