Key Stage 3 Assessment

A Parental Guide To Assessment In KS3

This year we are making some changes to the way we assess and report pupil achievement at key stage 3. The main change is that we are introducing a simplified version of the pathways system which we have used for the past three years to report pupil progress in years 7 – 9. Whilst, in general, the pathways system was well received and seen as a positive move away from the old system of national curriculum levels, we recognise it wasn’t perfect. We have listened carefully to feedback from teachers, parents and pupils and we hope the new and simplified ‘attainment bands’ system will provide greater clarity regarding the progress of your child across key stage 3.

How Do We Assess Pupils?

Essentially we assess the learning of pupils in two ways, which act as two separate layers of assessment. These are as follows

Layer 1: Formative – on-going, ungraded and focused on smaller chunks of the curriculum.

Layer 2: Summative – roughly 2-3 times per year. Knowledge included will build cumulatively through the year. For most subjects this takes the form of test.

Formative assessment is what we want teachers to focus on most. This is because research evidence tells us that this has the greatest impact on learning. It does not involve the grading of work but instead the teacher identifying pupils’ strengths and weaknesses and then adapting their teaching to help pupils improve.

Some examples of formative assessment are:

Summative assessments will usually take place two or three times per year and these may take the form of a test, an assessed piece of writing or practical work as appropriate to the subject.

How Do We Judge The Starting Points Of Pupils?

We do not assign target grades to pupils at key stage 3 as we do not want to put any limits on their aspirations. We want to encourage the mind-set where all pupils strive for excellence and a culture of ‘I can’t do yet’ rather than ‘I can’t do.’ 

We do however use their achievement scores at key stage 2 to assign each pupil a starting point. For subjects where key stage 2 data may be less useful in identifying prior skills, such as Music, Art, Drama and Physical Education, teachers will carry out baseline assessments during the autumn term of Year 7 and assign starting points based on this information. It must be stressed that this process is only a start point. Whilst overall school progress is measured externally in relation to the progress pupils make from their key stage 2 test outcomes, and we recognise why this is the case, we also recognise that key stage 2 tests only measure attainment at one snapshot in time. As such they don’t always give a true reflection of a child’s future potential. Key stage test scores provide some very useful information about what a child can and can’t do at that moment in time, but we don’t see them as a proxy for IQ. For this reason, we don’t assign rigid ‘flight paths’ for pupil progress; to do so would seem to be entrenching pre-existing inequalities in attainment measured at that one point in time. We also recognise that pupil progress isn’t linear and rarely follows predictable trajectories.

Attainment Bands

Based on their identified start points, pupils on entry will be placed into one of three attainment bands for each subject. These attainment bands are not fixed and where a pupil is working consistently at the level above, their band should be changed. No pupil can be moved down bands.

We firmly believe that if teachers teach good lessons and pupils work hard, both in and out of school, this will lead to positive outcomes. We continuously monitor the quality of teaching and learning across the school in order to ensure all pupils have access to great learning. We also place a huge emphasis on monitoring and rewarding pupil effort in all areas of the curriculum. If pupils try hard in every aspect of their work, success invariably comes their way. We strive to create a culture in school where excellence is the norm; a school where working hard is something to be celebrated by everybody.The process of determining and assigning attainment bands helps us to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each pupil in order to enable them to be taught in the most effective way and to make maximum progress. It will also give us a point from which to internally track pupil progress. Pupils are continuously assessed throughout years 7 – 9 in order to ensure they have gained the required knowledge and skills, at that point in time, in order for them to achieve their expected GCSE outcomes. If pupils consistently demonstrate that they are working at a level above their initial attainment band, they will be moved into the next band. Where pupils are performing below expectations, support will be put in place to help pupils to get back on track; this will often involve contacting parents to discuss the concerns identified. In line with our philosophy of high aspirations for all, the expectation is that all pupils make progress in line with the very best schools nationally.

Reporting To Parents

Three times a year parents will receive an update on their child’s progress in school. Parents will receive a Progress Report, a Parents Evening and there will be one Full Report at the end of the school year. They will include:

Report Example

Average effort grade band- Above average Average effort grade- 1.7

Average effort grade bandings

For example- 

If a child’s effort grade band is-

Effort grade descriptors

1demonstrates an outstanding work ethic and a passion to learn independently
enthusiastically embraces all opportunities for learning
is extremely well-organised and actively follows instructions
behaves exceptionally well
always completes homework on time and to a high standard
studies independently and seizes opportunities to improve
2is hardworking, conscientious and determined
makes positive contributions and acts upon advice
is consistently ready to learn and follows instructions
behaves consistently well
completes homework on time and to an expected standard
acts on opportunities to improve
3needs to work harder and focus more in lessons
does not always persevere and produces work that is inconsistent in quality
can be unprepared for learning and does not always follow instructions and/or sometimes behaves in a disruptive manner
completes homework but may have missed deadlines
sometimes produces work that lacks thought or care
4lacks focus and needs frequent monitoring
gives up too easily and produces work that lacks thought or care
shows little interest in improving standards
often arrives unprepared for lessons
is uncooperative and disrupts learning
rarely completes homework
produces work of poor quality

Key

Effort

Behaviour

Homework

1 – Outstanding

2 – Good

3 – Requires improvement

4 – Serious cause for concern