Opportunity + Success = Pride Confidence
Our concept of progress is underpinned by (but not limited to) the principle that our curriculum is our progression model. Our students are making appropriate academic progress if they demonstrate that they are secure in the knowledge and skills of the curriculum they have been taught to date.
Our specialist teachers assess an expanding domain of knowledge so we can be confident that our students continue to retain curriculum knowledge, and then apply it. More specifically, we know regular assessments also serve to help students recall and retain knowledge in the long term. Therefore, many lessons will start with a brief assessment activity that will require students to retrieve knowledge from a previous lesson, topic or year. We think carefully about ensuring the reliability and validity of assessment and make evidence-informed decisions as to the frequency and approach, so that staff are not overburdened, and learning time is prioritised.
In each subject, curriculum maps have been created that outline what students are expected to know and what they are expected to be able to do as a result of studying the curriculum. Pupils who can independently demonstrate these knowledge and skills will be assessed as secure.
During key stage three, where pupils are not yet working at a secure level, they are recorded on our systems as either developing, when they are not quite yet secure, or toward if they are not yet ready to access the curriculum as intended. Where pupils are working above the taught curriculum level, they may be recorded in our systems as exceeding expectations or advanced, meaning they are working at a higher or advanced level than anticipated at that stage of our curriculum.
As a result of the above, there are no target grades at KS3, their target is to be ‘curriculum secure’ or higher. However, at key stage four and five students will receive target grades based on their prior attainment in prior nationally standardised summative assessments, better known as SATs at Key Stage two and GCSEs at Key Stage four. As each academic term progresses students are awarded a grade for each subject which corresponds to the exam specification they are studying. They are awarded two grades, a current performance grade (what they would achieve if they sat the exam there and then), and a professionally predicted grade (what their teacher feels they will achieve at the end of the course if they continue to work as they are).
Assessment at Neale Wade Video Explanation of Assessment
Assessment approaches
At Neale Wade we see assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning, and it is inextricably linked to our curriculum. We use three broad overarching forms of assessment:
- Lesson-by-lesson and day-by-day informal formative assessment
- In-school end of topic and end of year formal summative assessments and tests
- Nationally standardised summative assessments (usually referred to as Exams)
Informal formative assessment enables:
Teachers to identify how pupils are performing on a continuing basis and to use this information to adapt teaching, provide support or extension and plan future lessons. Pupils to measure their knowledge and understanding against learning objectives, and identify areas in which they need to improve
High quality formative assessment approaches robustly and regularly monitor and evaluate curriculum impact in a classroom setting. Targeted questioning, low-stakes quizzing, peer and self-review alongside regular teacher book-review are all effective formative assessment approaches.
Low stakes quizzing should require students to recall knowledge from the last lesson, last week and/or the last topic. This is most powerful when connections can be made between previous topics and the ones about to be taught in the lesson, this is known as interleaved, spaced retrieval practice.
Most importantly however is the clear and direct feedback in order to close learning gaps and correct misconceptions. Therefore, running alongside formative assessment, our teachers provide feedback via a number of direct methods such as live marking and whole class or individual verbal feedback. Our students often peer or self-assess class work against success criteria so that they can make corrections themselves.
Additionally, our teachers sample books regularly looking for common mistakes and give direct feedback to the class with time to make corrections provided as a ‘do now’ starter activity.
Finally, our teachers review books or folders once per half term, checking on presentation and whether students are taking pride in their work. Giving appropriate rewards and/or sanctions as required.
Formal summative assessment enables:
School leaders to monitor the performance of pupil cohorts, identify where interventions may be required, and work with teachers to ensure pupils are supported to achieve sufficient progress and attainment
Teachers to evaluate learning at the end of a unit or period, and the impact of their own teaching
Pupils to understand how well they have learned and understood a topic or course of work taught over a period of time via feedback on how they can improve
Parents/carers to stay informed about the achievement, progress and wider outcomes of their child across a period over a school term.
At Neale Wade Academy each student undertakes at least one in-school summative assessment per term. These are usually in the format of formal tests, however we believe in a disciplinary approach to summative assessment, so if it is more appropriate to assess a Drama unit via a live performance, then that is appropriate for the discipline of Drama, or if an Art unit is best assessed as a ‘final piece’ of artwork, then again that is good disciplinary practice.
