Assessment

Our Assessment Principles

At West Wycombe we believe that assessment, target setting, recording and reporting, are an important part of a continuous educational journey. They form the key elements in the delivery, planning and on-going evaluation of an effective curriculum that is relevant to all of our pupils. Our Senior Leadership team have devised an effective assessment process that accurately identifies and tracks progress whilst also highlighting individual strengths and areas for improvement of each pupil, which is used to inform future planning and to monitor each individual pupil’s progress.

We feel it is essential to be aware of pupil’s individual gaps in learning and how to best fill those gaps through support, therapies and interventions, in order to escalate progress in any area.

Aims and Objectives

The aims of assessment in our school are:

• To fulfil statutory requirements and ensure continuity within the school and nationally.
• To enable children to demonstrate what they know, understand and apply.
• To guide children to understand their next steps in learning, in order to improve.
• To enable teachers to identify children’s strengths, progress and needs to guide their future planning in line with the needs and abilities of individuals and other groups of learners.
• To ensure that accurate records of individual children’s progress are kept to help ensure continuity and progression for each child’s learning.
• To ensure adequate coverage of the National Curriculum.
• To aid individual teachers and subject coordinators to evaluate teaching and learning throughout the school.
• To provide information that will inform discussion with pupils and parents about their child’s learning and progress. 
• To create a smooth transition from one class to another.
• To ensure all stakeholders can monitor the attainment and progress of all, including vulnerable groups of learners and use evidence based on national research to support narrowing gaps.
• Keep the leadership team and governors fully informed, allowing them to make judgements about the effectiveness of the school.

Assessment Approaches

Within our school, there are two main types of assessment:

Assessment for learning (formative assessment) is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are and where they need to go and how best to get there.

Assessment of learning (summative assessment) provides a summary of what has been learned in regard to both attainment and achievement at a specific point in time. At West Wycombe, we assess children four times a year. Furthermore, 3 times a year data is inputted using our own Assessment Tracking System and is then analysed in different areas (Pupil premium, ethnicity, special educational needs and gender).

In Years 1-6 PiXL tests and past SATs papers in Reading, Maths and GPS take place periodically and gives teachers indicators of how well specific knowledge and skills have been retained and informs teachers of patterns and trends to tailor future curriculum planning and provision. We use a school devised assessment tracking system to ensure all data is securely held and linked to pupils.

The range of approaches to assessment include:

Formative assessment: taking place on a daily and weekly basis;

• Children’s progress is measured every half term. Class teachers can then identify where gaps lie with precision and use this to inform future planning;
• Observing, marking, self-assessment, peer assessment, group discussion, child discussion, questioning (using Blooms Taxonomy).

Summative assessments: taking place four times a year.

• These include group or individual tests or tasks, dependent on the pupil’s age. Summative assessment periods take place at the end of each half term with an addition at the end of term data. Summative Assessments are formed though Formative Assessments and testing;

Pupil progress meetings:  taking place four times a year.

• These meetings, between the Senior Leadership team and individual teachers highlight children causing concern for attainment or progress and also those attaining higher than expected or making accelerated progress;

• Intervention groups are then set up to either diminish the difference between certain groups or boost higher achievers.

Assessment Weeks

During assessment week, formal tests will be completed for reading, maths and SPaG (grammar). These are done under strict test conditions. Moderation of writing will take place during the year. Accelerated reader star tests should be completed each term for all pupils and reading ages are devised this way.

Assessment papers are downloaded from the PiXL website prior to each assessment week as they are updated each year. Year 6 will complete additional SATs preparation tests as appropriate.

Assessments at West Wycombe is recorded using our own Assessment System that we share with the Great Learners Trust. Teachers also record pupil data on the PIXL website, following the completion of PIXL tests, which enables us to identify gaps in learning. 

Data

Year 4 Multiplication Check

Page last updated: 02/01/24