Bellemoor School | Southampton

(Including recording, reporting and target setting)

JUNE 2005

Vision

To provide all staff, students and parents with a regular review of progress and achievement, in order to raise the individual levels of attainment.

Assessment is first and foremost a process: it involves seeking data that might shed light on students achievement, then analysing and interpreting those data and, finally, making judgements about the quality of learning by evaluating the evidence in light of standards. Mary James, 1998.

(All Curriculum Areas are expected to have their own policy in line with the whole school policy)

General Principle

Assessment should:

• Be manageable
• Be integrated into teaching and learning in an ongoing way informing teachers of where students are in their learning
• Identify strengths and weaknesses and indicate targets for progress.
• Motivate students by actively involving them, so that THEY know where they are in their learning
• Be fair to students
• Provide accessible information in an intelligible form
• Form a basis of dialogue between teachers, students and parents
• Embrace academic, social, emotional and moral learning
• Meet statutory requirements
• Make explicit links with learning aims and success criteria
• Provide information to evaluate the curriculum, learning and teaching
• Incorporate procedures for ensuring consistency in standards
• Take a variety of forms formal, informal, formative, summative, oral, practical and written

Assessment

Assessment should be seen as part of the normal classroom process through the teacher monitoring student performance over a range of experiences and tasks, which have been built into the subjects Schemes of Work. There will be various opportunities for students to practice the skills that they have been taught to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. Likewise there will be various opportunities for teachers to observe students work and the progress, in individual, small group or whole class settings made by individuals or groups.

Marking Work

Marking is part of the process that informs assessment. Marking should be regular and ongoing Points to note:

• Marking is the annotation with codes that teachers put on work to correct, improve or guide. Comments need to target areas for improvement and should be clear in their meaning and not ambiguous.
• Work completed in class that has essentially come from the board or the book does not necessarily need to be marked. The teacher should annotate with a tick and initial that the work has been seen.
• Marking has to have a purpose.
• An agreed code will be published (included in annex) so that all subjects use the same symbols
• Marking will not be done in RED
• Draft work that has been marked should not be graded the grading is done on the final assessment. Teachers might wish to indicate on draft work what potential grades might be.
• As well as teacher marking students could be encouraged to mark each others work to support their learning and compliment teacher work. This is not a substitute however, for teacher assessment.
• Effort grades should not be given, as effort should be accredited through the schools Reward System

Involving Students in their Learning

Most schemes of work emphasise the need to identify clearly the learning objectives for a lesson. Lessons remain far more focused when teachers share these objectives with students. In order to involve students fully in their learning teachers should:

• Explain clearly the reasons for the lesson or activity, in terms of the learning objectives.
• Share specific assessment criteria with students in language they will understand.
• Help students to understand what they have done well and what they need to develop.
• Show students how to use how to use the assessment criteria to assess their own learning.
• Meet with students and parents to review progress towards targets.

Assessing Work
Assessment is the process of judging a students work against national criteria and standards. Students need to be very clear about learning objectives and assessment criteria, what the assessment means and why they have achieved a specific level or grade. There should be clear information on performance and what strategies the student needs to achieve their own targets for the subject and/or the next level/grade up. Assessment should take place at the end of each module of work and/or at the end of the halt term.

At Key Stage 3:
Curriculum Areas should assess against NC levels where appropriate and a summary of Level criteria should be visible in the classroom, in easy to understand child speak. It is of no use having statements that students cannot follow. (It is recognised that it is not necessary for all work to be marked according to NC Levels, see marking above.).

At Key Stage 4:
Curriculum Areas should put an appropriate GCSE/GNVQ or other national grade against the work.  These grades and their criteria should be visible in each classroom and students should be encouraged to make reference to them.

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