ASSESSMENT POLICY
Mission Statement Promoting high quality education, love, care and forgiveness of others as taught to us by Jesus and our Patron Saints. Introduction This Assessment Policy sets out the key principles behind our assessment system. It is intended to provide all stakeholders with a clear overview of why, how and what we assess as an Academy. Rationale Assessment is a continual process which is integral to teaching and learning, allowing every child to achieve their true potential. All children at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy have a right to be taught effectively and assessment is a crucial part of this process. encompassing all those activities undertaken by teachers, and/or by their students, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged finding out where learners are in their learning, finding out where they are going and finding out how to get there. Dylan Wiliam, Embedded Formative Assessment, p.37 and 45. Aims of Assessment Identify what children know and what they need to know next Inform planning, target setting, information for parents and governors and class organisation Measure and monitor progress and performance (individual, groups and year groups) Evaluate the effectiveness of teaching Involving and motivating pupils with their own learning Comply with statutory requirements 8 Principles of Effective Assessment Assessment needs to be accurate and authentic Assessment needs to reflect knowledge and understanding of child development and the way children learn Assessment needs to fully reflect the values of the practitioner Assessment needs to be driven by the professional Assessment must have a clear purpose to support provision and pedagogy Assessment must be manageable Assessment must incorporate a means for accountability Assessment must take account of ethical considerations
Types of Assessment There are three main types of assessment: formative, summative and National Standardised Assessments. Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning) Assessment for Learning (AfL) is the day to day assessment that focuses on how children learn. It is central to classroom practice and is at the heart of good quality teaching and learning. As teachers, AfL allows us to identify what a child knows and what they need to learn next. It supports us to provide appropriate support or extension. AfL helps us to develop keen, ambitious children by identifying, for them, their next steps and targets to help them improve. Formative Assessment can be carried out in numerous ways: Questioning A range of questioning (open, closed, higher order) within lessons helps teachers to assess where children are at with their learning by their responses. Using this information, lessons can be adapted to further scaffold, provide extra support or move on quickly. Providing oral feedback telling children if they are correct or incorrect and what the next steps are (further challenge or support). With this in mind, perseverance, resilience and an ability to accept failure should always be communicated to children so they can tackle their work with greater determination and effort. Talk Group and partner talk provides children with opportunities to formulate answers and share strategies. Classroom practitioners listen to these conversations as it can provide invaluable insights into children s understanding, or lack of. Regular dialogue with children will inform our understanding of where children are and where they need to go next. Self Assessment/Peer Assessment At the end of every lesson, children self assess against the learning objective to demonstrate their progress. In books this is demonstrated with a Green, Amber or Red spot. Children may also self assess with thumbs or hands if a lesson has been mainly speaking or listening based. The teacher will note the children s self assessment for use in subsequent lessons. Self and Peer assessment may also be modelled or scaffolded to allow children to reflect meaningfully on their work marking work using success criteria, giving of 2 stars and a pink think etc. Reflection on previous lessons was the pitch appropriate? Who struggled? Why? How can I adapt/scaffold learning to support them? Who found it easy? What is their next step?
Adapting planning using the information gained above, adapt planning as appropriate for groups, individual, whole class. Marking Marking should maximise the progress of individuals. This can take place after a lesson or within the lesson, giving immediate feedback for children to address misconceptions or to move learners on. Marking should give children some specific next steps or how to close the gaps, with appropriate time given for children to respond (please see marking policy for further guidance) Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning) This is still a significant contributor to our understanding of children s learning. It is a periodic assessment of pupils achievement and progress using National Standards and Expectations. It is used as a tool to support and verify judgements made through formative assessment. As teachers, it is an opportunity to evaluate pupil learning and the impact of our teaching of different concepts and skills. For children it is an opportunity to understand how well they have understood and retained information on a particular topic. These summative assessments are carried out at the end of each half term. National Standardised Assessments These include: Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Baseline Assessment St Peter and St Paul use NFER baseline for assessing children on entry to EYFS Completion of EYFS Profile St Peter and St Paul will use guidance from the EYFS handbook to support practitioners in making accurate judgments about each pupil's attainment. Year 1 Phonics Screening Check - St Peter and St Paul will implement guidance on the phonics screening check as set out by the DfE Key Stage 1 SATs (Year 2) - St Peter and St Paul will implement guidance on the end of Key Stage SATs as set out by the DfE Key Stage 2 SATs (Year 6) - St Peter and St Paul will implement guidance on the end of Key Stage SATs as set out by the DfE The information gained from these National Standardised Assessments allows the Academy community to compare performance locally and nationally against Expected Standards. It is also used to provide OFSTED with information on the Academy s performance and effectiveness. At St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy we believe that it is a combination of all three types of assessment which enables teaching and learning to be the most effective. Assessment is therefore too important to be the sole preserve of national tests and assessments - In good education, assessment is of the progress of the whole pupil throughout their educational journey.
Assessment is the means used by good teachers to evaluate progress and diagnose the needs of the pupil - True assessment is neither wholly formative, nor wholly summative; it is embedded in the classroom rather than an activity of reflection outside the classroom. Assessment helps pupils engage more fully in their own development and learning - A pupil responds better to new challenges if they grasp what is necessary for progress and why. NAHT Commission on Assessment report, February 2014, Foreword by Lord Sutherland. Management Information Systems At St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy we use Classroom Monitor to track the attainment and progress of our pupils. As achievement descriptors, we use NAHT Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within Mathematics and Reading and the Rising Stars Progression Framework for Writing. Over each half term, teachers assess the children against these statements indicating whether the children are Working Towards the expected standard (WT) at the Expected standard (E) or Exceeding the Expected Standard (Ex) and mark these descriptors on their online mark book. For those children who have been Taught a descriptor but are not yet showing that they are Working Towards they will be assessed with a (T). All children are assessed within the stage of their Academy life as detailed below: Stage 1 Year 1 Stage 2 Year 2 Stage 3 Year 3 Stage 4 Year 4 Stage 5 Year 5 Stage 6 Year 6 For some children it may be necessary to assess them at a previous stage, particularly those with SEND however this should not be common place as most children should be working within their stage of the curriculum. Likewise, there may be some children who require assessment at a higher stage, particularly those who are gifted and talented but again this should not be common place.
On a half termly basis the Assessment Leader will analyse this data in relation to achievement and progress for whole classes, key groups and individuals. Using the data inputted into the class mark books, individuals will be given an assessment summary as detailed below. Beginning Beginning+ Developing Developing+ Secure Exceeding As we are following a mastery curriculum it will be expected that many children will begin the year at either Beginning or Beginning+ at their Stage and then move through the statements as they are taught the descriptors. At St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Primary Academy it is our expectation to get most children to Secure or above by the end of the academic year. Each of the above descriptors are given a value of 0.5 points to enable us to analyse progress. For example, a child who finished Year 5 as a 5 Secure will be expected to reach 6 Secure by the end of Year 6 therefore moving through 3 points. Not only will we analyse progress within an academic year, but KS2 children will be measured against their achievement from the end of KS1. As we have transitioned from assessing against the old National Curriculum (2000) to the new National Curriculum (2014), old levels will be converted into the new terminology (see appendix 1 mapping tool). We realise this document is of course subjective, but forms the basis of the NC14 migration tool in Classroom Monitor helping to ensure assessments recorded in frameworks no longer used by our Academy are not lost. Using this tool the old expected standard at KS1 (2b) is translated into a 2 Developing meaning they will need to move through 13 points to reach 6 secure. This is not an exact science but until the children are all being assessed in the same way from KS1 to KS2 it a way of ensuring appropriate progress is being made. Reports to Parents Interim reports are sent out to parents at the start of the Spring Term and the start of the Summer Term for reading, writing and mathematics to show progress against the KPI s for the stage they are working at. Parents will be informed whether their child is Working Towards the expected standard, at the Expected standard, or Exceeding the Expected Standard for each individual KPI. Taught will also be indicated for those areas that the child is not yet Working Towards. A full report for each pupil is given to parents at the end of the academic year which will also include achievement in all subjects.
Consultations Parent consultations take place during the Academy year. In the Autumn Term, the parents evening is an opportunity to discuss how the child has settled into their new year group and general progress. In the Spring Term, the pupil progress meetings will continue to discuss progress and share targets or areas for development. In the Summer Term our open evening is an opportunity for parents to view their child s work and classroom alongside an informal discussion with the class teacher. Information available to parents at these meetings will include teacher assessments, test results, comments on class work or homework and attendance records. Foundation Subjects At the end of each unit of work children are assessed against key objectives as to whether they are Working Towards, Expected or Exceeding in line with the core subjects. Primary Transfer to Secondary For pupils leaving the Academy, up to date records are forwarded to the new Academy, and where possible a meeting is held. Roles Assessment at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy is led by Kirsty Everson, Vice Principal. The Assessment Leader will analyse data half termly with the help of the Governing Body Data group. Data analysis will be quality assured by the Principal and SIP. Class teachers are responsible for implementing the policy as set out above. March 2016 Review Date: March 2019