Assessment @ Chilli Road

Aims

 Many people assume that ‘assessment’ means taking a test, but assessment is broader than that. There are two main types of assessment: summative assessment and formative assessment. These are sometimes referred to as assessment of learning and assessment for learning, respectively. At some level, both happen in almost all classrooms. This Policy is informed by current education research, guidance from Ofsted and action research to ensure consistent, effective and efficient feedback to our children.  

At Chilli Road, our assessment aims to be:

CONSISTENT & SYSTEMATIC

MANAGEABLE & EFFECTIVE for teachers & teaching assistants

CLEAR & INFORMATIVE for families

ENABLING PROGRESS & LEARNING for all children

Formative Assessment

 Formative assessment takes place on a day-to-day basis during teaching and learning, allowing teachers and pupils to assess attainment and progress more frequently. It begins with diagnostic assessment, indicating what is already known and what gaps may exist in skills or knowledge. If a teacher and pupil understand what has been achieved to date, it is easier to plan the next steps. As the learning continues, further formative assessments indicate whether teaching plans need to be amended to reinforce or extend learning. Formative assessment is intended to inform teaching and learning. There is no intrinsic value in recording formative assessment; what matters is that it is acted on.Final report of the Commission on Assessment without Levels (p.5-6). Formative assessments may be questions, tasks, quizzes or more formal assessments. Often formative assessments may not be recorded at all, except perhaps in the lesson plans drawn up to address the next steps indicated.

Summative Assessment

 Summative assessment sums up what a child has achieved at the end of a period of time, relative to the learning aims and the relevant national standards. The period of time may vary, depending on what the teacher wants to find out. There may be an assessment at the end of a topic, at the end of a term or half-term, at the end of a year or, as in the case of the national curriculum tests, at the end of a key stage. ,

A summative assessment may be a written test, an observation, a conversation or a task. It may be recorded through writing, through photographs or other visual media, or through an audio recording. Whichever medium is used, the assessment will show what has been achieved. It will summarise attainment at a particular point in time and may provide individual and cohort data that will be useful for tracking progress and for informing stakeholders (e.g. parents, governors, etc.).

NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research)

 School invested in the full NFER suite of assessments from Year 1 to Year 6 using our catch up-premium from the Government. The child-friendly resources offer an age-appropriate level of challenge and have been standardised with over 60,000 pupils to ensure accurate benchmarking data. NFER Tests reflect the style and format of the national curriculum tests to help build pupils' familiarity with more formal assessment. 

Children are assessed using the NFER  three times per year: December, March and June. Each of these data captures are followed by pupil progress meetings with teachers and the senior leadership team.

 Once teachers have marked assessments and performed the gap analysis. All children are colour coded for our internal data sets and this is analysed by all staff and Governors.

ARE = Age Related Expectations