Assessment at KS3
To ensure that students ‘RISE to the challenge’ here at Sir Thomas Fremantle, we need to ensure that we have a clear grasp of our student’s attainment and progress. This begins as they enter at Year 7 through the identification of their personal starting points and how we can provide a purposeful environment for students to succeed.
When designing our system, we have mirrored the core principles of the KS3 national curriculum to ensure that it:
Informs all involved how well a student is doing and what they need to do to improve.
Provides evidence of progress over time, identifying and enabling intervention where appropriate.
The curriculum is carefully sequenced and spiralised to ensure each year it builds on previous skills, knowledge and understanding.
Informs parents about the progress their child is making with the consideration of their starting points.
Is inclusive and appropriate for students with SEN and disabilities.
| Subject | Baseline Testing |
|---|---|
| English | KS2 SPAG, KS2 Reading |
| Maths | KS2 Mathematics, Internal Baselines |
| Science | KS2 Mathematics |
| History | KS2 SPAG, KS2 Reading, KS2 Mathematics, Internal Baselines |
| Geography | KS2 SPAG, KS2 Reading, KS2 Mathematics, Internal Baselines |
| French | KS2 SPAG, KS2 Reading, KS2 Mathematics |
| Spanish | KS2 SPAG, KS2 Reading, KS2 Mathematics |
| Music | Internal Baselines |
| ICT | KS2 Mathematics |
| Art | Internal Baselines |
| Drama | Internal Baselines |
| PE | Internal Baselines |
| E&P | KS2 SPAG, KS2 Reading, KS2 Mathematics, Internal Baselines |
This table shows how each subject obtains their baseline bands.
Baseline Data and Tracking Progress
When students join in Year 7, all KS3 students are banded (Grade A, B, C, D or E) by ability per subject, based on a hybrid of KS2 SAT results and baseline assessments.
The baseline banding allows teachers and leaders to identify each student’s individual progress from their personal starting points. It also helps us to identify where we can see their potential pathway of progress towards their futures in our KS4 programme.
These baselines bands are then compared with the student’s performance at each summative assessment point (typically each term) to identify if a student is “above”, “on track” or “below”
| Baseline Grade | Assessment Grade | Progress Indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student A | B | C | Below |
| Student B | B | A | Above |
| Student C | B | B | On Track |
This table shows some examples in the context of English.
Assessments
Each department has subject specific assessment profiles and are available on request, but the common threads incorporate the following:
Knowledge tests with instant feedback, marked either by the teacher or student.
Formative tests marked by the teacher with written feedback on skills and next steps for students to act upon or respond to.
Summative tests marked by the teacher followed by whole class feedback of common misconceptions during a review lesson. The marks of these tests will inform end of term student reports and planning next steps.
Behaviour for learning
All students are responsible for displaying positive behaviour for learning characteristics, which will be rewarded separately from behaviour and reported at each assessment point:
| Build Resilience | Have Integrity | Aim for Success | Demonstrate Empathy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A committed learner... | Actively engages with feedback to continuously improve their understanding. | Is always prepared for their learning and gives their best effort to complete all tasks with a positive attitude. | Challenges themselves to produce work that enhances their academic ability. | Regularly makes positive contributions to their lessons and support other members of their class. |
| A satisfactory learner... | Responds to feedback appropriately to support their learning. | Is always prepared for their learning and applies effort to complete all tasks in line with teacher expectations. | Consistently produces work in line with their academic ability. | Listens and responds appropriately to staff and students in lessons without judgement. |
| A reluctant learner... | Demonstrates poor engagement with feedback to support their learning. | Is not prepared for their learning and puts limited effort into tasks. | Puts minimal effort into learning tasks and produce work that does not reflect their academic ability. | Is unwilling to contribute to lessons and is intolerant of the views of others in their lessons. |
Reporting home
Parents/Guardians will receive termly reports summarising the assessments above including a percentage score which is the output from their termly assessments. These are data summaries that enable parents to gain an overview of attainment and progress to support conversations with their child, and where required, discussions with tutors and subject teachers to further support their progress.