How do we assess your child in KS4 & KS5?
How do we assess your child’s progress in KS4 and 5?
What is the aim of assessment in KS4 and 5?
At Wilmslow High School our aim is that our students learn their curriculum well so that they know more and can do more. This knowledge and capability will prepare students well for success in their examinations and beyond. It is also important that any gaps are identified through the assessment process so that these can be effectively addressed.
To do this we use both:
- Formative assessment– as an ongoing element of our teaching to check for student understanding
- Summative assessment– to assess how well students are learning and remembering the curriculum
What do we assess in Key Stage 4 and 5?
In Key Stage 4 and 5 we assess against guidelines laid down:
- by Ofqual for all qualifications
- by Examination Boards for individual qualifications
Assessments at Key Stage 4 and 5 can be found at the following links:
What does formative assessment look like?
Checking for student understanding might take the form of:
- questioning in lessons
- live marking of students’ work
- quizzes and tests in lessons or set as homework
- other forms of retrieval practice for students
- practice examination style questions or essays in class or set as homework
- pre-testing to see what prior knowledge students already have
- a gap analysis assessment to identify any gaps in knowledge that a student/ class or year group might have
Teachers will use this formative assessment to help them plan lessons and provide feedback to students about what they need to do next. Such feedback will concentrate on students’ learning gaps and how to close these.
What does summative assessment look like?
Assessing how well students are learning and remembering the curriculum might take the form of:
- a test, exam or assessment
- an exam style question taken in timed or ‘closed’ conditions
- an extended piece of work
When do we report on student progress in KS4 and 5?
In Key Stage 4 and 5 we assign performance grades two or three times a year.
How do we report on student progress in KS4 and 5?
In Key Stage 4 and 5 we assign performance grades. These represent a teacher/ curriculum team’s judgement on the grade that best represents how the student is likely to perform based on a range of performance factors including:
- current performance informed by assessments
- the effectiveness of the student’s learning routines
- the relative weighting of examined and non-examined content
- how much of the content has been assessed at this point