Reporting Systems
Year 8
We produce two types of reports –
· Modular reports approximately every 7 weeks; and
· Annual reports once a year
Annual reports are issued at different times of the school year for different year groups. In Year 8 this is May to follow up the parents/carers evening held in the Spring Term.
What do the Engagement in Learning assessments mean?
Our Engagement in Learning assessment has been adapted to make it more reflective of the learner’s learning in lessons. Here is what those grades mean.
A – Learner actively takes responsibility for their learning by fully participating in all lessons. They set themselves challenging targets and use their initiative to work independently, creatively and consistently towards them. Independent enquiry, including homework is always completed to a high standard.
B – Learner takes responsibility for their learning and behaviour and participates well in lessons. They work well in a team but can sometimes be hesitant to take risks or independently extend their learning. Independent enquiry, including homework is usually attempted, but is not always to a high standard.
C – Learner does not learn well independently and often needs support with meeting deadlines. They rarely ask questions to extend their understanding and would benefit from increasing their confidence as a learner. Independent enquiry, including homework, is sometimes incomplete or lacking quality.
D – Learner takes little responsibility for their learning or behaviour and rarely participates appropriately in lessons. They do not manage their time or emotions well and usually give up before reaching their goal. Independent enquire, including homework is usually incomplete.
What do ET, OT, WT and BT mean in the progression against target column?
ET – exceeding target – this is where your child has already exceeded the set target so the target will be reviewed and increased, if necessary.
OT – on target – your child has reached the set target
WT – working towards – your child just below the set target (by no more than 2 sub-levels) – this is acceptable.
BT – below target – This is a whole level below target and a cause for concern. You can discuss this with their tutor or subject teacher.
YEARS 7, 8 AND 9 ONLY (Key Stage 3)
When are the targets set?
Each child is set such a target twice a year. The first is where we expect them to be in February of the Academic Year and then in February this is reviewed and replaced with another target for July.
How do we set these targets?
We are looking at your child’s progress as a three year exercise to increase by at least 2 levels. The targets are based on two criteria. One is their entry level in a subject when they arrive in Year 7 and then after that their assessment by the subject teachers.
What progress are children expected to make?
Progress is marked using National Curriculum Levels set by the government. You will be familiar with these from primary school. On each report these levels are noted for each module. The government’s expectation is that every child should improve by at least two whole levels between arriving in Year 7 and the end of Year 9 in the key subjects of Mathematics, English and Science. So if a child arrives with a level 5 in Mathematics they would be expected to achieve a level 7 by the end of Year 9. Arriving with a level 4 would require attaining a grade of level 6.
These grades are further divided into sub-levels.
What do you mean by a sub-level higher?
Each level is divided into three sub-levels noted by a letter – A, B or C, where A is the highest and therefore nearest to the next number level.
So grades increase as follows:
3A à 4C à 4B à 4A à 5C à 5B à 5A à 6C à etc… This increases to a maximum of level 8 in Mathematics, and level 7 in English and Science.
Why are the levels in some subjects so much lower than others?
Some subjects such as Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and ICT have not necessarily been taught to your child before. Therefore the starting levels are lower than for subjects they have already studied. However, they would be expected to improve sufficiently in those subjects, so by the end of Year 9 they will be at a similar level as that for other subjects.
Sometimes my child’s National Curriculum Level goes down – why is this?
Children do not progress at a constant rate, so sometimes they may appear to make no progress or even drop back. This is particularly true when different modules assess different skills. However over the course of the year (5 modules) we would expect an overall improvement to have been achieved.
What do I do if my child’s Engagement in Learning grade is A but they are still below target – how can they improve?
If your child is consistently achieving effort grades of A for a particular subject in every modular report and they are still below target, we will need to re-assess their target.
What do ‘Abs’ and ‘N/A’ mean?
‘Abs’ is where your child’s attendance rate is too low for subject teachers to make an accurate assessment. ‘N/A’ is where your child has only recently joined the school or subject, or may be attending another subject instead, so that the subject teacher is not able to assess their achievement.
Last Modified: 10/12/2010
