Charlton Kings Junior School Information evening for parents

Assessment

At the end of KS1 (Year 2) – until this year Reading, Writing, Maths and Science Level 1, 2 or 3 Or 1c, 1b, 1a, 2c, 2b, 2a, 3c Your child will have been assessed by their teachers and given a level for Reading, Writing, Maths and Science These were either level 1, level 2 or level 3 Sometimes these levels were subdivided with a letter So levels could be 1c, 1b, 1a, 2c, 2b, 2a, 3 (generally counted as 3c) The level expected of an average 7 year old was 2b

If you have a child in Year 2 or younger Tests in reading, (possibly in spelling/grammar)and maths Teacher assessments Things have changed this year: In Year 2, the children have done some tests – in reading, (possibly in spelling/grammar)and maths They are marked by the teachers – the government has set thresholds to convert the raw score to a scaled score which equates to the attainment expected of an average 7 year old (more about scaled scores later) Year 2 teachers use the information from these tests and what they know about the child to decide on whether the child is working at the nationally expected standard The teacher assessment is reported to parents and to your child’s next school

At the end of KS1 At the end of Year 2 you will receive the following information: For reading, writing and maths, a teacher assessment saying whether your child is working towards, at or at greater depth within the expected standard Science – a teacher assessment saying whether your child is working at the expected standard or not (if they are not working towards the expected standard, they will be assessed as working at pre-key stage) We’re not sure exactly how this information will be presented yet. As a local authority, Gloucestershire also haven’t confirmed how this will look in their schools.

At the end of Junior School - the end of KS2 Previously, SATs were taken in Year 6 for Reading, SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) and Maths (an oral mental maths paper and 2 written papers) The average 11 year old was expected to achieve a level 4b Some children could be entered for separate level 6 tests if they were achieving very highly Previously, children were assessed from a combination of formal tests (SATs) and teacher assessments SATs were taken in Reading, SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) and Maths (an oral mental maths paper and 2 written papers) – these tests gave the children a level – 3, 4 or 5 Teacher assessments (in levels) were made for writing and science The average 11 year old was expected to achieve a level 4b Some children could be entered for separate level 6 tests if they were achieving very highly – if successful and, if they achieved a 5 in the other paper, they would be given a level 6

But this has changed this year! Your children will still take tests at the end of Year 6 – SATs The tests will be as follows: Reading Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation Mathematics Teacher assessments will also be made The tests will be reported to parents and the secondary schools as a ‘scaled score’ not a level

What is a scaled score? A scaled score will be a score based around 100 100 will be the score achieved by an average 11 year old – they will be at national expectations Children scoring below 100 will be achieving below national expectations Children scoring above 100 will be achieving above national expectations We use other nationally recognised tests in school that have a scaled score. These give us an idea of a pupil’s individual strengths and weaknesses. These include a test called CAT4 in Year 3 and VRQs in years 4,5 and 6

Reading Test There is only one paper (before everyone took the level 3-5 paper and a small number also took the level 6 paper) The new paper has questions which get progressively harder – the hardest questions are equivalent to level 6 The children have 1 hour to read the booklet containing 3 texts and answer the questions

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation The format of this paper is the same as previously, with 20 spellings read out by the teacher – it takes approximately 15 minutes The words tested are from the new national curriculum (introduced in September 2014) The words the children are expected to know are more difficult than in the previous curriculum Grammar and Punctuation The format of this paper is again similar to previous years, but there is just one paper rather than separate tests for levels 3-5 and level 6 – children have 45 minutes to complete the test However, the grammar knowledge expected in the new curriculum is significantly higher than from the previous curriculum The children are expected to have a detailed understanding of grammatical terminology, some of which has been renamed The test overall is more difficult and contains questions equivalent to level 6

Mathematics There is no longer an oral mental arithmetic test Instead there is an arithmetic paper and 2 reasoning papers This is a calculation paper and takes 30 minutes The questions cover the four rules, fractions, decimals and percentages Questions include long multiplication and long division The mathematics curriculum has also changed significantly Many topics have been moved into lower year groups so some aspects taught in years 3 and 4 have been put in year2 and some aspects taught in years 7 and 8 are now taught in years 5 and 6 There are 2 papers, each 40 minutes long The questions cover the whole maths curriculum Questions are varied and jump from topic to topic Children are expected to choose appropriate calculations to find an answer and, in some questions, explain their thinking

Writing – teacher assessment Teacher assessments will put your child as: Working towards the expected standard Working at the expected standard Working at greater depth within the expected standard Your child has to show they are secure in each statement, across a range of their work, before the teacher can assess them at that standard This measure is proving quite controversial this year. Previous measures were best fit – a child had to show they could do most things before being award that level. Now they have to achieve all statements to be awarded that assessment.

How does CKJS assess children as they move through the school? Children are continually assessed during and after every lesson – this is called formative assessment This tells the teacher what they need to cover in the next lesson and any inputs individual children might need

How does CKJS assess children as they move through the school? At the end of each term we have devised tests (in a similar format to the Y6 SATs) which assess the work covered during the term

How does CKJS assess children as they move through the school? All of the information is considered against what the children should have achieved from the curriculum for each year group Then an assessment is made of whether they are working towards, working at or working at greater depth when compared to nationally expected attainment

What information will I get with my child’s end of year report? A teacher assessment of whether they are working towards, at or above national expectations for English and Maths A grade indicating your child’s effort/attitude towards each subject A holistic detailed comment of their personal strengths A detailed comment of their strengths/weaknesses in English and Maths A summative comment of what they have covered in the year for other subjects A target for each child which parents can support Information about your child’s attendance With the end of year school report, you will also receive: Your child’s scaled score for Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, and Mathematics with information on whether or not they have achieved the national average A teacher assessment for each of the above and for Writing and Science Teacher assessments will be reported as: Writing – working towards the expected standard, working at the expected standard, work at greater depth within the expected standard Maths and Science – whether the children are working at the expected standard

For many children, this years assessments will seem like they are not doing as well as they were previously. There are two reasons for this: The first is that the bar has been raised considerably – children are expected to achieve much more highly than before. The second is the assessments have changed from a ‘best fit’ assessment to a ‘must achieve all’ assessment.

How to help your child with their work Continue to support with homework, reading and practise of times tables Use the school website for guidance on how to help academically The calculation policy shows the calculation strategies your child has been taught to use The grammar glossary explains the terminology the children need to understand The reading booklets show the types of questions the children may be asked – use these when talking to your child about their reading

Thank You All the information from tonight will be on the school website under the ‘Parents’ tab Please speak to your child’s class teacher should you have any further questions or concerns