Parents

How is my child’s progress measured (Years 10-13)?

Assessment

Staff conduct interim, end of unit and other summative assessments according to their subject's scheme of learning. The assessments are marked, and staff record the students' results in their (electronic) class mark books.

In years 11 and 13, staff also conduct small, targeted ‘booster’ assessments at the start and end of each intervention cycle, in their period 6 sessions. These low-stake baseline and retests are used to measure the impact of these explicit intervention sessions and enable the students to experience success.

There are six assessment cycles which are broadly aligned with the half-terms and departments’ schemes. At the end of a cycle, the assessment data of all students is captured and reported.

 

Grading

In Years 10 and 11, students’ assessment is graded using GCSE and level 2 vocational grades. In sixth form, the assessments of Year 12 and 13 students are graded using A-level and level 3 vocational grades.

Descriptions of the four types of grades used by Kingsmead School are listed below.

Expected Grade

These are the grades that students are expected to achieve in their final exams, or at the end of their technical course.

Key Stage 4 expected grades are derived from the Key Stage 2 SATS results and Department for Education’s Attainment 8 scores. To ensure that all students’ expected grades are realistic, but also sufficiently challenging, the grades are referenced against other national datasets, including Fisher Family Trust estimates. Incrementally lower expected grades for the end of Year 10 are also generated and used with GCSE subjects only.

Similarly, in Key Stage 5, students’ expected grades are calculated using each student’s average GCSE and academic point scores and the Department for Education’s latest level 3 attainment estimates.
Current Grade

Current grades are determined on a termly basis by applying official grade boundaries to the marks (weighted in some cases) achieved by students across multiple assessments/components. It is, therefore, a live grade.

The assessments used at each point are determined by the Subject Leader. The ‘Current’ grade column reflects the current level of students work and gives a strong indication of the grade that they will achieve at the end of the course.
Mock Exam Result

These are the grades that students have achieved in their most recent set of mock examinations. The grades are calculated by applying official grade boundaries to the marks achieved by students.
Projected Grade

The projected grades are professional judgements of what the students will achieve at the end of their study. In determining the projected grades, staff consider the students' performance in mock exams and other internal assessments, as well as any NEA.

 

Progress

Student progress in a subject is calculated by comparing their current and expected grades. In a student's progress report, an expected check column indicates whether they are ‘exceeding’, ‘meeting’ or ‘working below’ their subject expected grades. This column is coloured to give a visual indication of the progress being made by the students. 

Our aspiration is for all students to make good progress, by meeting or exceeding their expected grades. The use of Personal Learning Checklists and the Blended Learning Platform are integral to this vision.

 

Next > What is a Personal Learning Checklist?