Assessment
Assessment
There are two types of assessment: Summative and Formative.
Summative assessment
Summative assessment evaluates children’s learning at the end of a unit of work, series of lessons or at a set point in the year. The results of the assessment are compared to a standard or a benchmark.
Formative assessment provides ongoing feedback to help children identify strengths and weaknesses and provide targeted next steps. Summative assessment is like measuring a plant to see how much it has grown whereas formative assessment is like giving a plant water and sunlight in order that it can grow.
Formative Assessment
Effective marking and feedback
Children need to understand the feedback we give and act accordingly in response to the feedback to improve their learning and make progress. We start with the assumption that all children can work independently given prior input. Then we increase the amount of intervention if the pupil really needs it.
Principles
- The sole purpose of feedback should be to further children’s learning
- Evidence of feedback is incidental to the process; we do not provide additional evidence for external verification
- Feedback should empower children to take responsibility for improving their own work
- Children should receive feedback either within the lesson itself, by feedback in their book or in the next appropriate lesson
- Feedback is part of the school’s wider assessment processes which aim to provide an appropriate level of challenge to pupils in lessons, allowing them to make good progress
We differentiate the marking approaches that are used for different subjects.
Assessment is an important part of teaching and learning. We assess children to identify gaps in their learning and use the information to inform future planning and teaching. This assessment might be through questioning, marking books or contributions in class or it might be through more formal assessment processes.
GL Assessment papers are completed by Years 3-5 in the autumn and summer terms in maths, SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar), reading (comprehension) and science. Year 6 are assessed termly using past SATs papers in maths, reading and SPAG. Writing is assessed termly in all year groups. The outcomes of these tests are combined with teacher assessment before being reported to parents through the children’s pupil profiles. These pupil profiles form part of the discussion at Parents Evenings which happen termly.
Reading fluency is tested termly. This allows us to ensure children are placed on the current reading book band.
Information about End of Key Stage 2 results can be found on the Performance page.