Our assessment process

Assessment and reporting at Weydon

At Weydon, each curriculum area has its own assessment policy outlining when and how progress is assessed. These are broken down into short, medium, and long-term cycles.

Our short and medium-term assessments are part of our FLOW Teaching and Learning policy and fall under the category of responsive teaching.

Short-term formative assessment happens in every lesson through the use of mini whiteboards, questioning and teachers circulating around the classroom. This is the most important part of assessment as it allows teachers to identify who does or does not understand, and respond to this information in the moment.

Medium-term formative assessment varies by department in line with each subject’s policy, normally taking place every 3–4 weeks. During this process, students receive self, peer or teacher feedback on a piece of work, which they then improve during dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time (DIRT).

Summative assessments take place once a year in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 and twice a year in Year 11. These are more formal assessments covering everything students have learnt up to that point in the course. This gives students an opportunity to practise revision skills and provides us with a snapshot of how they perform in exam-like conditions. It allows us to identify students who may be below track, require exam access arrangements or need additional intervention in certain topics. Assessment results are sent home in a report card which can be accessed via Arbor.

In Years 7, 8 and 9, we report using percentages alongside an indication of whether a child is above, below or on track in relation to their KS2 data. In Years 10 and 11, we report using GCSE grades alongside whether students are below, on or above track in relation to their Weydon GCSE target grade. These target grades are calculated using KS2 data and indicate the progress the government expects students to make. It is important to remember that progress is not always linear, and we ask parents to trust professionals to intervene where necessary.

Twice a year, we also report a CBI grade. This is based on Commitment, Behaviour, and Inspiration and reflects a teacher’s judgement of the effort students are putting into their learning, both in class and through home learning. This is graded on a scale of 1–4, whereby:

• 4 = Exceptional
• 3 = Expected
• 2 = Inconsistent
• 1 = Cause for concern

We find that CBI grades are a strong indicator of future academic success and this is an area we encourage parents to focus on with their child in order to support improved performance.