Assessment

Summary:

• Teachers use assessment to help us understand the progress made by students
• Assessment of prior learning aids teachers in planning future learning
• Assessment happens actively within lessons as part of normal learning experiences. We call this “Active Assessment”
• Assessment also happens in the form of more substantial tests, exams or timed independent tasks. These will be completed in “test conditions”. This allows teachers to see how students retain and use knowledge independently. It also helps students prepare for the future when they sit GCSE exams.
• In KS3, students are assessed against descriptors designed by TLA staff.
• In KS4, students are assessed against criteria published by exam boards.
• Staff submit performance data 3 times per year for each child in each subject. They record the Current Working Grade, the Current Predicted Grade for the end of the year and an Attitude to Learning grade.
• Parents will receive data on their child’s performance prior to Parent / Carer Evening and again at the end of the year.

At Temple Learning Academy we have carefully sequenced our curriculum using the progression model. In all subjects, across all phases, this empowers students to know more, remember more and consequently to become increasingly expert in all their subjects. The knowledge and know-how they accumulate across the curriculum is powerful, and enables them to leave our school ready to embrace the opportunities before them with courage, respect and excellence. 

In order to ensure that students make the intended progression, we must utilise robust and effective methods of assessment and provide timely feedback and useful guidance on their learning. 

We believe that modern, adaptive and responsive teaching is underpinned by effective active assessment. This should be ongoing, both within lessons and over the course of learning sequences. This allows staff to manage and adapt the curriculum delivery to match the intentions and expectations of the curriculum as well as the individual needs of the students. 

Formal written assessment and feedback follows a broadly consistent approach in all subjects, but the frequency of that feedback is agreed within each department. Traditional, formal written feedback is used for more significant, extended milestone tasks within the learning journey. Often, but not always, this includes the end of unit summative assessments. 

Active assessment, completed live within the lesson, is used more frequently. All teachers are equipped with a range of active assessment strategies to deploy within their classroom using their professional judgement. The pedagogy of assessment features regularly in whole staff CPD and is reviewed carefully within classroom based quality assurance. 

Staff ongoingly assess students at all times during their learning experiences. The vast majority of this assessment is completed during lessons - what we call “active assessment”. This will include listening to students’ verbal contributions, their answers to questions posed by the teacher, reading their work in lessons and observing their learning. Highly effective teachers make use of the active assessment in the moment, making adjustments to the delivery plan to clarify learning points and correct misconceptions for students. Students will receive feedback and guidance from their teachers verbally. This may not be recorded formally in books, but where it is this will be completed in a variety of ways depending on most practical methods for that teacher and subject. Staff will sometimes utilise “live marking” (quick, limited feedback and guidance given to students within the lesson) to further enhance the students learning. Staff will also utilise peer and self-assessment within lessons to give students further guidance.