Assessment & Reporting

Assessment at SRWA

EVALUATIVE ASSESSMENTKS3 Assessment OverviewKS4 Assessment OverviewKS5 Assessment Overview

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment refers to the day-to-day and ongoing assessment taking place during a lesson, or while the learning is occurring. Formative assessment helps identify the weaknesses, struggles, misconceptions and learning gaps that need to be filled. Formative assessment strategies include questioning, feedback, peer- and self-assessment and formative use of summative tests.

At SRWA, this is typically performed through hands down ‘Cold Call’ questioning, and through the use of Mini Whiteboards. There is no central dictate in regards to the frequency and amount of written feedback that a teacher should provide but, when doing so, we share a broadly common approach, with the use of ‘WWW’ (what went well) and ‘EBI’ (even better if) comments. It is established practice that students both peer- and self- assess using green pens, and that teachers intentionally monitor by circling the room, ‘catching things’ and checking for understanding. In most lessons, time sensitive and personalised verbal feedback has the greatest impact on student learning.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment is a ‘snapshot’ which establishes what a student can do at a given time. We never want time given over to assessment to be disproportionate to teaching time, or to get in the way. Our first criteria for our summative assessment model is that it should be planned in tandem with the curriculum. Assessment does not exist as its own separate entity. Summative assessments are carefully mapped into the curriculum, feeding into a whole school Assessment Calendar that is published annually. This enables us to evaluate the progress of our students at key points in the learning journey, and allows teachers to plan for reteaching and intervention. At SRWA, during an academic year, there are two formal summative assessment points for each year group (with public examinations for students in years 11 and 13, starting in the Summer Term). The bi-annual assessments are calendared, so that students are given advance notice and can be adequately supported by teachers and pastoral leaders. 

Similarly, Summative Assessment data is then collected, and reported, bi-annually for all year groups. At Key Stage 3, we collect and report attainment data from EBacc subjects only, whereas at Key Stage 4 & 5, data is collected, and reported, for all qualifications that a student is entered for.  

At the beginning of years 10 and 12, students are set ‘Aspire Grades’ for each subject, according to their prior attainment data. In collecting and reporting assessment data, we then measure student success against their own potential as we strive to help every student achieve their own personal best. This ethos is key to our ‘Aspire to Achieve’ belief system. 

Students working towards qualifications, receive their first predicted grades in the summer term, near to the end of their first year of study. This allows students at the end of year 10, to start thinking about their W6 applications, and students at the end of year 12 to begin their UCAS applications. 

We believe that a strong partnership with parents and carers, based on frequent communication, helps students to achieve their best. To this end, and by design, we provide ‘pared down’ progress reports, twice a year, that keep a sharp focus on the assessment information that reveals the most about student learning. We then invite you to come into school to meet with us, on Parent’s Evenings, for a more dynamic 360° conversation. 

Below is a summary of our reporting cycle:

*For the purpose of this exercise, the EBacc subjects are: English; Maths; Science; Geography,  History and French OR Spanish.

Subject teachers are expected to review the data for the classes they teach at each data collection point and use the outcomes to impact future planning as part of our commitment to ‘Quality First Teaching’, and the ‘Plan, Do, Review’ model. We run subject interventions and a Summer School to support those students who are identified as at risk of falling significantly behind.