Assessment Policy Acorn House College Authorised by The Principal and Proprietor Date September 2016 Effective date of the policy September 2016 Circulation Teaching staff, all other staff, volunteers, parents and students (on request) Last review date September 2016 Next review due September 2017 1
RATIONALE Straightforward, simple assessment supports students learning. Effective assessment helps teachers to teach well and students to understand how they can improve. It provides a framework for target setting and allows students progress to be monitored. At Acorn House College we aim to: Monitor progress Recognise the achievements of students and set targets Guide future planning, teaching and curriculum development Inform parents and the wider community about student achievement and academic progress TYPES OF ASSESSMENT Different types of assessment take place at Acorn House College. These can be summarised as: Formative: Formative assessment is given by teachers on classwork and homework. Usually written feedback is given as well as a mark or a grade. Most importantly, a comment is added to give encouragement and to indicate how a student can improve. Marks and grades are recorded. A teacher uses this information to adapt his/her teaching so that students achieve their full potential. Summative: This is the more formal type of assessment which summarises what a student has achieved over a period. Summative assessment occurs at particular times of the academic year (e.g. topic tests and end of year examinations). Summative tests give an indication of attainment and effort over a given period. Baseline and Value Added testing: The College has been using CEM tests offered by Durham University, such as Yellis and Alis. These tests assess students ability and relate their performance to UK national statistics. They indicate preferred learning styles and the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of students. They indicate how students have progressed over a given period. The College is also committed to the principles which underlie the UK government s Assessment for Learning (AfL) programme. Assessment for learning approach to teaching and learning creates feedback which is used to improve students performance. Students become more involved in the learning process and from this gain confidence in what they are expected to learn and to what standard. Students think more actively about where they are now, where they are going and how to get there. Assessment for Learning strategies are linked to improvements in student performance in summative and formative tests and examinations. 2
RESPONSIBILITIES Each teacher has a responsibility to assess students and record attainment. Assessment serves many purposes at Acorn House College and has many audiences. Teacher responsibilities: To focus on the assessment of students learning, not just on syllabus content To modify teaching in light of assessment To analyse assessment data to identify patterns of performance and student needs To work in collaborative teams to design and evaluate assessments To show an awareness of the diversity of the learning styles of a class by using a variety of assessment and teaching strategies To provide timely written and oral feedback on assignments To keep a record of all student assessments SLT responsibilities: To implement this policy To revise the policy from time to time in the light of experience To monitor assessment across the college by conducting work scrutinies To evaluate summative assessment results (Formal tests, GCSE results and A level results) and set targets for departments To monitor the assessment of students work and ensure that assessment is being carried out to a high standard Student responsibilities: To become autonomous learners and think independently To take responsibility for deadlines and submit work on time To monitor results and look for ways to improve To pay attention to formative comments given on classwork and homework Parent responsibilities: To review grades and comments made in students exercise books 3
To monitor progress reports and end of year reports To attend parent evenings/to review student progress and discuss targets to support their child GRADING SYSTEM Reports will include a grade for effort and a grade for attainment. When a teacher assigns a grade to student s work, it is important that students and parents understand what is meant. EFFORT Effort grade descriptors for all the College are as follows: 4 - Excellent effort and involvement 3 - Good effort, working well, positive 2 - Acceptable effort 1 - Unsatisfactory effort ATTAINMENT MIDDLE SCHOOL: In the Middle School grades are defined in terms of the grade descriptors used by examination boards. In Years 10 and 11 work is marked according to board GCSE descriptors and grades are awarded accordingly. The College will be reporting new GCSE attainment grades in English and Maths for 2017 examinations. New grades range from 9 to 1 and will replace A* to G, with a good pass expected from 5 and above. Grades will be reported to parents for all subjects. The government s definition of a good pass will be set at grade 5 for reformed GCSEs. A grade 4 will continue to be a level 2 achievement. The Department for Education does not expect universities to raise the bar to a grade 5 if a grade 4 would meet their requirements. The new grading structure will be applied to other GCSE subjects in 2018 and 2019. SIXTH FORM: A Level Grades - AS marks and A2 marks added together - range from A* to E, where AS grades are from A to E. Teachers will award grades in classwork, homework, tests and mock exams in line with examination board criteria. It is essential that grades are applied consistently so that students performance can be compared across subjects. It is the responsibility of each Head of Department to conduct regular standardization exercises in which colleagues discuss sample work produced by students and reach a consensus about which grade should be awarded. In Year 11 and in 4
Year 12 subject teachers and Heads of Department are asked to agree target grades and state predicted grades at the end of the autumn term. All students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning by understanding what grades mean and how they can improve. Teachers will monitor student progress closely, setting challenging targets and sharing these targets regularly with both students and parents. MARKING General Guidelines for Marking from the Acorn House College Marking Policy: Before a piece of work is undertaken, students should be clear what is going to be assessed when the work is marked (the success criteria) Work taken in for marking should be returned promptly (usually this will mean by the next lesson with that class, and within a week at the latest) All completed pieces of work must be marked before a book is returned, including notes; files should be checked regularly All marking should be clearly understood by the students, including success criteria, comments, and grades or marks awarded Marking should be individualised and meaningful for each student Feedback should focus first on praise and encouragement, before giving constructive criticism and a target related to areas for improvement Give priority to comments which relate clearly to the learning objectives and success criteria of the lesson Time should be allowed for students when they receive their marked work to reflect on the teacher s written comments Marking in all subjects should address literacy skills in English Important and significant errors should be indicated or corrected, but it is neither necessary nor desirable to correct every error When students are asked to re-draft work or correct mistakes, teachers should check that they do so and to mark their corrections or repeated work Marking should encourage a dialogue between the teacher and student Self-assessment and peer assessment are good practice, but they should be balanced by regular assessment by the teacher; they are not a substitute for teacher assessment Departments should endeavour to establish consistent standards of assessment Each department should have their own marking policy which is consistent with the College s overall policy HOMEWORK 5
General Guidelines for Homework from the Acorn House College Homework Policy: Check homework regularly, especially at the beginning of the year Keep records of homework checked Always give students advice about the requirements of the type of homework set Give the students the purpose of any homework set Insist on quality work being submitted. Ensure that there are consequences if this is not the case Insist on correct spelling and grammar as appropriate Regularly check when homework is set that students are serious about recording homework in their Student Diaries If homework is not set on a particular day, they should write NIL as the entry for that subject in their Student Diaries Prior to any examination, provide students with some structure, requiring them to make study notes, make mind maps, do revision sheets and do past papers. Do not set projects or assignments two weeks prior to examinations Subject teachers to provide study skills tips on the specific requirements within their specialist subject area If the student has been ill, a period of time should be given to the student to complete missed assignments It is expected students are given regular weekly homework over the holiday periods end of Term 1 and Term 2 and over half term breaks, and extended holiday work only for Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form students Subject teachers are not expected to set work for students who leave the term early for holiday reasons It is very important that homework, including sanctions for not completing it, should be consistently applied across the College so that all students see the arrangements as fair REPORT WRITING Acorn House College s aim is to produce a personal report that notes achievement to date, strengths, weaknesses and areas for future development and progress. Reports promote good home and college relationships and provide information for parents. Furthermore, they should act as a discussion document for parent teacher meetings and clearly outline how parents can help improve their child s performance. Parents receive detailed reports, which include written comments from teachers and grades based on teacher assessments. There are two types of reports: Progress reports known as interim reports are brief snap-shots, and end of term reports are fuller and more detailed reports. PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS Parents are invited to attend formal parent teacher meetings with the teacher during the Autumn, Spring and Summer terms. Parent Teacher meetings take place once or twice a year where teachers and parents discuss student progress, achievements and future 6
targets. Should the need arise, parents are welcome to discuss the progress of their child with the academic tutor or subject teacher at other times by arrangement. TARGET SETTING AND PREDICTED GRADES In the Middle School and Sixth Form subject teachers will set a target grade for each student in their subject. They will also arrive at a predicted grade on the basis of classwork, homework, end of topic tests, internal exams and other assessments. Both target grades and predicted grades will be discussed openly with students and parents. Target grades, predicted grades and report grades will be held on the college management information system and monitored by academic tutors, subject teachers, Heads of Departments, and the Senior Leadership Team. ASSESSMENT CALENDAR Year Groups Terms Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Y9 1 st ½ Assessment Interim Report Assessment Interim Report 2 nd ½ Assessment Parents meeting End of Year Exam Parents Meeting Full Term 3 report Full Term 1 report 7
Y10, Y12 1 st ½ Assessment Interim Report Assessment Interim Report 2 nd ½ Assessment Assessment Mock Exams Parents Meeting Parents Meeting Full Term 3 report Full Term 1 report Y11, Y13 1 st ½ Assessment Interim Report Mock Exams Parents Meeting Finals 2 nd ½ Parents Meeting Full Term 1 Report Final Full report 8