Assessment & Reporting

Assessing, Analysing and Reporting Progress at Cowplain Community School

Here at Cowplain Community School we are committed to ensuring that every student makes outstanding progress from their starting points through to when they leave at the end of Year 11.

Starting points are established by looking at three sources of evidence:

• Prior Attainment (KS1 and KS2 levels)
• Cognitive Ability Tests (taken early in Year 7)
• Feedback provided by Partner Primary schools.

This information is combined to produce an Expected Grade Range (EGR) for each student. The bottom end of the EGR represents expected progress (three National Curriculum levels) from their starting point to a GCSE grade, and the top end represents greater than expected progress (four or more National Curriculum levels).

Teachers encourage every student to aim for the top or beyond their EGR and interventions are put in place to support students to do this.

The process of assessment is a key part of ensuring that students perform to the best of their ability throughout their time at Cowplain Community School. Assessment for Learning (AFL)is used in lessons to allow teachers and students to work together to identify strengths and weaknesses and to set targets to improve outcomes. In addition, more formal assessments and practice examinations are undertaken by students at regular intervals, and the two approaches are combined to produce overall gardes in each subject area. Teachers report grades to parents four times each academic year. In Year 11 the fourth grade collection is the official forecast grade for each subject's Examination Board.

In Key Stage 3 students are awarded an A*-U grade to get them used to the all important GCSE grading system. The grades are "fine” grades. This means teachers add a 1, 2, or 3 to a grade to indicate the security of the grade. 1 represents that a student is pushing for the next grade, a 2 that the grade is secure and a 3 that the grade is insecure. Using A*-U grades in Key Stage 3 also allows comparison with students' EGRs. (For further details click here for Year 7 , Year 8 and MFL)

Conversion charts for Year 7 and Year 8 provide a whole school approach to converting Key Stage 3 National Curriculum sub levels to fine grades. This allows all concerned to assess the progress that is being made and to intervene with support where necessary. Additionally the school ensures that GCSE requirements for subjects are addressed as part of Key Stage 3 work, and this is reflected in the Step Up charts developed by each department.

Key Stage 4 grades are "fine” grades. This allows for close analysis of students' skills and knowledge deficits and very focussed interventions. This is also the case for BTECs which are graded as Distinction*, Distinction, Merit and Pass. (For further details click here)

Teachers' attainment grades at KS4 are professional predictions. This means that the grade represents a likelihood of the outcome being achieved based on teacher assessment. The assessment is evidence based and should be secure and reproducible by students.

Each set of data collected is reported to parents with the addition of an Attitude to Learning Score (ATL) and an Attitude to Homework Score (ATH).

In depth analysis takes place following data collections at:

• Whole school level
• Departmental level (by Heads of Department)
• Year Group Level (by Learning Managers)

The analysis focuses on the performance of all students. The Learning Support and Gifted and Talented Coordinators, Learning Managers and the Student Support Team work together to ensure that the impact of attendance, health and welfare issues are assessed and students are supported to improve.

Each occasion a report is sent home, parents are encouraged to comment on any concerns they may have. In addition the school is open to parents at any time if they wish to discuss issues regarding their child. Teachers cannot leave their classes so it is essential to make an appointment if they wish to see a particular teacher or Head of Department. In addition parents may wish to contact the Learning Manager for their child, or make use of the Head's Surgery.

Subject Information Booklets

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9 

Years 10 and 11