Assessment and Reporting
Teachers use assessment well. They find out how much pupils know and remember and then support pupils who fall behind. (Ofsted, February 2020)
The partnership between school and parents is vital in ensuring maximum progress for all students. Student progress is regularly assessed by classroom teachers and is reported to parents at three points each academic year. In addition, parents are invited to attend one parent consultation evening each year to discuss the progress of their child.
Assessment takes many forms, and is an ongoing process involving task setting, completion, feedback and evaluation. Teachers assess classwork, homework, verbal responses and examination style assessments throughout the year. Teachers will use this information to provide parents with a Likely to Achieve grade (LtA); this is the grade that, based on the evidence available at the time, teachers feel a student is likely to achieve in the final summative assessment: GCSE for Years 7-11 and A-level/BTEC for Years 12-13.
Learning is not a linear process, and there will be times when students make more or less progress depending on a wide variety of factors. Therefore, the LtA for any subject may fluctuate through a student’s time at John Colet School. The most important consideration for parents is how the LtA compares to your child’s Indicator Grade. If the two grades are very similar your child is making good progress in that subject. If the LtA is significantly lower than the Indicator Grade then teachers and school leaders will ensure suitable support is in place to help your child close the gap.
Each report will also highlight a student’s Attitude to Learning (ATL) as either exceptional, good, inconsistent or unacceptable - these will be colour coded - green, yellow, amber and red. Should an inconsistent or unacceptable ATL be identified, teachers will work with parents to support students to be ready to learn. As parents the greatest contribution you can make to ensure your child thrives at school is by supporting them to have an excellent attitude to their learning, be present at school and complete all homework.
Understanding Progress Reports
Progress reports are issued at the end of term for every year group. These reports include information about current levels of progress and also student’s attitude to learning. The final report of the academic year for Year 7 - 10 and Year 12 includes information about the performance on End of Year Exams and also a comment from the Form Tutor of a student. For Year 11 and Year 13 the Form Tutor comment will be issued earlier in the year.
Indicator Grades
Every student at John Colet School is given an Indicator Grade for each subject. This is the grade that, on average, students with the same prior attainment data, sex and month of birth, should achieve if they make progress within the top 5% of the country. They are a useful piece of information when considering the progress a student is making.
Parents Information Video: What are indicator grades?
Key Stage 3 Reports
At Key Stage 3 student progress will be measured in comparison to their Indicator Grade. For each subject a student may be:
- Exceeding Expectations - With current level of progress the student is Likely to Achieve above their Indicator Grade.
- Meeting Expectations - With current level of progress the student is Likely to Achieve in line with their Indicator Grade
- Below Expectations - With current level of progress the student is Likely to Achieve below their Indicator Grade
It is important to remember that student progress in a subject may change over the course of a year as new material is covered, students develop their skills and exam techniques and due to changes in many other external factors.
Information on how to interpret a Key Stage 3 termly progress report is given below:
Parents Information Video: How to interpret a Key Stage 3 report
Key Stage 4 Reports
At Key Stage 4, Likely to Achieve Grades (LtA) are published on the report. Parents should compare this to the Indicator Grade for a particular subject. If the LtA is above or the same as the Indicator Grade then students are making good progress. If the LtA is significantly below the Indicator Grade then the student is not making sufficient progress in this subject at this time.
It is important to remember that student progress in a subject may change over the course of a year as new material is covered, students develop their skills and exam techniques and due to changes in many other external factors.
Information on how to interpret a Key Stage 4 termly progress report is given below:
Parents Information Video: How to interpret a Key Stage 4 report