DOUAY MARTYRS CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL

Formative Assessment Policy

Rationale
At The Douay Martyrs Catholic Secondary School we use marking to:
Inform lesson planning and pupils progress.
Provide clear feedback for pupils about strengths and weaknesses in their work so that they
understand what they need to do to improve their work and make progress.
Share assessment criteria and make it accessible using pupil friendly descriptors
Make clear to students What I am looking For (WILF) when setting assignments and link
feedback to what has and has not been done successfully
Indicate that work has been seen by a teacher.
Support the process of reflection, revision or correction of work.
Set targets
Support planning of further work matched to pupils capabilities.
Relate attainment grades to pupils work and share these with pupils.
Relate grades to attitude and presentation where appropriate.
Serve a variety of purposes and therefore marking will take a variety of forms appropriate to
tasks and needs and communicate this to pupils.
Support continuity and progression by the transferring of marks and assessment
information.
Recognise, encourage and rewards pupils progress.
Provide opportunities for discussion between the teacher and the pupil.
Help parents to understand strengths and weaknesses in childrens work.

Practice:
Regular and frequent marking is undertaken by the class teacher and is vital to informing
next steps as students build towards end of unit assessments.
Marking criteria is communicated to pupils/parents.
Assessment/marking is monitored regularly by Subject Leader/Curriculum/ Subject Leaders
and ESLG subject leaders monitor the progress/marking of 6 students per week and record
the outcomes of the sample. This should be discussed at line manager meetings. There will
be occasions when the focus of the sample is published in advance or specific students are
selected on all other occasions, subject leaders determine the make up of the sample
according to departmental focus or need. For example, underperforming girls, lower-ability
boys, EAL learners et al.
Oral marking is used in discussion with individuals and groups
Clear, up-to-date records of marks are recorded within the teacher planner or electronically.
Prompt feedback is given when this is done orally during lessons or as part of a target-
group, students and/or teachers should record next steps. This should be counter-signed
and dated by the teacher or LSA.
Homework/Classwork is returned within a three-week period with a recorded mark/teacher
response indicating targets/next-steps.
Pupils will be encouraged at times to self-assess and peer assess their own and others work
to assist their learning and understanding. In these instances, it should be clear that this
 method of marking and assessing work has been used. This should be indicated in the
following way: clearly labelled peer or self assessment tasks; use of student assessment
sheets where feedback is recorded, signed and dated and counter-signed/acknowledged by
the class teacher. The language of self and peer assessment should be common to all: WWW
and EBI (what went well and even better if), or 2 stars and a wish or traffic lighting (Red,
Amber and Green) are some examples of current practice. Whatever approach is adopted
there should be parity within the department so that all practice is consistently applied and
can be easily monitored.
Portfolios of moderated work are used to support the standardisation of marking these
will often be evidence of students progression and will be a summative view of their
attainment. The marking of work in the build up to this end of unit/module assessment will
have indicated to the pupil the next steps necessary to improve their performance.
Subject leaders will monitor records in teachers planners ensuring that prior performance
data is recorded (KS2, CATS, SEN, Vulnerable group info and FFT targets) They may also have
their own electronic overviews to monitor student progress.
Progress of students by year, class and individually is reported upon periodically to Head and
deputy via SEFs these evaluations indicate where students and/or classes are on target to
achieve FFT or not and what intervention measures are in place to support progress towards
these targets. This typically occurs in Sept, Jan, March and May.
Controlled Assessments are marked and feedback given to pupils within the term of the
deadline provided work is submitted by the pupils on time. There is no opportunity for
pupils to redraft or improve Controlled Assessment work in line with exam board
regulations. Controlled Assessments/Practical work must be stored securely in line with
Exam Board regulations.

Teachers Comments/Feedback
Teachers use comments to inform future work, to help pupils reflect upon their learning and to
correct or improve an existing piece of work. This is carried out regularly and should be evident
in pupils books and subject files. This dialogue is integral and crucial to improving performance
and in building the relationship between student, teacher and parents/carers.

Teachers comments will be clear in meaning and as appropriate:

Relate to planned learning objectives.
Assessment should follow the hierarchy of Blooms Taxonomy, teacher feedback and student
response to it should use the hierarchy and vocabulary of the taxonomy. See Appendix 2.
Recognise pupils achievements.
Indicate the next steps in pupils learning.
Students should respond to feedback either on any departmental proformas or in green
pen.
Note: Ensure that subject grades are related to clear published criteria.

Marking Practice

Year 7 - 8

Any of these three types of attainment marking described below are acceptable and may be
used in accordance with previously agreed subject area policy, with one minimum requirement:
that the type described in (1) MUST be used at least ONCE a term as this informs data captures.

Type 1: Summative marking/end of module.

A grade should be issued at least once a term. It should use the terminology of the assessment
pathways and secure, working towards etc. as in tracking.
Type 2: Numerical Marking
Out of a given total 6/10 for example, is clearly the most efficient and natural way of
recording certain types of test results, and may be used in accordance with subject area
policy. % may also be used where appropriate.

Type 3: Attainment and Effort grading to be used

In their day-to-day monitoring and maintenance marking, students should receive a letter
and number grading to indicate the standard of their work.
A-E is used for attainment (where A is excellent, B is good, C is satisfactory, D is
unsatisfactory and E is poor)
1-5 is used for effort and attitude (where 1 is outstanding, 2 is very good, 3 is good, 4 is
satisfactory and 5 is below expectation).

These marks or grades provide instant summative feedback but should be used in conjunction
with formative patterns of assessment to inform the next-steps in students learning, targeting
areas for improvement via more structured and detailed dialogue in teacher marking feedback.

The detailed criterion for these grades is attached in appendix 1.

Years 9 13

Type (1), above, will be replaced by GCSE, A level and BTEC grading.
Types (2), above, may still be used in accordance with agreed subject area policy.

The following marking symbols will be used for all type 3 marking:

sp spelling
// new paragraph
p punctuation
? vague, unclear
HW homework
PM peer mark
T1 or T2 = Target given for future focus/action or next-steps
^ more detail required

All subject areas should take responsibility for Literacy/Oracy and Numeracy. Spelling,
Grammar, Punctuation and presentation are a collective responsibility and should be marked by
all subject areas. At least the first paragraph of any piece of work should be intensely marked
for SPAG. In subjects other than Maths with a significant Numeracy component, numeracy
should be marked, corrected and feedback given as above.
Monitoring/Quality Assurance
ESLG will monitor their linked subjects once a half term.
The Subject Leader is responsible for sampling the marking of each class teacher and year
group taught to ensure that policy and practice is being adhered to and followed.
Year Heads/ESLG Links are responsible for sampling across the specific year group. This is
usually most effective when specific cohorts are sampled, systematically over time. Again a
brief record of this should be kept and any interventions clearly recorded and monitored.
Concerns raised by parents regarding the regularity of marking by individual class teachers
or subject areas will be investigated fully by the Subject Leader or line manager.
The member of ESLG responsible for the policy will report to the appropriate Governors
Committee annually on the results and outcomes of monitoring undertaken by the Subject
Leaders.
 Appendix 1: Detailed criterion for use in day-to-day marking
Criteria for Effort and Attitude
1 = Outstanding effort
These pupils will consistently:
Behave in a mature and responsible way
Use initiative and actively seek to
improve
Be enthusiastic and willing to get
involved
Plan independently and look for
opportunities to extend their learning
2 = Very Good effort
These pupils:
Behave in a mature and responsible way
Stay on task and maintain concentration
Are well organised and prepared to work
Are beginning to work more
independently
Meet deadlines and respond to
opportunities to extend their learning
3 = Good effort
These pupils usually:
Behave co-operatively
Concentrate on the task in hand
Are willing to improve with teacher
guidance
Are organised and prepared for work
Complete homework and meet deadlines
4 = Satisfactory effort
These pupils:
Sometimes lack motivation
May lack self discipline
Can be poorly organised and have
difficulty with meeting deadlines
Have to be guided to stay on task
5 = Below Expectation
These pupils will often:
Interrupt and interfere with others
working
Be unwilling to become involved in E = Poor
lessons
Demand attention and may have little
self discipline
Fail to complete work in class or at home
Criteria for Attainment
A = Excellent
These pupils will consistently:
Produce work of an outstanding standard
Demonstrate understanding beyond
their target level
Produce detailed and exemplary
responses to class work and/or
homework assignments
B = Good
These pupils:
Produce very good work that meets the
success criteria outlined by the teacher
Understanding is in line with their target
level
Demonstrate consistently high
performance in their class work and
homework
C = Satisfactory
These pupils usually:
Produce work that meets most of the
learning and assessment objectives
Need to produce more detailed
responses to secure their attainment in
the good band
Demonstrate a reasonable level of
performance in class work and
homework assignments
D = Unsatisfactory
These pupils:
Produce work that is below their target
level
Need to consolidate their understanding
of key ideas as there are a number of
misunderstandings
Demonstrate a less than acceptable level
of work in class or at home
These pupils will often:
Produce work that reveals little or no
understanding
Benefit from re-visiting key concepts
and ideas
Appendix 3: Presentation of work

Presentation of work should be a priority for all of us.

There will be some variation subject by subject but the following principles are universal.

1. Students should be expected as standard to present their work to a high standard.

2. Student exercise books/portfolios should reflect this. Students should write their full
name, form, subject teacher name etc. on the front of their book.
3. Other than a target sticker nothing else should be written or stuck onto the cover.
4. Students should set out each piece of work as follows:

Date Title C/W or H/W

These should be single underlined using a ruler.

Student written work should be in black ink unless a teacher has given a different instruction i.e.
spider diagram etc.

Students should respond to staff feedback using green ink.

Maps etc. should be coloured in carefully as instructed by a teacher.

5. Students should underline their work when it is complete. Students should not start
each piece of work on a new page unless instructed to do so by their teacher.
6. Exercise/text books and other work remains school property and should be looked after
appropriately
7. Students should be asked to respect work or receive a sanction for consistently poor
presentation.
This does not mean that students who are trying hard but have poor handwriting, poor motor
skills or are poor speakers should be sanctioned. The sanction should be used for students who
show a lack of respect for their work but who are perfectly capable of presenting their work
well.