Assessment Policy - September 2011

8/3/2019 Assessment Policy - September 2011

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The Westminster School

Assessment Policy - page 1

Assessment Policy The Westminster School

Drafted - Summer, 2010






Contents Page

Principles of assessment 3

The Westminster School’s Strategies 4

Assessment in Arabic 5

The Yearly Overview 5

The Learning Profiles 6

Moderation 7

Pupils with Particular Learning Needs 7

Target Setting 7

Reporting to Parents 7

Roles and Responsibilities 8

Appendices - Examples of Proformas Used in

the School:

National Curriculum Level Sheet

Level Descriptors (‘The World’)

Target Prediction Sheet (Secondary)

Blank Pupil Report - Primary

Example of other records to monitor academic and

social progress - continuous assessment, for

example.

10



AssessmentPolicy

Assessmentdesignshouldprovidestudentswiththes0mulustolearnindepth,toapplytheirdeveloping

skillsandknowledgeinnewsitua0ons,andchallengeandchangetheirwaysofthinkinganddoing.Student

engagementisenhancedbyincludingopportuni0esforstudentsto:

nego0ateandhavechoicesinatleastsomeoftheirassessmenttasks

withsomeguidance,assesstheirownperformancestandards

specifythenatureandfocusoffeedbackthattheyrequiretoimproveandenhancetheir

performance

actonthefeedbackprovidedbypeers,expertsandteacherstoenhancetheirlearningand

theirperformance

impactposi0velyonstudentlearning

Assessmenttasksshouldbediverse

Assessmentprac0cesshouldbeinclusiveandsupportprinciplesofequality,cateringforbothindividualand

groupdiversity.Itshouldberecognisedthatallassessmentmodelshavelimita0onsandacapacityto

disadvantagetocertainstudents.Everyeffortshouldbemadetominimisesuchdisadvantagebyusinga

varietyofassessmenttechniques.ThelanguageofassessmentinTheWestminsterSchoolmustbeusedto

avoidgender,racial,culturalorotherlanguagebias.

Assessmentshouldbeusedforbothforma5veandsumma5vepurposes

Forma0veassessmenthelpsstudentsandstafftoiden0fystrengths,weaknesses,andwaystoimproveand

enhancelearningaainment.Summa0veassessmentprovidesinforma0ontojudgetheextenttowhicha

studenthasachievedoutcomesrelevanttothequali0esinacourseorprogram.Inshort,weassessto

defineeachchild'sabilityintermsofwhatthechildknows,understandsandcanapplysoastoplan:

Torevealchildren'sstrengthsandweaknesses.

Toensureearlyiden0fica0onofchildrenwithpar0cularlearningneeds.

ToinformfutureplanningandtargetseJng.toensurecon0nuityandprogressioninourworkwiththechildren.

Tocommunicateaccurateinforma0onaboutthechildthatisusefultoteachers,pupils,

parents,andothereduca0onalagencies.

TocomplywithGEMSrequirements.

Goodassessmentrequiresclearar5cula5onofpurpose,requirements,standardsandcriteria

Assessmentworksbestwhenstudentshaveaclearunderstandingofassessmentexpecta0ons.Assessment

criteriainpar0cularneedstobeunderstandableandexplicitsothatstudentsknowwhatisexpectedof

themforeachassessmenttask.

Goodassessmentprac5ceallowsstudentstoreceive5melyfeedbackontheirlearning





Highqualityfeedbackisclearandconstruc0ve,andenablesstudentstomakesensiblejudgementsabout

modifyingaspectsoftheiracademicperformanceinordertomeettheobjec0vesofacourse.Such

feedbackshouldenablestudentstounderstandtheirlevelofdevelopmentoftherequiredskills,their

masteryoftheunderstandingsembeddedintheassessmentac0vity,andhowtheirperformanceineach

domaincouldbeimprovedinsubsequentlearningac0vi0es.ThusfeedbackatTheWestminsterSchoolcan

include:

modelanswerstoques0ons

verbalcommentsfromteachingstaff,bothindividuallyandtothewholeclass

verbalcommentsonpresenta0onsandpar0cipa0oninclassdiscussions

preliminaryassessmenttaskadvice

face-to-faceassessmenttaskdiscussion,individually,andingroups

wrienfeedbackcommentsregardingdraOsandassessmenttasks

Wherepossible,someexpecta0onshouldbebuiltintotheassessmentdesignandgradingprocesssuchthatstudentsacknowledgeandactonthefeedbackprovided.Wherepossible,someexpecta0onshouldbe

builtintotheassessmentdesignandgradingprocesssuchthatstudentsacknowledgeandactonthe

feedbackprovided.(PleaseseeStaffHandbookformorespecificguidanceonmarking)

Assessmentmethodsshouldbevalid,reliableandconsistent

Everyeffortshouldbemadetoensurethatassessmentmethodsarevalidandreliable,recognisingthat

professionaljudgementisasignificantandreasonableelementinindicatorsofachievement.However,itis

alsoreasonablethatsuchjudgementisregularlysubjectedtopeerreviewanddiscussion.Modera0on

(includingexternalmodera0onwhereappropriate)ofboththeseJngandmarkingofassessmenttasksshouldthereforebeestablishedtoimprovethevalidityandreliabilityofassessmentmethods.Program

teamswilldevelopandimplementappropriatemodera0ontoensureinter-assessorandintra-assessor

consistencyinjudgmentsmadeaboutstudentachievementandthequalityoffeedbackgiveninandacross

courses.

Goodassessmentprac5cesshouldpromoteethicalacademicconduct

Ethicalacademicconductisbothastaffandstudentresponsibility.Goodassessmentdesigncanboth

educatestudentsaboutappropriateacademicconductandminimiseacademicmisconduct.

TheWestminsterSchool’sStrategiesforAssessment

Theschoolusesarangeofassessmenttechniquestogaugetheextentofstudents’learning.Theseinclude:

bserva0on-watchingthechildrenontask.

Ques0oning/discussionwiththechildren.

Photographing/videoing/audiotapingworkinprogress.

Examiningandevalua0ngchildren'swrienwork.

Markingchildren'swork,accordingtothemarkingpolicyofTheWestminsterSchool.

Teacherdevisedtestsforareassuchasspelling,tables.BaselineassessmentwhenchildrenentertheFounda0onStage.

AtendofNurseryandRecep0onBaselinesusingtheEarlyYearsProfile.





Assessmentisbuiltintoplanningandtakesplacebothduringeachtopic/halfterm'sworkandattheendof

atopic.Weeklyplansshowassessmentfocuswithanasteriskandanyrelevantcommentsonthereverse,

oraddedtoindividualrecords.

AssessmentinArabic

Aswellastheweeklycon0nuousassessmentsofchildreninmeasuringtheirprogressinArabic,theschool

isabouttointroducethe‘GEMSArabicLanguageFramework’thatisbeingusedinallGEMSschools.Thisis

asetframeworkfromGrades1-9wherechildrenareassessedintheiruseofArabicandgradedagainst

par0cularefficiencylevels.Forexample,‘Emergent’-E1throughto‘Advanced’-A2.Furtherdetailsmaybe

foundintheGEMSdocument,‘GEMSArabicLanguageFramework.’

TheYearlyOverview

Date Section Action

September Foundation Stage Commence Early Years Profile with early baseline assessment of

the children on entry to the school.

Primary Teachers become au fait with students’ previous National

Curriculum assessments / plan work accordingly.

Year 6 - 7 Learning Profile started.

Secondary Some students undertake re-site of internal examinations as per

Ministry requirements.

All subject teachers become au fait with students’ previous

National Curriculum assessments / teachers’ internal examination

evaluations from Summer exams and plan work accordingly.

Secondary teachers carefully evaluate predictions for ICGSE.

Learning Profiles started for Years 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Sixth Form Teachers become aware of students’ ICGSE results.

Sixth Form Learning Profile started.

October Primary /

Secondary

Weekly tests in various subjects start.

First meeting with parents to discuss progress.

December Foundation Stage Early Years Profiles start to be completed given children’s

progress.

Primary Internal end - of - term examinations. Parents Meeting.

National Curriculum sheet first term completed

Secondary Internal end - of - term examinations. Teachers complete

evaluation sheet of how well pupils / classes performed. Feedback

to Head of Section.

National Curriculum sheet completed for mid-year?

Learning Profiles for first term completed.

Parents Meeting

January Secondary Students complete Learning Profiles ready for Second Term

March Secondary / SixthForm

Mock Examinations / Evaluations carefully shared with students.Learning Profiles completed for the ‘final push’.





May Foundation Stage Early Years Profiles completed / shared with children’s next form

teacher

Primary End of term examinations / National Curriculum Level sheets

completed / Year 6 - 7 Learning Profile commenced. Teachers

carefully share information with students’ next form teacher.

Secondary / SixthForm

Board Examinations for Years 10, 11, 12 and 13Internal examinations for Years 7.8.9. And 10. Teachers and

subject heads make careful evaluations of results.

June Primary /

Secondary

Results of internal end - of - term examinations collated, shared

and agreed with the Ministry of Education

‘Open House’ for Parents where academic information shared.

All Learning Profiles completed with pupils’ own evaluations of

their Academic Year duly recorded.

Subject Heads of Departments collate ICGSE predictions and

share with Head of Secondary School.

August Secondary Results of Board Examinations collated / shared with CorporateOffice / evaluated internally by Heads of Department and matched

with earlier predictions.

Each Head of Department to disseminate this information in terms

of successes and further areas of development.

AtTheWestminsterSchool,NurseryandRecep9onwillcompleterecordsbasedonDesirableOutcomes.If

somechildrencompletetheDesirableOutcomesrecordinRecep9on,thenaNa9onalCurriculumrecord

maybestarted.

FromYear1onwards,individualclassrecordsheetsintermsofthelevelsthateachchildreachesare

completedtwiceayear-attheendoftheWinterbreakandattheendoftheacademicyear.Theseare

keptforthecoresubjects(includingIT).Theyarepassedtothechild’snextteacherbeforetheendofthe

academicyearsothatthechild’snewteacherhasabaselinefromwhichtocommencetheirdailyplanning.

Teachersmaywellkeeptheirowninformalnotestoassistfillinginschoolrecordsandinsharing

informa9onwithparents.

LearningProfiles

DuringtheAcademicYear200/10,thea‘LearningProfile’wasdesignedanddevisedforSixthForm

students.Themainemphasisofthiswastogivethestudentsmoreopportuni9es,withassistancefrom

theirclassteachers,tostartevalua9ngtheirownlearningintermsoftheirsuccessesandwhatthenext

stepsmaybetoacceleratetheirlearning.

TheseprofileswerethenadaptedtobeusedinYears6/7(joint),8,,10and11fromthestartofthe

AcademicYear2010/11.AswiththeSixthForm,theprinciplesbehindtheseprofilesaretoenablethe

studentstosettheirtargetsforimprovement,evaluatewheretheyhavesucceededandwhattheyneedto

donext,monitortheiraendance,and,attheendoftheyear,explorewhattheyhavedonewelland

wheretheys9llneedtoimprove.

TheLearningProfilegivesscopeforthestudentstoexploreno9onsoftheGEMSCoreValues,thinkabout

theArabcultureandtheUAEandtoworkinteamsinsharingtheseviews.





FurtheraimsinusingtheprofilewillbetoengagewithParentsontheoutcomeswithintheProfile,give

themscopetomakeacontribu9onandtoextenditsuse,perhapsinsimplerterms,withthestudentsinthe

PrimaryDepartment.

Modera5on

Regularmodera9ontakesplaceeachterm.Crossphasegroupsanalysechildren'sworkagainstNa9onal

CurriculumleveldescriptorsandDesirableOutcomes.

DuringtheSummerterm,teachersareinvolvedinformalTeacherassessments,staffthroughouttheschool

par9cipateinthemodera9onofwork,toassiststafftomakefinaljudgements.

Pupilswithpar5cularlearningneeds

Itistheindividualteacher’sresponsibilitytomonitor,gaugeandevaluatethelearningofstudentswhomay

havepar9cularlearningneeds.Thosewithpar9culartalentsorgisarehighlightedontheschool’sGiedandTalentedregisterthatiskeptbythevariousheadsofsec9ons.

Attheendofeachterm,teachersevaluatetheexamina9onresultsofthestudentstogaugethoseinthe

classwhomayrequireaddi9onalsupport,orthosethathaveexcelledandwhoalsomayrequireanextra

levelofdifferen9a9onintheworkthattheyundertake.

TargetSeIngandPupilTargetSeIng

AttheendofeachAcademicYear,pupils’performanceintheSecondaryDepartmentiscarefullyevaluated.

Fromthesescores,targetsaresetintermsofthepoten9alofstudentstoachieveallgradesintermsofA*-CatIGCSE.

Repor5ngtoparents

Parentsareinvitedtoaendaparents'eveningeachtermatwhichstaffdiscussprogressandtargetsfor

theirchild.IntheSummerterm,parentsreceiveareportontheirchild'sprogressfortheacademicyear.

Parentsreceivetheirchild'sNa9onalCurriculumassessments,givingbothTeacherAssessmentsandhow

wellthestudentshaveperformedintermsofMinisterialexpecta9ons(Arabic,forexample).Parentsare

giventheopportunitytodiscussthecontentsofthereportintheSummertermOpenHouse.

ROLESANDRESPONSIBILITIES

TheAssessmentPolicyanditsimplementa9onwithinandacrossdepartmentsismonitoredandevaluated

byMsMinieMathew,Examina9onsManager,assistedbyRi9kaAnand,theCurriculumco-ordinator.

PrincipalandHeadsofSec>ons

ItistheresponsibilityofthevariousHeadsofSec9on(Founda9onStage,Years1and2,3and5,5and6,7

and8boysandgirls)toensurethatallproceduresareadheredandcloselyfollowed.Theytoo,in

consulta9onwithMrLeslieGodin(TrainingManager)thatallnewteacherscloselyfollowtheschool’s

procedures.





CurriculumCoordinator

ItistheresponsibilityofCurriculumCoordinator(MrsRi9kaAnand)toreviewmonitorandevaluateall

aspectsoftheAssessmentPolicywithinthecontextofwholeSchooldevelopmentplanningandself

evalua9on

HeadsofDepartment

ItistheresponsibilityofHeadsofDepartmenttoapplyandembedtheprinciplesoftheSchoolAssessment

Policywithintheirowndepartmentalprac9ce.Theyshouldformulateandmaintainadepartmentalpolicy

onAssessment–whichmaybethewholeSchoolpolicy.

Goodprac9ceintermsofdepartmentscanbeclearlyiden9fiedthrough:

consistentdepartmentalplanning

assessmenttasksfullyintegratedwithSchemesofWork

sharedlearningoutcomes

standardizedmarking

construc0vefeedback

assessmentdatausedtoinformteachingandlearning

assessmentdataregularlyandconsistentlyrecorded

assessmentdatausedforregularrepor0ng

regularselfassessmentbypupilsandstaff

liaisonwithHeadofYear/Subjectteacherreindividualpupilperformanceasrequired

liaisonwithExternalandInternalSchoolExamina0onofficersreentriesforallexamina0ons

effec0veorganisa0onreseJng/markinginternalexamina0ons,monitoringandevalua0on

ofalldepartmentalassessmentprac0ceandoutcomes

SubjectTeachers

ItistheresponsibilityofSubjectTeachersto:

implementdepartmental/wholeSchoolpoliciesonAssessment,evalua0ngtheir

implementa0on

markinaccordancewithdepartmentalpolicyinaposi0ve,accurate,meaningfuland

diagnos0cstyle

compileandmaintainindividualpupilrecords

reporttopupils,parentsandstaffonindividualandgroupprogress(ctober/anuary/une)

liaisewithHeadofDepartment/YearTeacherreindividualpupilsupportasrequired

YearTeachers

ItistheresponsibilityofYearTeachersto:

liaisewithHeadsofDepartment/Seniorstaff/Subjectteachersconcerningindividualpupil

progress

reporttoparentsasrequiredreindividualpupilprogress

produceverviewstatementsforReportsinanuaryanduneconductwithSeniorstaffformaloverviewofpupilperformancetwiceyearlyaOerinternal

examina0ons





Examina>onsManager

ItistheresponsibilityoftheExternalExamina9onsManager(MsMinieMathew)toliaisewithappropriate

staff/pupils/parents/examboardsregardingallaspectsofexternalassessment.Thisrolehaspar9cular

responsibilityforAS/ALevelexamina9ons.

DeputyExamina>onsManager

ItistheresponsibilityoftheAssistanttoliaisewithappropriatestaff/pupils/parents/examboardsregarding

IGCSE/KS3examina9ons.

InternalSchoolExamina>onsOfficerinchargeoftheSec>onLevel-hasresponsibilityfortheorganisa9on

andinvigila9onofallinternalSchoolexamina9ons.

PupilsandParents

Pupilsandparentsmaybeaskedtocontributetotheevalua9onofassessmentprac9ceatTheWestminster

School.

(Draed/SummerTerm,2010)

Tobereviewed,SummerTerm2011inlightofexperienceofusingthenewlydevisedLearningProfiles.





1]ClassTeacher’sNa9onalCurriculumLevelSheet:



Appendices: No 1 - National Curriculum Sheet / Y1 - Y8

National Curric lum Le els (TA) T affic Ligh s

Name ofStudent

English Maths Science I T Green Amber Red

PupilOne CL T T1 T2 CL T T1 T2 CL T T1 T2 CL T T1 T2

PupilTwo

PupilThree

PupilFour

Tips-UseNCLevelD

expectedtargetleve

CurrentLevel/Gree

escri

latth

n-H

tors

een

stu

tom

oft

ent

kea

eYe

Am

judg

r/T

er-

men

-Le

A/

/Us

elat

Red-

epu

End

LA

ils’w

fTer

orkt

mO

ogui

e-di

e/S

of

eekh

rT2

elpif

Eac

unsu

cor

re/1

subj

stbox/Cu

cthasone

rentlevelT

oftheseshe

-

ets/CL-

Subject A* A B C D E F G U Overall - A* - C

English

Maths

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Urdu

French

Arabic First

Arabic Foreign

C / Studies

ICT

Economics

Accounting

Business Stud

Env. Man

Travel & Tourism

English / First

The Westminster School, Dubai.

Appendix 2 - Predicted Grade Sheet / Secondary Department Year __________ School Year ______________



ExampleofPupilReport-Primary



Academic

Teacher Comment Term 1 Term 2

Grade Grade

Arabic T1

T2

Islamic Studies T1

T2

Academic

Teacher Comment Term 1 Term 2

Grade Grade

English (speaking, T1 ,

T2

National Curriculum Level _______

Mathematics T1

T2


Science T1

T2


ICT T1

T2

Academic grades

A + Excellent➥ 90 - 100 A - Very Good ➥ 80 - 89 B - Good➥ 70 - 79

C - Satisfactory➥ 50 - 69 D - Greater effort needed ➥ 40- 49

E - unable to cope with thbelow

standar 39 &

Appendix Three - Example of Sheet from Report Card / Primary





Appendix Four - Teacher Evaluation Sheet - All Year Groups

Teacher: Subject: Learning Bay ________ / B / G

What do the weekly test papers indic

students have grasped:

Weekly Test Paper One

te that the What do the w

students have no

Weekly Test Pape

ekly test papers indicate that the

t grasped:

r One

Weekly Test Paper Two Weekly Test Paper Two

What do the end of term examinations i

the students have grasped:

dicate that What do the end

the students hav

of term examinations indicate that

not grasped:

Overall, what does the information from the term tell e about how succ ssful my teaching has been?

Overall, what the test papers tell me a

Needs and particular talents who have

out individ

done really

al pupils includi

ell / below expe

g those with Special Educational

tations:

Name of Pupil(s):



Appendix Five - Example of Continuous Record Sheet



Topic of As ess ent:

Date of

Maximum

S.N Students’ Nam

1

2

3

4

5

Appendix Five - Example of Continuous Record Sheet

Special

Needs

Learning Bay ______

Teacher _____________

Name of Student:

Medi

cal

Beha

viour

Paren

ts

Cons

ulted

HA MA LA Comments / Learning Style of the Student

Talents/

Academi

cally

Gifted

Learning Bay ________

Teacher ___________

Name of Student:

Nat

the

re of

rovisi

the tal

n bein

ent or

g mad

particu

in the

lar aca

school

demic gift and brief description of

/ learning bay

Emirati

Learning Bay ______

Teacher _____________

Name of Student:

Aca emic nd social pro ress of the E irati students in your class:

Appendix Six - Differentiation Sheet for Different Groups of Students

Assessment Policy - September 2011

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