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Assessment

Assessment data is key to setting our students challenging targets, ensuring our students’ progress is closely monitored and vital in ensuring they receive targeted educational support. The data we collect is used to:

  • Track students’ progress in each of their subjects against their set targets
  • Inform the Academy (CET)
  • Inform intervention: it enables teaching staff to carry out effective interventions, thus maximising the students’ potential in each of the subjects they study.
  • Record progress and results

At Abbeyfield, we believe it is essential that parents are kept informed of the progress and attainment of their child as they progress through each year of the three Key Stages. We do this by:

  • Issuing a Grade Card on two occasions during the academic year. All Grade Cards show the student’s Attitude to Learning (Excellent, Good, Target for improvement and Serious concern) and a Target Grade which has been set for them in each subject for the end of Year 11 (or for Sixth Form only, the end of Year 13). In Years 10-13, we also publish a Working Grade, which is an assessment of how the student is currently performing. In Years 7,8 & 9, we also report on the student’s progress against their respective subject targets.(1: Exceeding Target; 0: On Target, -1: Below target).
  • Providing an annual ‘Attitude to Learning Report in which the student’ is assessed for each subject against the 3 categories shown below.
  • Providing a Parents’ Evening for each individual Year Group, where parents are invited to discuss their child’s progress, performance, behaviour and any concerns with his/her Subject Teachers.

All of the above communications are designed to help develop a cohesive working partnership between the school and the parents. This, in turn, encourages and enable the student to maximise their full potential during their time at Abbeyfield.

Attitude to Learning – Category Descriptions

[table]Category, Description
Behaviour, The student is engaged and focused and communicates with the teacher and classmates in an appropriate and respectful manner at all times.

Standard of Work, The content and the presentation of the work the student produces are the highest standard of work of which they are capable, within the time allocated for the task. The student consistently produces a sufficient amount of work commensurate with the task set and in accordance with the teacher’s expectations.

Meeting Deadlines, The student consistently completes all classwork and hands in all homework set by the deadline date, without the need for prompting or reminders.
[/table]

For Grade Cards, students are awarded a single Attitude to Learning Grade using the categories above. For Attitude to Learning Reports, students are given a grade in each of the three categories. The grades used are: 

Excellent

Students meet the descriptions above in all three areas all of the time.

Good

Students meet the descriptions above in all three areas the majority of the time.

Target for Concern

Students do not meet one of the criteria above regularly.

Serious Concern

Students fail one of the criteria above most of the time and it is seriously affecting their progress in this subject

Grading Structure on Grade Cards 

Key Stage 3 (Years 7,8 & 9) & Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11):
Most assessments are based on the GCSE grade range of 9-1. Some courses use different codes, for example BTECs, which use D*,D, M, P (Distinction *, Distinction, Merit and Pass).

Most of the grades are further sub-divided into fine grades by the symbols +, = – . For example, 5+ indicates a strong Grade 5; 5=, a probable Grade 5; and 5- a weak Grade 5.

Key Stage 5 (Years 12 & 13):
Most assessments are based on the GCE grade range of A*-E, Some courses use different codes, for example BTECs, which use D*,D ,M, P (Distinction *, Distinction, Merit and Pass). Most of the grades are further sub-divided into fine grades by the numbers 1, 2 and 3. For example, C1 indicates a strong Grade C; C2, a probable Grade C; and C3, a weak Grade C.