Assessment

All students in the academy are assessed regularly, with a formal assessment at least once per term.

These tests aim to develop students' exam technique and enable them to demonstrate depth of knowledge, critical thought and, for many subjects, their practical skills. Most importantly, they are used to help gauge progress and to take action to improve your son’s learning and progress.

In order to keep you informed about your son’s/ward's progress, we will report back to you at three points during the academic year - one report for every term. These reports will summarise the academic (based on the termly assessments) and non-academic progress your son has made.

What a report looks like

You can download an annotated version of a sample Year 7 report (pictured below) which highlights the key elements.

The report has seven main components:

(a)    The first is the literacy scores your son has achieved against four key literacy criteria, on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being ‘outstanding’ and 1 being ‘cause for concern.’  This is then presented as an overall literacy score out of 16.

(b)    The second is the ‘Attitude to Learning’ score which reflects the commitment, resilience, optimism, reflectiveness, resourcefulness, reciprocity towards their own learning.

(c)   The third element is an attendance and punctuality summary. The goal for 2015-16 is that every student achieves at least 98% attendance and is always punctual.

(d)   The fourth element is a summary of Harris points which reflects the points accrued in the full array of positive student actions including gentlemanly behaviour, bringing the right equipment to every lesson, and showing a thirst for learning.

(e)     The fifth element is a summary of the behaviour points accrued, a summary of sanctions your son has received and the boundary that they are within – which summarises the support they are receiving to correct any unacceptable behaviour.

(f)    The sixth element is your son’s academic progress. This is presented as a test % which converts into a ‘most likely grade’ (MLG) which is based purely on the test % (NOTE: the grade boundaries will vary from subject to subject and from one assessment to the next dependent on the course).

This is then compared to their target grade (which is formulated from their KS2 level – and the expectation that they will make one grade progress above the national average) and the minimum attainment baseline which stems from the data published by the Department for Education (DfE) for the pupils to make the average (or average expected) progress. On reports, pupils have a progress status that is made against the DfE data.

If their progress status is above 0, that means they are making progress above what would be expected, which is good. If their progress status is +0.29 and above, their progress is much higher than the national average which is outstanding. The teacher also records a ‘Teacher Most Likely Grade’ (TMLG) which is a prediction of the grade the teacher believes the student is likely to achieve at the end of Y11 based upon their assessments, classwork and homework. The grades for these students on their courses will be presented as letters and/or numbers dependent upon their year group and course due to them taking the ‘new’ GCSEs. There will also be pass, merit and distinction grades for our approved vocational courses.

(g) The final element is a teacher comment which will provide a target for improvement. Each student will receive at least one target from each subject once per academic year.

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What grade should my son be achieving?

The minimum expected grade is complicated as it is based on the actual marks in KS2 tests (or CATs tests for pupils who did not sit KS2 test) rather than the levels. Our target grades are based on the latest DfE tables, with the target being formulated by our expectation that pupils can achieve one grade higher than the national average. 

Your son’s target grade reflects our expectation that they can meet or exceed at least a grade higher than the national average. Results from previous years show that the majority of HBAED pupils far exceed the national expectations and so these targets are aspirational but realistic.

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What happens after the assessments have taken place?

After the assessments have taken place, teachers will review progress in teams and with pupils. Teachers will share the grades as well as strengths and areas to improve with pupils. We expect all pupils to take time to reflect on their progress and to ensure they take the actions needed to improve.

At HBAED, we have a fluid banding (setting) cycle which works in tandem with the assessment cycle. After the assessment point, teachers sit down with Directors in English, Mathematics and Science and review the current ability bands pupils are in. They use the assessment data but will also discuss classwork and homework in making decisions about any banding changes. The curriculum has been designed so that the blocks for English, Maths and Science are independent of one another. We understand that learning is not linear and this system allows for pupils to change the band they are in 2-3 times a year and for different subjects. The aim of this is to ensure the pace of the lesson best suits their learning needs and it maximises the chances of them achieving excellent grades by the end of Year 11.   

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Our assessment and grading systems explained

Due to the changes in GCSE specifications we have adapted our assessments and grading systems so that they adhere to the new specification requirements. We have worked with the Harris Federation and, having consulted exam boards, we are moving towards a model where all of our termly assessments are externally set, standardised and graded. The table below summarises the externally set and graded assessments currently. See below for an explanation of the table.

Subject	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11
Art	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	HBAED	HBAED
Business			HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
Computing and ICT	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
Dance	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	HBAED
Drama	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	HBAED
DT	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
English Language	HF	HF	HF	HF	HF
English Literature	HF	HF	HF	HF	HF
French					HBAED
Geography	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
History	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
Hospitality and Catering	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
Mathematics	HF	HF	HF	HF	HF
Media			HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
Music	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	Hybrid	HBAED
Physical Education	Hybrid	Hybrid	HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
Religious Studies	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
Science	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
Additional Science	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
Further Additional Science	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
Spanish	HF	HF	HF	HF	HBAED
Travel & Tourism			HBAED	HBAED	HBAED
Citizenship			HBAED	HBAED	HBAED

All assessments marked 'HF' in the table above are set by specialist consultants from the Harris Federation and will be unseen by teachers at our academy. Pupils work on a scheme of work that has been specially adapted for the year group and develops the knowledge and skills over time to best prepare them for their terminal assessments in Y11. The % scores for each externally set exam are then standardised and grade boundaries created for each % based on a model which has been developed in consultation with exam boards. This means the grade is an accurate prediction of what the pupil is likely to achieve as the model distributes grades against a national model.

All assessments for years 10 and 11 marked ‘HBAED’ in the table above are past papers from exam boards (or section of papers). The grade boundaries that these are based on are taken from the exam board and converted into grade 1-9 using the Ofqual conversion % guidance. Each GCSE subject therefore has its own tailored grade boundaries which takes into account the trends within the course and national changes.

All assessments marked ‘HBAED’ in other year groups are set by the Director for the subject and for the Spring and Summer exams are verified by the senior leadership team as a quality assurance process. The grade boundaries for these are also based on national grade boundaries (as in years 10 and 11).

Assessments marked ‘Hybrid’ are those that cover our practical courses. These use Assessment Objective criteria set externally by Harris Federation consultants and lead teachers. Pupils need to demonstrate the skills within this criteria to achieve the Assessment Objective. These assessment objectives are than converted into a % which will equate to a grade either set by the Harris Federation grading standardisation process (as with nearly all new GCSEs) or converted against the subject and exam board grade boundaries (as with ‘HBAED’ Y10 and Y11 assessments).