When students move to Key Stage 4 we use exam grades when we talk about how successfully students are learning the curriculum. This is because students follow a curriculum set out clearly by our chosen exam boards. Through the final exams, students are assessed in line with Assessment Objectives, which the boards share through exam specification documents. It is the marks gained against these objectives which are ultimately converted into exam grades.
Although we do not formally assess against a fluency scale at KS4, the principles of the journey to fluency remain the same and underpin our approach to teaching throughout the school.
When do we assess students?
GCSEs:
Year 10 students are assessed informally, in class, throughout the course. This information is shared with parents early in the spring term. They sit their first set of mock exams in June. These are formal exams, sat in a larger exam venue.
Year 11 students sit formal mock examinations before Christmas, with results shared with parents at a Results Evening in January. They sit additional mocks in English, maths and science in February/March, with parents then receiving an updated results certificate.
External GCSE exams begin with practicals in April before ‘formal’ exams begin in May.
BTEC
Year 10 BTEC students will be sitting an external marked Pearson Set Assignment between February and May, this will count for 30% of their overall grade.
Year 11 BTEC students will be sitting a second external marked Pearson Set Assignment between October and December, this will count for 30% of their overall grade.
They will also sit an external exam in the summer, which will count for 40% of their overall grade.
What have we assessed?
Our Assessment Certificate includes a current performance grade for each subject a student is studying. These performance grades are teachers’ current judgement on the grades that best represent how a student is likely to perform based on a range of factors:
- their current performance across the syllabus
- their performance in the January assessments
- the effectiveness of their learning routines
Please remember that there is variation across courses in terms of:
- the relative weighting of examined and non-examined content
- how much of the syllabus was assessed in the January assessments
This has been taken into account by teachers when assigning performance grades.
An explanation of these grades is below.
GCSE Tiers
Please note that only maths, science and modern foreign languages have tiered papers.
H = Higher. The grades range from 4-9
F = Foundation. The highest grade on a Foundation paper is 5.
GCSE Grading
Grades at GCSE range from 1-9 with 9 being the highest (see below for comparisons to the old A-E system).
BTEC Grading
The BTEC Level 2 equivalents would roughly be as follows:
What other information does the Assessment Certificate provide?
Learning routines are vital and the five we focus on are below. In this report, teachers have recorded how well each student is:
- paying attention and
- engaging with practice
We use the language of ENOUGH, JUST ENOUGH, NOT ENOUGH to flag up where students may be ‘coasting’ or struggling with learning so that we can address this.