SKILLS

SKILLS19

th N

ovem

ber

2012

Tutor Day

13th DecemberGiving parents the full monty

Lucy: reports and

reporting them

Discussion Prompts

ProgressAre you reaching your TG?

If not why not?Does behaviour or lack of homework effect this?Do you struggle in lessons? / Find the work hard?Attitude to learning? / What can we do to help?

Yes – well done Do you get pushed enough? Is the work too easy? What works well in this lesson?

KS4 - Module exams / mocksDo you know when they are? and in which subjects you will have them?Do you have revision material?

Attendance Big concern if below 90%. Can you clear any N’s.

Are you late? Do you know why it is important to be on time?Why are you late?

Behaviour Positive / Negative / Look on Sims (click on student then on negative behaviour / positive behaviour)

Targets? Where do you feel you need to improve? What targets for improvements shall we set?

Numbers: 1 outstanding, 2 good, 3 satisfactory, 3 causing concern.TG and Expected grades.What do you think about the report?

UnderstandingDo you understand the report?

Concerns / worries Do you have any concerns or worries Do you know who to speak to if you do?

Christine: CAT scores

and reporting

them

CAT: Cognitive Ability Test

Assess a pupil’s aptitudes in three different areas: • verbal (thinking with words)• quantitative (thinking with numbers) • non-verbal (thinking with shapes and space)

Cognitive ability tests measure verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning and the resulting score reflects the person's ability to acquire, retain, organise and apply information. They are not IQ tests and do not rely on prior knowledgeCAT tests give an indication of the ability to learn and make progressThey also highlight areas where support should be put in place

What CAT scores tell us

• Accurate predictors of GCSE outcome in English, Maths and Science

• The differences in the results between the three measured areas can reflect a particular predisposition towards certain subject strengths/ weaknesses or even give an early indication of a specific learning difficulty.

• The average of the three scores (mean CAT) gives a fairly clear indication of where each pupil's ability lies in relation to the national peer group.

Health Warning!

Results can appear negative and demoralise some children

or fuel overconfidence in others.

Pitfalls

A loss of concentration for a few minutes on a particular battery of questions timed for 8

minutes, for example, can result in a significant underestimation on the final test

result.

CATs are simply one measure of interest amongst many.

Pitfalls• The cognitive capability of an individual is only ONE factor that

determines ultimate academic progress and success.

• Hard work, attendance, parental support, quality of teaching and learning can all result in massive variation in the results achieved. Routinely pupils with CAT results below average can achieve excellent GCSE outcomes and make excellent progress because of their hard work, and personal qualities.

• Sharing CAT data can therefore be perilous if it encourages a hard working child to 'give up' or a 'bright child' to cruise along taking academic success as a certainty.

Can CAT scores change?

High

Low

Verb

al

HighNon verbal

Our students• Callie B Non verbal: 78 quant: 74 verbal:79• Jacob D Non verbal: 125 quant: 123 verbal:127• Georgia P Non verbal: 81 quant: 72 verbal: 68

• Jamaica G Non verbal: 90 quant: 83 verbal: 68• Joshua S Non verbal: 90 quant: 107 verbal: 107• Rebecca W: Non verbal: 91 quant: 87 verbal: 74

Reading and spelling test scores

• Yr 7: new online test - July (transition day)

• Yr 8: paper test – in hall

• Yr 9: new online test - October 2012

Sarah: Skills Sessions

and reporting

them

Purpose of the Skills Sessions

• Same in both key stages• To raise literacy levels for all students• To ensure that students who struggle are

given one-to-one intervention by the SEN team

• To provide an environment in the middle of the day where students can practice vital skills of oracy, non-fiction writing and reading for pleasure

Specifically KS3

• Pilot: all students are working towards the production of our first House Magazine.

• All abilities are to be represented – not just strong writers/readers/students.

• Fostering a sense of pride, enjoyment and collaboration in order to produce an authentic product

• Literacy, communication and collaboration skills encouraged and developed

• Will be available to buy – details on the day

Specifically KS4• Exam skills of skimming, scanning, reading comprehension

and discussion are developed • Study is geared towards gaining confidence in exam skills

across the curriculum – much more weight in all subject areas given to literacy skills

• All have the opportunity to listen to a tutor group novel each week

• A range of non-fiction reading is introduced designed to engage the more apathetic/lazy/disinterested/annoying/abhorrent (NB: find PC alternative for these words)

On the day• Tutor notes will be available for you

for reference

• Literacy profiles will details TML/TMG, current attainment, CAT scores and behavioural/attitudinal information