Assessment, Feedback and Reporting

At Oxted School teachers use assessment to understand a student’s strengths and identify any gaps in learning.  Teachers use regular formative assessment (while learning is happening in lessons) and summative assessment (after learning has happened i.e. in tests and exams), from which they draw conclusions about each student’s learning to inform and adapt future lessons. 

We place great emphasis on responsive teaching, which is guided by regular, systemic formative assessment.  The greatest impact comes from a teacher’s intervention in ‘real time’ before misconceptions form and gaps in learning are widened.  Formative assessments give useful insights into learning, adding to the richness of the information that teachers hold about our students.  

Teachers may use many different forms of formative assessment, including:      

• Regular, low stakes testing including ‘Do Now’ tasks at the start of each lesson 
• Initial fact-finding assessments at the start of each new topic
• Checks for understanding in every lesson (questioning, mini whiteboards, silent work)
• Key assessment tasks within each unit with appropriate feedback 
• Homework Quizzes  

Throughout the year students complete cumulative, summative assessments. These assessments check for retention and application of a broader knowledge and skills base throughout courses, sampling all knowledge that has been taught to date, not just the most recent unit of work.  

Students are provided with an examination booklet each term to support their preparation. The booklet outlines the exam content for each subject and gives specific revision strategies to help students be successful. 

Assessing Students in Key Stage 3

Do we do subject baseline assessments?  

Our students come from a wide variety of different primary schools and arrive with a range of subject strengths, depending on the school they have arrived from.  To undertake a baseline assessment and test everyone at the beginning of the year would be pointless as it would only reflect a narrow current level of understanding in each subject and more particularly would only test knowledge at that time.    

Instead, we complete a fact-finding assessment at the beginning of every unit.  This allows us to assess what students already know at that point and helps us to adapt our planning for the remainder of the unit.  A one-off test at the beginning of the year does not take the ‘forgetting curve’ into consideration, and, as it can be narrow, does not reflect the potential of each student.      

In addition, all students complete the Lucid Assessment System for Schools (LASS) when they arrive at Oxted School.  This tests their reading ability, and this information is shared with our teachers.  Student are re-tested in Year 9 to evaluate their reading progress over time.      

When will we receive our reports?    

Parents/carers can expect to receive student reports after their summative assessments (please see appendix for dates).  

How many summative assessments are there?     

There are two summative assessments each academic year for Year 7, 8 & 9.  They take place in December and June for Year 7 and Year 8. For Year 9 they take place in January and June.      

How do we mark these summative assessments?     

In Years 7, 8 & 9 the grading criteria for assessments are derived from curriculum ‘Big Ideas’ for Key Stage 3, which are the key end-point learning objectives students should meet by the end of Year 9.  To ensure that assessment data is accurate, teachers moderate end of term assessments across year groups in department teams.    

Why are summative assessments cumulative?    

We believe the value of repeated study can often be underestimated and that nothing has been truly learnt until there is a change in long-term memory.  By retesting content from the curriculum in previous years we are eliminating the impact of the ‘forgetting curve’ and challenging our students to remember information more rigorously.    

Do we give out grades for each summative assessment?    

No, not until Year 11.  Final examination grades are age-appropriate grades, and they reflect the entirety of the full specification and course.  When students have not been taught the full course, these grades are generally meaningless.  For example, a Grade 9 in Year 8 is not the same as a Grade 9 in the final examination.  Instead, we want our students to focus on the gaps in their learning rather than being transfixed by the grade.      

Do we give out Target Grades?    

Not in Key Stage 3.  We will provide students with Target Grades in the Summer term of Year 10 and 12 so they can be used to support 6^th Form and university applications.  Target Grades are based on the assessment evidence we hold for each student; therefore, it is important that students prepare well for every assessment to give a true reflection of their capabilities.     

Do students sit full examination papers?    

Students do not sit full examination papers until Year 11 & Year 13.  In Key Stage 3 the length of the summative assessments is 40mins each.  Students with a recognised special educational need who require additional time receive this time.      

What do we report to parents/carers?    

Results are reported as percentages to parents after each summative assessment.  These results are then triangulated against whether the student is making expected progress. 

Teachers also report on effort in each subject; the attached criteria outline the judgements.  Student attendance and rewards data is also reported.    

How is progress measured?  

After each assessment, progress is measured by comparing the students’ individual performance in their latest examination against their Key Stage 2 SATs results, which are taken as a starting point.  

Therefore, it is possible for a student to have an above average examination score, but not be making expected progress. For example, this would happen if a student is classed as well above average in Key Stage 2 SATs but is ranked only slightly above average in their recent examination.  

In practical subjects we compare the performance of the student against expected progress for that subject.  

Assessing Students in Key Stage 4 & 5 

How many summative assessments are there and how do we mark them?  

There are two summative assessments each academic year for Year 10, 11 & 13.  They take place in January and June for Year 10, November and March for Year 11 and 13. 

There are three summative assessments for Year 12.  They take place in December, March & June.  

Assessments are marked according to GCSE, GCE & BTEC grading criteria. To ensure that assessment data is accurate, teachers moderate end of term assessments across year groups in department teams. 

Why are summative assessments cumulative? 

We believe the value of repeated study can often be underestimated and that nothing has been truly learnt until there is a change in long-term memory.  By retesting content from the curriculum in previous years we are eliminating the impact of the ‘forgetting curve’ and challenging our students to remember information more rigorously. 

Do we give out grades for each summative assessment? 

Final examination grades are age-appropriate grades, and they reflect the entirety of the full specification and course. When students have not been taught the full content, these grades are generally meaningless; therefore, we do not award grades in Year 10 & 12.  For example, a Grade 9 at the start of Year 10 is not the same as a Grade 9 in the final examination. Likewise, an A grade in the first term of Year 12 is not the same as an A Grade in the final examination.   Instead, we want our students to focus on the gaps in their learning rather than being transfixed by the grade.   

Do we give out Target Grades?  When will we receive them?  

Yes. Target Grades are the minimum expected grade that we believe a pupil should achieve if working at their best effort.  They are based on a thorough dataset of assessment over their time at Oxted School, as well as our knowledge of the individual.  Therefore, they are contextual to the student and reflect their performance to this point, rather than relying on the SATs examinations they sat when they were 11.  

We will provide students with Target Grades in the Summer term of Year 10 and in September of Year 12 so they can be used to support 6^th Form and university applications.  Target Grades are based on the assessment evidence we hold for each student; therefore, it is important that students prepare well for every assessment to give a true reflection of their capabilities.    

Do we give students predictions? 

No. Historically, predictions are statistically inaccurate across the country and there are vast discrepancies between predictions and final outcomes.  Grade boundaries can change quite significantly, and we cannot accurately predict the difficulty of the examination paper, a student’s commitment or their personal experience in a final examination. 

What grades do we give to students?   

We will provide students in Year 11 and 13 with ‘Working at Grades’ after each summative assessment.  We give grades at this stage as we believe they can give us a far greater and more accurate indication of a student’s likely performance in public examinations as a fuller global scope of the specification has been delivered. In addition, the grade boundaries for Working at Grades are structured around the most recent public examinations.  Therefore, they are based on the most recent evidence and accurate data that we hold.  

Do students sit full examination papers? 

Students do not sit full examination papers until Summer of Year 10 and in assessments in Year 11. This is repeated in the summer of Year 12 and in assessments through Year 13.  By this time, our students will have covered most of the specification. By the summer of Year 10 and 12, students will have covered whole components and the assessments will cover the component content covered.  It would be unfair to test students on content they have not yet covered. 

What do we report to parents/carers? 

Results are reported as percentages to parents after each summative assessment.  These results are then triangulated against whether the student is making expected progress. 

In Year 11 & 13 we will report Working at Grades so they can be compared to the Target Grades. Teachers in all year groups also report on effort in each subject. (The attached criteria outline the judgements; excellent, good, inconsistent and poor.) Student attendance and rewards data is also reported.

When will we receive our reports? 

Parents/carers can expect to receive student reports after their summative assessments (please see appendix for dates). 

In Year 10 & 12 we will send additional information following the March assessment which will include an update on the academic achievements so far and academic targets for the future. 

In Year 11 & 13 we will send additional information in December which will include an update on the academic achievements so far and academic targets for the future.  

Further Support

Please contact your child’s Head of Year if you have any concerns or questions. 

Progress Descriptors 

Effort Levels and Descriptors

Excellent Effort - committed to getting the most out of all learning opportunities available 

• Always participates in the lesson, is fully engaged and attempts all relevant learning objectives
• Actively seeks and responds to feedback on how to improve the quality of their work
• Shows great resilience and preserves with all tasks, even when they are particularly challenging
• Manages their time and work efficiently and is highly self- disciplined
• Uses their initiative and independence in a range of situations and doesn’t always have to be told what to do
• Completes all homework on time, frequently producing work of exceptional and exemplary quality  

Good Effort - a responsible and hardworking student, who tries their best all the time  

• Shows a good interest in their learning, is attentive and focussed and attempts all relevant learning objectives
• Responds well to feedback and targets and completes work to the expected standard
• Shows resilience and is willing to persevere when things are difficult
• Takes responsibility for their work and is well organised
• Willingly does all that is asked of them and sometimes more
• Completes homework on time to a good standard  

Inconsistent Effort - doing some of what they are supposed to do but is failing to push themselves or make the most of the opportunities available  

• Needs to improve focus and behaviour in lessons
• May participate in some lessons but needs to do this more often
• Shows some resilience but might give up when things get difficult
• Needs to improve organisation and show more pride in their work
• Makes some effort to respond to teacher feedback but could do more
• Homework is either not always completed to a good standard, not completed on time or rushed and is not reflective of the student is capable of  

Poor Effort -  not doing enough of what they are supposed to do and needs to spend more time on their learning  

• Makes little effort to be involved in lessons
• Fails to act on feedback provided and as a result may not make much progress
• Is not interested in being challenged and will give up without really trying
• Spends an inadequate amount of time on tasks and takes little pride in their work
• Takes little or no responsibility for their own learning or behaviour
• Rarely completes homework on time or to the standard of which the student is capable of   

Reporting Schedule

Parents' Evenings

Report Dates