Assessment Guide for Parents

KS3 Assessment Guidance stages

At The Heys School, and as part of The Rowan Learning Trust, we operate a ‘stages’ system in our KS3 assessment process.

Our Practice:

Your ‘Working at Stage’ – Over the academic year, students will be assessed a number of times in each subject. For each assessment, a stage will be assigned based on the attainment in that test/task. Over the year the stage attained in a particular subject are combined to create a running average. This is the ‘Working at Stage’. 

Internal Assessment – Assessments conducted in each subject, which provide additional information with regard to attainment and progress over time. This will see students’ progress viewed as a ‘Stage’ derived from key knowledge, skills and competencies in each subject. Targets can then be discussed regarding moving up through stages skill, knowledge and competency.

KS3 Grading System – ‘Stages’ running from 1-11 which map students’ progress against Assessment Objectives (AO) are incorporated into subject assessments. Stages sit within an expected range of progress for a student from a starting point of key stage 2 assessment data. However, they do not hold a student back from making above expected progress in a subject.

Outline

  • Assessment reports are used to deliver the summative assessment data to parents/carers. All year groups will have three assessment reports each year. These reports will be made available via the Sims Learning Gateway (SLG) and posted to parents/carers where necessary. In years 10 and 11, students will be given their current working grade (WAG) and a prediction for their result at the end of Year 11. Students in KS3 will be given their overall stage from assessments that year.
  • Annual Tutor Reports to parents/carers will outline the progress students are making across a range of subjects, whilst also commenting on their involvement in wider school life and specific areas to celebrate or upon which to focus.
  • Reports in all year groups will provide detail of student; Behaviour, Effort and Homework with a score of 1-4 (1 being the highest).

Key Stage 2 (Scaled Scores) – these assessments highlight pupil achievement on entry, from primary school.

Key Stage 3 assessments – internal assessments, conducted in each subject, which provide additional information with regard to attainment and progress over time. Students are given a ‘stage’ for their learning, based on statements of their ability in each subject. These stages link to skills required in KS4 qualifications.   

External Qualifications – Nationally recognised qualifications (such as GCSE/BTEC) which measure performance by external verification and are compared to national averages.  

Further detail of subject assessments can be given via contacting subject leaders. Further information regarding the school’s assessment system can discussed by contacting Mrs Whitfield.