Assessment

ASSESSMENT AT DRAYTON MANOR HIGH SCHOOL 

At Drayton Manor High School, we believe that assessment should measure what is valued rather than value what can be measured. Assessment exists to support our curriculum and help students secure the knowledge, understanding and subject expertise needed for success in school and beyond. As a school, we are committed to providing a broad, ambitious and knowledge-rich curriculum, and our approach to assessment is designed to reflect the distinct nature of each subject. Assessment is therefore not an end in itself. It is a tool that helps students learn more, remember more and achieve more.

THE PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT

Assessment is used to:

  • Support students in securing and retaining important knowledge and understanding.

  • Identify strengths, misconceptions and gaps in learning.

  • Inform teachers' planning and classroom practice.

  • Help students understand how they can improve.

  • Provide meaningful information to parents about attainment and progress.

  • Evaluate how successfully the intended curriculum is being learned.

     

Through assessment, we seek to ensure that all students make strong progress through the curriculum and receive the support and challenge they need to achieve their potential.

ATTITUDE TO LEARNING

Alongside academic progress, all students receive an Attitude to Learning judgement. This reflects a student's engagement with learning and their commitment to achieving their potential.

Attitude to Learning considers factors such as effort, organisation, participation in lessons, completion of classwork and homework, and responsiveness to feedback.

Students are awarded one of four judgements:

1 - Excellent
2 - Good
3 - Some Concern
4 - Serious Concern

We believe that positive attitudes towards learning are fundamental to academic success. This judgement helps students, parents and teachers identify strengths and, where necessary, areas for improvement in a student's approach to learning.

ASSESSMENT AT KEY STAGE 3

At Key Stage 3, progress is measured through students' growing mastery of the curriculum and the powerful knowledge within each subject over time. Teachers assess how successfully students are learning, retaining and applying the knowledge, concepts and skills that have been taught. Assessment information is considered alongside students' performance across a range of classwork, homework tasks and formal assessments throughout the year.

Because every subject represents a different way of understanding the world, assessment should not look the same in every classroom. What it means to be successful in History differs from what it means to be successful in Mathematics, Science, Art, Music or Physical Education. Our assessments therefore reflect the knowledge, concepts and ways of thinking that are most important within each discipline.

For this reason, we do not believe that a single assessment model can accurately capture achievement across every subject.

Student reports break each subject down into a number of subject-specific assessment areas. These assessment areas reflect the most important aspects of learning within that discipline. For example, in Modern Foreign Languages, students are assessed in Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, whilst assessment areas in other subjects reflect the knowledge, understanding and skills most valued within those disciplines.

Each assessment area is awarded a progress judgement:

  • Excellent Progress

  • Good Progress

  • Satisfactory Progress

  • Progress is a Concern

This enables students, parents and teachers to identify strengths and areas for development within individual subjects, rather than relying on a single overall judgement.

Whilst our curriculum and assessment are rooted in the distinct nature of individual subjects, student progress is judged in relation to prior attainment. This enables us to identify whether a student is making the progress expected at that point in the Key Stage and to provide appropriate support and challenge where required. Alongside subject-specific progress judgements, reports also include an overall progress judgement and an Attitude to Learning score.

ASSESSMENT AT KEY STAGE 4 AND KEY STAGE 5

Whilst the principles underpinning assessment remain the same, assessment at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 is designed to help students, parents and teachers understand progress towards public examinations and future destinations.

Reports provide clear information about current attainment, future potential and engagement with learning, enabling students to take ownership of their progress and identify areas for further development.

TARGET GRADE

The Target Grade is based on prior attainment and national benchmarks. It represents an aspirational yet achievable outcome and provides an indication of the level of performance a student might be expected to reach by the end of their course.

CURRENT ATTAINMENT

The Current Attainment grade reflects a student's performance across recent assessments and examinations and provides a snapshot of current performance against course expectations.

Predicted Grade

The Predicted Grade reflects the grade teachers believe a student is most likely to achieve in their final examinations if they continue to work at their current level. This judgement is informed by assessment evidence, classwork, homework, examination performance and professional judgement.

Alongside Target Grades, Current Attainment and Predicted Grades, reports also include an Attitude to Learning judgement. This enables students, parents and teachers to consider both academic performance and engagement with learning when evaluating progress and identifying areas for further development.

Assessment Calendar

To ensure assessment is purposeful, manageable and provides meaningful information about student learning, each year group follows a planned assessment calendar throughout the academic year.

Students in Years 7 to 10 and Year 12 complete a dedicated Assessment Week once each term. These assessments are synoptic, meaning they draw upon knowledge and understanding from across a sequence of learning rather than solely assessing recent content. This approach helps students strengthen their long-term memory, make connections between topics and demonstrate the cumulative knowledge they have developed over time.

Students in Year 11 and Year 13 follow a different assessment programme due to the demands of public examinations. Instead of Assessment Weeks, they complete two formal mock examination periods during the academic year. These mocks are designed to replicate examination conditions, assess students' readiness for their final examinations and provide valuable information to students, parents and teachers about current attainment and areas for further development.

In addition, Year 10 and Year 12 students complete a formal mock examination period during the Summer Term as part of their preparation for the final year of their courses.

Together, Assessment Weeks and mock examinations provide regular opportunities for students to recall, apply and consolidate their learning, whilst enabling teachers to evaluate how successfully the curriculum is being learned and retained.

Using Assessment Information

Reports are designed to provide a clear picture of a student's academic performance and identify areas for improvement.

Parents and students are encouraged to discuss each report together, celebrating strengths whilst identifying priorities for improvement. Strong attainment combined with positive attitudes to learning often indicates that students are making effective progress. Where attainment is below expectation, reports can help identify whether additional support, improved study habits or further intervention may be required. Students should regularly discuss feedback with their teachers and use this guidance to identify the most effective next steps in their learning.

Assessment in Support of Learning

Assessment at Drayton Manor High School is not an end in itself. It is a tool that helps us ensure that every student benefits from a rich, ambitious and intellectually rigorous curriculum.

Whether in Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 or Key Stage 5, our approach to assessment is designed to support learning, strengthen students' mastery of powerful knowledge and help them achieve their full potential. Through ongoing assessment, feedback and support, we aim to ensure that every student is well prepared for future study, employment and life beyond school.