Assessment
Our curriculum places a great emphasis on effective and well-timed assessment that not only allows teachers to judge a child’s learning but even more helps the child to understand what they have done well and what they can improve further on.
Our teachers make sure that these assessments take place at key end points and use the responses in order to identify gaps and misconceptions so that they can be integrated into future lesson planning and so be redressed.
This assessment journey is built into our curriculum road maps and is carefully planned in each subject area’s assessment timelines. Our assessment is not left to chance – it is planned with purpose and it is focused on building up the knowledge and skills that underpin our students’ acquisition of subject specialism and their capacity to go further in their learning.
Year 7-9 Assessments
Year 7-9 students will have a range of assessment tasks that fall into four main types:
| Bronze | These are shorter tasks which can be done at home or in school. They will have detailed instructions and support with relevant information. |
| Silver | These are more detailed tasks where students will be prepared in advance and might have to answer in a set time-frame. Students may have access to their notes or have personalised questions that link to their ability / focus. |
| Gold | There are formal assessment tasks set by the teacher which are timed and do not allow access to notes or support. Aside from basic instructions, no guidance is given, unless SEND needs necessitate some further support. |
| Platinum | These are our most formal assessment tasks and are set by subject leaders These are more likely to be a formal exam-style assessment tasks. |
Year 10-13 – Formal Assessments
Knowledge-Rich Assessments
One key aspect of our assessment is our short-answer tests which focus on factual recall and memorisation of taught and connected topics. They are scheduled at set curriculum points and are designed to embed key content so that students hold a bank of subject information. This bank can then be applied to more challenging thinking, whether that be in exams, coursework, or classroom debate. The course content is not a secret so the expectation is that students score very highly on these tests. They are straight-forward, clearly directed, and should become bread-and-butter in terms of knowing the answers
Application Assessments
These assessments build on the memorised banks of knowledge as they require this information to be applied to lengthier, broader questions or to specific contexts. They develop skills of application, as well as description, explanation, comparison, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and more besides. The knowledge is very much the building blocks on which these extended answers and arguments are based on.
Vocational Coursework
We offer a suite of vocational subjects which combine coursework, controlled assessments and exams as per the respective Exam Board syllabi. These assessments run throughout Years 10-13 and they are well-scheduled to support students in successfully negotiating the process. These
Examinations
We run Mock Exams in Years 10-13 which assist students in preparing for their formal exams. They are very much designed to inform students and teachers on strengths and weaknesses. They enable us to close gaps, to iron out mistakes, and they give students the opportunity to assess the demands and expectations of each subject discipline.
Equality in Assessment
Disadvantaged Students
It is evidentially recognised that Disadvantaged students face additional barriers when confronting assessments and so we target specific support into ensuring these students are well-prepared in the requirements and context of each assessment. Each Disadvantaged student will be monitored by subject staff and interviewed by staff before key assessment tasks so that bespoke support is provided to facilitate success. Subsequently, student performance is reviewed to learn lessons and to inform future support and guidance.
SEND Students
Similarly, SEND students face both similar barriers in assessment takes and subject staff and the SEND Team provide specific support to support success. This includes differentiated support in the actual assessments, but also pre-assessment guidance, and specific SEND support via Homework Clubs, mentoring and targeted interventions. Again, student performance is reviewed to evaluate necessary focus and adapted support.
Further Information
For more information about our assessment practices, please contact Sam Sullivan, Assistant Headteacher, via office@friaryschool.co.uk.
