For queries regarding school assessment please contact:
Mr K Georgy, Assistant Headteacher
kgeorgy@mountcarmelhigh.lancs.sch.uk
We have a ‘life without levels’ approach to reporting on progress over time for each pupil at Mount Carmel RC High School. This is explained as follows;
• All subject areas carry out assessments based on the curriculum in line with the age range of the Year group. The assessments may be differentiated to the needs to the specific class.
• Pupils may receive a variety of different assessment marks (for example., grade, bands, and score). However this information will not be sent home but evidenced in the marking of exercise books and assessments.
• Progress will be displayed in the Mount Carmel tracking sticker which is placed on the front of all exercise books. This will be filled in throughout the academic year and based on the new colouring system.
Interim reports which are sent home throughout the academic year will be revised and based on the new model. As such, all interim reports will now contain the following information;
• Information on the assessments in each subject (for example; Religious Education ‘Believing in God Unit 3.1’).
• Attitude to learning scores for behaviour, classwork and homework for each subject.
• A clear ‘Above Target’, ‘On Target’ or ‘Below Target’ statement for each subject.
The advantages of this system are as follows;
• Easy to understand as well as offering a simple way to record, monitor and track progress over time.
• Places pupil’s individual progress at the core of everything.
• Sharing assessment information allows parents and teachers to be clear on what the progress is in relation to (for example; skills and knowledge, reading and numeracy).
The most important aspect to the ‘life without levels’ model is that it is directly linked to the five year journey to success as all pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 will now have GCSE based targets in line with the reformed 9-1 GCSEs. Progress over time, continuous assessment and tracking is all leading up to end of Year 11 achievement. KS3 is of crucial importance for future success and this will allow us to prepare all of our pupils now.
“We believe that it is vital for all assessment, up be the point of public examinations, to be focused on which specific elements of the curriculum an individual has deeply understood and which they have not“.
– Framework for the National Curriculum