The Westminster School

Assessment Policy
The Westminster School
Drafted - Summer, 2010

Assessment Policy - page 1

The Westminster School

The Westminster School

Contents Principles of assessment The Westminster Schools Strategies Assessment in Arabic The Yearly Overview The Learning Proles Moderation Pupils with Particular Learning Needs Target Setting Reporting to Parents Roles and Responsibilities Appendices - Examples of Proformas Used in the School: National Curriculum Level Sheet Level Descriptors (The World) Target Prediction Sheet (Secondary) Blank Pupil Report - Primary Example of other records to monitor academic and social progress - continuous assessment, for example. Page 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 7 7 8

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Assessment Policy

Assessment design should provide students with the s0mulus to learn in depth, to apply their developing skills and knowledge in new situa0ons, and challenge and change their ways of thinking and doing. Student engagement is enhanced by including opportuni0es for students to: nego0ate and have choices in at least some of their assessment tasks with some guidance, assess their own performance standards specify the nature and focus of feedback that they require to improve and enhance their performance act on the feedback provided by peers, experts and teachers to enhance their learning and their performance impact posi0vely on student learning Assessment tasks should be diverse Assessment prac0ces should be inclusive and support principles of equality, catering for both individual and group diversity. It should be recognised that all assessment models have limita0ons and a capacity to disadvantage to certain students. Every eort should be made to minimise such disadvantage by using a variety of assessment techniques. The language of assessment in The Westminster School must be used to avoid gender, racial, cultural or other language bias. Assessment should be used for both forma5ve and summa5ve purposes Forma0ve assessment helps students and sta to iden0fy strengths, weaknesses, and ways to improve and enhance learning aFainment. Summa0ve assessment provides informa0on to judge the extent to which a student has achieved outcomes relevant to the quali0es in a course or program. In short, we assess to dene each child's ability in terms of what the child knows, understands and can apply so as to plan: To reveal children's strengths and weaknesses. To ensure early iden0ca0on of children with par0cular learning needs. To inform future planning and target seJng. to ensure con0nuity and progression in our work with the children. To communicate accurate informa0on about the child that is useful to teachers, pupils, parents, and other educa0onal agencies. To comply with GEMS requirements. Good assessment requires clear ar5cula5on of purpose, requirements, standards and criteria Assessment works best when students have a clear understanding of assessment expecta0ons. Assessment criteria in par0cular needs to be understandable and explicit so that students know what is expected of them for each assessment task. Good assessment prac5ce allows students to receive 5mely feedback on their learning
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High quality feedback is clear and construc0ve, and enables students to make sensible judgements about modifying aspects of their academic performance in order to meet the objec0ves of a course. Such feedback should enable students to understand their level of development of the required skills, their mastery of the understandings embedded in the assessment ac0vity, and how their performance in each domain could be improved in subsequent learning ac0vi0es. Thus feedback at The Westminster School can include: model answers to ques0ons verbal comments from teaching sta, both individually and to the whole class verbal comments on presenta0ons and par0cipa0on in class discussions preliminary assessment task advice face-to-face assessment task discussion, individually, and in groups wriFen feedback comments regarding draOs and assessment tasks Where possible, some expecta0on should be built into the assessment design and grading process such that students acknowledge and act on the feedback provided. Where possible, some expecta0on should be built into the assessment design and grading process such that students acknowledge and act on the feedback provided. (Please see Sta Handbook for more specic guidance on marking) Assessment methods should be valid, reliable and consistent Every eort should be made to ensure that assessment methods are valid and reliable, recognising that professional judgement is a signicant and reasonable element in indicators of achievement. However, it is also reasonable that such judgement is regularly subjected to peer review and discussion. Modera0on (including external modera0on where appropriate) of both the seJng and marking of assessment tasks should therefore be established to improve the validity and reliability of assessment methods. Program teams will develop and implement appropriate modera0on to ensure inter-assessor and intra- assessor consistency in judgments made about student achievement and the quality of feedback given in and across courses. Good assessment prac5ces should promote ethical academic conduct Ethical academic conduct is both a sta and student responsibility. Good assessment design can both educate students about appropriate academic conduct and minimise academic misconduct. The Westminster Schools Strategies for Assessment The school uses a range of assessment techniques to gauge the extent of students learning. These include: Observa0on - watching the children on task. Ques0oning/discussion with the children. Photographing/videoing/audio taping work in progress. Examining and evalua0ng children's wriFen work. Marking children's work, according to the marking policy of The Westminster School. Teacher devised tests for areas such as spelling, tables. Baseline assessment when children enter the Founda0on Stage. At end of Nursery and Recep0on Baselines using the Early Years Prole.
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Assessment is built into planning and takes place both during each topic/half term's work and at the end of a topic. Weekly plans show assessment focus with an asterisk and any relevant comments on the reverse, or added to individual records. Assessment in Arabic As well as the weekly con0nuous assessments of children in measuring their progress in Arabic, the school is about to introduce the GEMS Arabic Language Framework that is being used in all GEMS schools. This is a set framework from Grades 1 - 9 where children are assessed in their use of Arabic and graded against par0cular eciency levels. For example, Emergent - E1 through to Advanced - A2. Further details may be found in the GEMS document, GEMS Arabic Language Framework. The Yearly Overview Date
September

Section
Foundation Stage Primary

Action
Commence Early Years Prole with early baseline assessment of the children on entry to the school. Teachers become au fait with students previous National Curriculum assessments / plan work accordingly. Year 6 - 7 Learning Prole started. Some students undertake re-site of internal examinations as per Ministry requirements. All subject teachers become au fait with students previous National Curriculum assessments / teachers internal examination evaluations from Summer exams and plan work accordingly. Secondary teachers carefully evaluate predictions for ICGSE. Learning Proles started for Years 8, 9, 10 and 11. Teachers become aware of students ICGSE results. Sixth Form Learning Prole started. Weekly tests in various subjects start. First meeting with parents to discuss progress. Early Years Proles start to be completed given childrens progress. Internal end - of - term examinations. Parents Meeting. National Curriculum sheet rst term completed Internal end - of - term examinations. Teachers complete evaluation sheet of how well pupils / classes performed. Feedback to Head of Section. National Curriculum sheet completed for mid-year? Learning Proles for rst term completed. Parents Meeting Students complete Learning Proles ready for Second Term Mock Examinations / Evaluations carefully shared with students. Learning Proles completed for the nal push.

Secondary

Sixth Form October December Primary / Secondary Foundation Stage Primary Secondary

January March

Secondary Secondary / Sixth Form

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May

Foundation Stage Primary

Early Years Proles completed / shared with childrens next form teacher End of term examinations / National Curriculum Level sheets completed / Year 6 - 7 Learning Prole commenced. Teachers carefully share information with students next form teacher. Board Examinations for Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 Internal examinations for Years 7.8.9. And 10. Teachers and subject heads make careful evaluations of results. Results of internal end - of - term examinations collated, shared and agreed with the Ministry of Education Open House for Parents where academic information shared. All Learning Proles completed with pupils own evaluations of their Academic Year duly recorded. Subject Heads of Departments collate ICGSE predictions and share with Head of Secondary School. Results of Board Examinations collated / shared with Corporate Ofce / evaluated internally by Heads of Department and matched with earlier predictions. Each Head of Department to disseminate this information in terms of successes and further areas of development.

Secondary / Sixth Form June Primary / Secondary

August

Secondary

At The Westminster School, Nursery and Recep9on will complete records based on Desirable Outcomes. If some children complete the Desirable Outcomes record in Recep9on, then a Na9onal Curriculum record may be started. From Year 1 onwards, individual class record sheets in terms of the levels that each child reaches are completed twice a year - at the end of the Winter break and at the end of the academic year. These are kept for the core subjects (including IT). They are passed to the childs next teacher before the end of the academic year so that the childs new teacher has a baseline from which to commence their daily planning. Teachers may well keep their own informal notes to assist lling in school records and in sharing informa9on with parents.

Learning Proles
During the Academic Year 2009/10, the a Learning Prole was designed and devised for Sixth Form students. The main emphasis of this was to give the students more opportuni9es, with assistance from their class teachers, to start evalua9ng their own learning in terms of their successes and what the next steps may be to accelerate their learning. These proles were then adapted to be used in Years 6/7 (joint), 8, 9, 10 and 11 from the start of the Academic Year 2010 / 11. As with the Sixth Form, the principles behind these proles are to enable the students to set their targets for improvement, evaluate where they have succeeded and what they need to do next, monitor their aYendance, and, at the end of the year, explore what they have done well and where they s9ll need to improve. The Learning Prole gives scope for the students to explore no9ons of the GEMS Core Values, think about the Arab culture and the UAE and to work in teams in sharing these views.
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Further aims in using the prole will be to engage with Parents on the outcomes within the Prole, give them scope to make a contribu9on and to extend its use, perhaps in simpler terms, with the students in the Primary Department.

Modera5on
Regular modera9on takes place each term. Cross phase groups analyse children's work against Na9onal Curriculum level descriptors and Desirable Outcomes. During the Summer term, teachers are involved in formal Teacher assessments, sta throughout the school par9cipate in the modera9on of work, to assist sta to make nal judgements.

Pupils with par5cular learning needs

It is the individual teachers responsibility to monitor, gauge and evaluate the learning of students who may have par9cular learning needs. Those with par9cular talents or gias are highlighted on the schools Giaed and Talented register that is kept by the various heads of sec9ons. At the end of each term, teachers evaluate the examina9on results of the students to gauge those in the class who may require addi9onal support, or those that have excelled and who also may require an extra level of dieren9a9on in the work that they undertake.

Target SeIng and Pupil Target SeIng

At the end of each Academic Year, pupils performance in the Secondary Department is carefully evaluated. From these scores, targets are set in terms of the poten9al of students to achieve all grades in terms of A* - C at IGCSE.

Repor5ng to parents
Parents are invited to aYend a parents' evening each term at which sta discuss progress and targets for their child. In the Summer term, parents receive a report on their child's progress for the academic year. Parents receive their child's Na9onal Curriculum assessments, giving both Teacher Assessments and how well the students have performed in terms of Ministerial expecta9ons (Arabic, for example). Parents are given the opportunity to discuss the contents of the report in the Summer term Open House.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Assessment Policy and its implementa9on within and across departments is monitored and evaluated by Ms Minie Mathew, Examina9ons Manager, assisted by Ri9ka Anand, the Curriculum co-ordinator. Principal and Heads of Sec>ons It is the responsibility of the various Heads of Sec9on (Founda9on Stage, Years 1 and 2, 3 and 5, 5 and 6, 7 and 8 boys and girls) to ensure that all procedures are adhered and closely followed. They too, in consulta9on with Mr Leslie Godin (Training Manager) that all new teachers closely follow the schools procedures.

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Curriculum Coordinator It is the responsibility of Curriculum Coordinator (Mrs Ri9ka Anand) to review monitor and evaluate all aspects of the Assessment Policy within the context of whole School development planning and self evalua9on Heads of Department It is the responsibility of Heads of Department to apply and embed the principles of the School Assessment Policy within their own departmental prac9ce. They should formulate and maintain a departmental policy on Assessment which may be the whole School policy. Good prac9ce in terms of departments can be clearly iden9ed through:

consistent departmental planning assessment tasks fully integrated with Schemes of Work shared learning outcomes standardized marking construc0ve feedback assessment data used to inform teaching and learning assessment data regularly and consistently recorded assessment data used for regular repor0ng regular self assessment by pupils and sta liaison with Head of Year/Subject teacher re individual pupil performance as required liaison with External and Internal School Examina0on ocers re entries for all examina0ons eec0ve organisa0on re seJng/marking internal examina0ons, monitoring and evalua0on of all departmental assessment prac0ce and outcomes
Subject Teachers It is the responsibility of Subject Teachers to:

implement departmental/whole School policies on Assessment, evalua0ng their implementa0on mark in accordance with departmental policy in a posi0ve, accurate, meaningful and diagnos0c style compile and maintain individual pupil records report to pupils, parents and sta on individual and group progress(October/January/June) liaise with Head of Department / Year Teacher re individual pupil support as required
Year Teachers It is the responsibility of Year Teachers to:

liaise with Heads of Department/Senior sta/Subject teachers concerning individual pupil progress report to parents as required re individual pupil progress produce Overview statements for Reports in January and June conduct with Senior sta formal overview of pupil performance twice yearly aOer internal examina0ons
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Examina>ons Manager It is the responsibility of the External Examina9ons Manager(Ms Minie Mathew) to liaise with appropriate sta/pupils/parents/exam boards regarding all aspects of external assessment. This role has par9cular responsibility for AS/A Level examina9ons. Deputy Examina>ons Manager It is the responsibility of the Assistant to liaise with appropriate sta/pupils/parents/exam boards regarding IGCSE/KS3 examina9ons. Internal School Examina>ons Ocer in charge of the Sec>on Level - has responsibility for the organisa9on and invigila9on of all internal School examina9ons. Pupils and Parents Pupils and parents may be asked to contribute to the evalua9on of assessment prac9ce at The Westminster School.

(DraLed / Summer Term, 2010) To be reviewed, Summer Term 2011 in light of experience of using the newly devised Learning Proles.

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Appendices: No 1 - National Curriculum Sheet / Y1 - Y8

National Curriculum Levels (TA) Name of Student
Pupil One Pupil Two Pupil Three Pupil Four Tips - Use NC Level Descriptors to make a judgement / Use pupils work to guide / Seek help if unsure / 1st box / Current level T - expected target level at the end of the Year /T1 - Level at End of Term One - diYo for T2 / Each core subject has one of these sheets / CL - Current Level / Green - HA student / Amber - MA / Red - LA CL English Maths Science ICT Green

Trafc Lights
Amber Red

T1

T2

CL

T1

T2

CL

T1

T2

CL

T1

T2

1] Class Teachers Na9onal Curriculum Level Sheet:

The Westminster School, Dubai. Appendix 2 - Predicted Grade Sheet / Secondary Department Year __________ School Year ______________

Subject

A*

Overall - A* - C

English Maths Biology Chemistry Physics Urdu French Arabic First Arabic Foreign C / Studies ICT Economics Accounting Business Stud Env. Man Travel & Tourism English / First
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Appendix Three - Example of Sheet from Report Card / Primary Academic Teacher Comment Term 1 Grade Arabic T1 T2 Term 2 Grade

Example of Pupil Report - Primary Islamic Studies T1

T2 Academic Teacher Comment Term 1 Grade English (speaking, reading, writing) T1 Term 2 Grade

T2 National Curriculum Level _______ Mathematics T1 T2

National Curriculum Level _______ Science T1 T2 National Curriculum Level _______ ICT T1 T2

Academic grades A + Excellent 90 - 100 C - Satisfactory 50 - 69 A - Very Good 80 - 89 D - Greater effort needed 40 - 49 B - Good 70 - 79 E - unable to cope with the standard 39 & below

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Appendix Four - Teacher Evaluation Sheet - All Year Groups Teacher: Subject: Learning Bay ________ / B / G What do the weekly test papers indicate that the students have not grasped: Weekly Test Paper One

What do the weekly test papers indicate that the students have grasped: Weekly Test Paper One

Weekly Test Paper Two

Weekly Test Paper Two

What do the end of term examinations indicate that the students have grasped:

What do the end of term examinations indicate that the students have not grasped:

Overall, what does the information from the term tell me about how successful my teaching has been?

Overall, what the test papers tell me about individual pupils including those with Special Educational Needs and particular talents who have done really well / below expectations: Name of Pupil(s):

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Appendix Five - Example of Continuous Record Sheet

Topic of Assessment: _________________________________________________________________________________________ Date of __________________________ Assessment

S.N O 1 2 3 4 5 Maximum Marks
Students Nam

Appendix Five - Example of Continuous Record Sheet

Appendix Six - Differentiation Sheet for Different Groups of Students

Special Needs

Learning Bay ______ Teacher _____________ Name of Student:

Medi cal

Beha viour

Paren ts Cons ulted

HA

MA

LA

Comments / Learning Style of the Student

Talents/ Academi cally Gifted

Learning Bay ________ Teacher ___________ Name of Student:

Nature of the talent or particular academic gift and brief description of the provision being made in the school / learning bay

Emirati

Learning Bay ______ Teacher _____________ Name of Student:

Academic and social progress of the Emirati students in your class:

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