Assessments

Assessment and curriculum go hand in hand. We view the curriculum as the progression model, which means that each subject’s curriculum ‘sets out the journey that a child goes on to get better at the subject’ (Fordham). We therefore seek evidence of progress not in spreadsheets or exam rubrics, but from speaking to pupils and looking at their work: have they learnt the things we’ve taught them?  From our pupils’ perspective, the vast majority of the assessment that they experience will be in-class formative assessment, focusing on the specific components of each subject. This responsive teaching is what the Rosenshine principles are all about: teaching things in small steps and routinely checking the understanding of all pupils as they work towards fluency and independence.  

When teachers continually gauge the level of student understanding in the classroom, they can adapt learning to the needs of students as well ensuring students reach their full potential. Assessing students’ progress takes place in every taught lesson of every day (formative assessment) as well as through formal end of unit or end of term exams (summative assessment).  

Throughout lessons teachers continually collect information on the quality of student learning to ensure that knowledge is secure and that misconceptions are addressed quickly. Formative assessment at Avonbourne Academy includes: 

• Do Now Activities
• Cold Call Questioning 
• Mini Whiteboards 
• Low-stakes Quizzing 

Teachers will give verbal feedback regarding the accuracy and quality of student work throughout every lesson.  

Live marking will take place every lesson. Teachers will circulate the room during students’ independent work to assess how the class is progressing with their understanding of a concept or rule by checking their written work live in a lesson. Teachers will evidence this by making corrections in red pen, or asking students to repeat spelling corrections or answer questions that they respond to in green pen in their books. It is not expected that a teacher will see every student’s work every lesson, but a teacher is expected to gauge whole class understanding during independent work by live marking students from the whole ability range to truly assess whole class progress and understanding. This in turn informs the journey of the lesson, and whether concepts need to be re-taught or if the class is ready to move on. 

Whole class feedback will take place once every half term. Teachers will look at students’ books and check the following 8 guidance points; misconceptions, presentation, cause for concern, missing/incomplete work, literacy, praise, show call work and evidence for improvement tasks. Teachers will make comments on these 8 areas in their whole class feedback logs, and these notes inform teachers’ planning of feedback lessons and evidence of improvement work. Teachers will then provide whole class feedback in a timely manner, which may not necessarily be the next lesson, and students will act upon the advice and guidance to improve their work. Further details can be found in the Feedback and Assessment Policy on the website. 

In Years 8-11 and Year 13 students are assessed centrally in the exam hall twice in the academic year with students in Year 12 being assessed once. Students receive comprehensive revision materials prior to their assessments to support them in preparing for their exams. We make sure the assessment given to students reflects the curriculum needs for the subject area at KS3, for example PE will have practical assessments and English would have written ones.  

For the current academic year, exams are held as follows: 

Following each assessment, students’ progress is reviewed, and group changes are made to maximise their learning potential. Parents receive a paper copy of the report and an electronic version via the Arbor Parent Portal as well as the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress at our Parents’ evenings. However, if in the meantime you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

It is the aim of Avonbourne Academies to make the examination experience as stress-free and successful as possible for all candidates. Hopefully, the documents below will prove informative and helpful for you and your parents.

Please read them carefully and show them to your parents so that they are also aware of the examination regulations and the procedures to follow in the event of any problems occurring. The awarding bodies (or examination boards) set down strict criteria which must be followed for the conduct of examinations and the school is required to follow them precisely. You should therefore, pay particular attention to the Notices below.

Some of the questions you may have are answered in the Exam Information Booklet. If there is anything you do not understand or any question that has not been addressed, please ask. If you or your parents have any queries or need help or advice at any time before, during or after the examinations please contact The Exams Office on exams@avonbourneacademy.org.uk