Assessment
Our Assessment Principles
Formative Assessment
'All those activities undertaken by teachers, and/or their students, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged'
In the classroom
At Co-op Academy Leeds, the most important assessment data comes from formative assessment. Our lesson journey has formative assessment points throughout with the information gained being used to inform adaptive teaching in that lesson, and to inform future planning.
We use formative assessment to ensure that both the teacher and student understand three key things:
1. Where the learner is right now
2. Where the learner is going
3. How the learner can get there
Strategies used include use of mini-whiteboards, live marking, targeted questioning, sharing of learning intentions and success criteria, self and peer assessment
Subject Topic Assessments
Topic assessments are devised based on these principles:
- Do they know, understand and remember more over time? There should be a cumulative aspect to the topic assessment based on prior learning.
- Can we identify gaps in students’ knowledge?
- Can we identify students that need intervention?
- Can we identify cohorts of students that are underperforming or performing well?
- Can we identify curriculum topics for intervention?
Summative Assessment
Data Collection Points
- Summative assessments are conducted once per term. At DC3 the assessments are common across the trust for years 9, 10 and 11.
- The precise timing of the summative assessment is determined by the Curriculum Leader and the long term plan that is in place (barring year 11 mock exams and DC3 assessments). This ensures that the assessment is in the right place for that sequence of learning, for that particular subject and year group. This also allows subject leaders to stagger the marking load of their team and so supports staff well being.
- They should be ramped in style so that they are accessible for all and provide challenge for all.
- They should sample as much of the domain from that academic year as possible and are cumulative in nature.
- They are focused on the precise powerful knowledge identified in schemes of learning.
- They should be a combination of multiple choice, short and long form questions.
- The year group average should be approx 50% at KS3
Reporting
KS3 – % scores including year and class average
KS4 – GCSE Grades – current and predicted