Reporting and Assessment

Rationale

It is important that both pupils and parents/carers understand how their child is doing at school and identify how pupils can accelerate their progress to ultimately achieve their maximum potential at the end of Y11.


How assessment has changed at KS3

In September 2014, the government announced that National Curriculum Levels were to be abolished and not replaced. Instead, all secondary schools in England and Wales are required to publish their own 11-16 assessment polices, detailing how progress and attainment across Key Stages 3-4 will be assessed and reported. Part of this guide explains how Drapers’ Academy will assess and report pupil achievement from September 2018 across Y7-Y11 (refer to the section ‘Using DPR at KS3 & KS4’).


Changes to GCSE Grades

GCSEs in England have been reformed and will be graded with a new scale from 9 to 1, with 9 being the highest grade. English literature, English language and maths were the first subjects to be graded in this way from August 2017. The subjects with the highest numbers of candidates (e.g. arts, humanities, languages) will follow in 2018 and most others in 2019. This is happening as GCSEs are being reformed to make them more challenging, to keep pace with employers’ and universities demands. In the first year each new GCSE subject is introduced, pupils who would have got a grade C or better will get a grade 4 or better. Students who would have got a grade A or better will get a 7 or better in the first year. Grade 9 will be more difficult to achieve than a grade A*. The extra top grade will also make it easier for employers and universities to distinguish between the most able students If you would like further information on the changes made to GCSEs please click here. Please see below, which shows how the old GCSE grades compare to the new 9-1 grading system.

GCSE Grading system

New GCSE grading system

Old GCSE grade

9

A*

8

A/A*

7

A

6

B

5

C/B

4

C

3

E/D

2

F/E

1

G/F


End of Y11 Target Grades

Each pupil in Y7 will receive a minimum target grade, which is the grade a pupil should reach by the end of Y11. If a pupil achieves their minimum GCSE target at the end of Y11, this would place a child in the top 20% of the country for progress made at secondary school. As a result of the changes to the grading system, all target grades will be recorded using the new grading system 9-1.

End of Y11 target grades are fine graded using +, = and – after the grade.

For example:

  • 5+ indicates a strong target grade 5 and should be very close to achieving a grade 6.
  • 5= indicates the pupil has a stable target grade 5 and should not achieve anything less.
  • 5- indicates a weak target grade 5.

Using DPR at KS3 & KS4

What is the ‘Dynamic Progress Reporting’ or the ‘DPR’?

The DPR is a way of tracking what pupils have learnt to date, or needs to learn in the future. For each subject, we have identified the core knowledge and skills that have to be learnt each year.

What is unique about the DPR?

The DPR encourages pupils to take ownership of their own learning, helping them to develop self-regulation. As the DPR makes clear what has to be learnt, pupils can take control of the pace of their own learning. The DPR makes reporting to parents practical; parents can look at what pupils should be able to do, can do and identify areas they need to develop.

Who can access the DPR?

Pupils, teachers, parents and can access the Dynamic Progress Report by logging into the online DPR application. DPR is an online piece of software and MUST be accessed through Google Chrome or Safari. The website address is www.dpr.education. Alternatively, you can access DPR via our school website by clicking on the link DPR.

Using DPR to assess pupils

There is a national expectation that our pupils make good progress between Year 7 and Year 11. Based on their KS2 results, students will be placed on Pathway A, B, C or D. These pathways provide clear learning routes from Year 7 to Year 11 – the table below demonstrates what this means:

Pupils’ starting points at KS2, upon entry to Drapers’ Academy

Allocated pathway(s) for the students

Expected Year 11 GCSE grades linked to the pathway(s)

Old grade comparator (guidance only)

Progress significantly above the expected level of attainment at KS2

A

7,8,9

A to A*

Progress same as the expected level of attainment at KS2

B

5,6

C+ to B

Progress below the expected level of attainment at KS2

C

3,4

E+ to C=

Progress significantly below the expected level of attainment at KS2

D

1,2

G to E=

Each pathway identifies clear knowledge objectives by each year and for each subject. Pupils must demonstrate secured understanding in these key-knowledge objectives in order to be on track to achieve their target grade. We colour against each knowledge objective like this:

N

NOT COVERED: This means a child has not covered the topic yet

D

DEVELOPING: This means your child has shown some understanding of the knowledge objective

C

CONSOLIDATING: This means your child has shown good understanding of the knowledge objective, but they need to practise more to secure their understanding

S

SECURED: This means your child has shown excellent understanding of the knowledge objective


Pupil Reports

Throughout the year, the reporting section of DPR will be updated once a term for each pupil in all subject areas. The report will be updated towards the end of each term for all year groups.

Teachers will provide judgements on the following;

What we collect

How we show progress

For which Year group?

GCSE Prediction (this is our best estimate, using the professional judgement of the teacher, of what your child will achieve at the end of the KS4 course. It is based on how well they are progressing at the moment).

We subdivide grades thus: 7+: highly secure

7=: secure

7-: insecure                                                                                                                            

Y10 & Y11                                                              

On Track (professional judgement made by teachers indicating if the student is on/off track in their subject).

Y = Yes

N = No

All years

Effort in Class

1 = Excellent

2 = Good

3 = Requires Improvement

4 = Cause for concern

All years

Quality of Homework

All years

Behaviour in Class

All years

Organisation (correct equipment for class)

All years

 

  Effort Behaviour Quality of Homework Organisation
1 Pupil always works hard in class and completes all tasks. Pupil actively contributes to class discussion, supports others, asks questions. Homework always completed, and to a very high standard. Pupil always has all of their equipment to facilitate learning.
2 Pupil usually works hard in class and complete all tasks. Sometimes has to be encouraged to complete work. Pupil is compliant and rarely reprimanded for low level disruption. Homework always completed, to a good standard. Pupil usually has all equipment.
3 Pupil requires a significant amount of teacher input to engage in learning. Pupil regularly reprimanded for low-level disruption. Their behavior affects the learning of others. Homework sometimes completed, to a poor standard. Pupil often is missing part of their equipment.
4 Serious concerns regarding effort. Pupil rarely puts effort in and requires constant monitoring. Serious concerns regarding behavior. Pupil regularly disrupts and significantly affects the learning of others. Serious concerns regarding homework. Never completed. Pupil regularly missing significant amount of equipment.

 

Documents

Page Downloads Date  
Guide to using DPR 23rd Mar 2021 Download