1. Tuesday, 26th October 2017 Mrs. Charmaine Bakker and Mr. Carl Douglas
Assessment and Levels at AAESS
Tuesday, 26th October 2017
Mrs. Charmaine Bakker and Mr. Carl Douglas

2. What are National Curriculum Levels ?
They’re a set of eight bands, set by the Government, used to measure a child’s progress against other pupils of the same age, across the country.
The levels apply to children in KS1 (Yr1 & 2), KS2 (Yr3-6) and KS3 (Yr7-9).

3. Who decides what levels children are given ?
In Years 2 and 6, children take SATs which are used to give them an official National Curriculum level in Reading, Writing and Maths. Plus science in Year 6. These are the statistics used to calculate a school’s achievement and pupil progress. Some schools also factor in teacher assessment, based on ongoing classroom activities, when reporting a child’s levels back to parents.

4. Who decided what levels children are given ?
In Years 1, 3, 4 and 5, there are no formal SATs, so schools can choose how to assess a child’s level. Some use optional SATs papers (for Years 3, 4 and 5), which can either be internally or externally marked; some set their own end-of-year tests; some rely purely on teacher assessment; some use a combination of these methods. Children still have to be awarded a level or grade, but you may not be told your child’s actual level.

5. What is CEMS ?
At AAESS we are in the process of implementing a new assessment tool called CEMS. This is a computer based assessment which will measure your child’s individual educational level based on a series of different tests. The assessment will be tailored to your child’s individual needs as they progress through the tests. This type of assessment evaluates children’s performance, monitors progress and more importantly, indicates potential in specific and helpful ways.

6. Year Group Assessment Schedule
Year 1 – Baseline and end of year
Year 2 – Testbase– baseline and end of year
Year 3 – Baseline and end of year
Year 4 – Testbase – baseline and end of year
Year 5 – Baseline and end of year
Year 6 – Testbase – baseline and end of year

7. What National Curriculum Level should my child be at ?
Each National Curriculum level was divided into sub-levels:
C means that a child is working at the lower end of the level
B means that he’s working comfortably at that level
A means that he’s working at the top end of the level

8. What National Curriculum Level should my child be at the end of the year ?
As a guide, here’s what national curriculum level the Government suggested a child should achieve by the end of each school year:
Year
Level
Year 1
Level 1a
Year 2
Level 2b
Year 3
Level 2a
Year 4
Level 3b
Year 5
Level 3a
Year 6
Level 4b

9. What National Curriculum Level should my child be at ?
By the end of Year 6, approximately 75 % of children will achieve a Level 4; the top 10 per cent will achieve a Level 5, and the ‘exceptional’ top one per cent, a Level 6. Children who achieve a Level 4 are expected to go on to pass five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C.

10. How quickly should children progress ?
When national curriculum levels were being used, the Department for Education suggested that a child should progress two full levels per key stage. Because KS1 covers only two school years, this means that a child should have progressed one level per year (for example achieving Level 1B in Year 1, and Level 2B in Year 2). But as KS2 covers four school years, the expected rate of progress was slower – effectively half a level per year (for example, from a 3C at the end of Year 3 to a 3A at the end of Year 4).

11. Are levels accurate across different schools ?
In theory – but there was always some inconsistency. Within a school, teachers moderate each other’s marking; in addition, Year 2 and Year 6 SATs are externally marked and moderated, and optional SATs in Years 3, 4 and 5 may be externally marked and/or moderated. But teachers are human, and there may be slight differences in how they assess their pupils, so it’s better to compare your child against the national average, rather than his friend in a different school.

12. Are levels accurate across different schools ?
Many schools followed a structured approach to assessment, called Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP). This provided clear assessment guidelines, along with examples of pupils’ work at each National Curriculum level to use as a benchmark.

13. 1
In some contexts
• express feelings and ideas when speaking about matters of immediate interest
• talk in ways that are audible and intelligible to familiar others
• show some awareness of the listener by making changes to language and non-verbal features
• understand and engage with the speaker, demonstrating attentive listening
• engage with others through taking turns in pairs and small groups
• engage in imaginative play enacting simple characters and situations using everyday speech, gesture, or movement
• notice simple differences in speakers’ use of language and try out new words and ways of expressing meaning 2
• recount experiences and imagine possibilities, often connecting ideas
• vary talk in simple ways to gain and hold the attention of the listener
• make specific vocabulary choices and use non-verbal features that show awareness o
• listen and respond to the speaker, making simple comments and suggestions.
• make helpful contributions when speaking in turn, in pairs, and in small groups
• extend experience and ideas, adapting speech, gesture, or movement to simple roles and different scenarios
• show awareness of ways in which speakers vary talk, and why, through exploring different ways of speaking 3
In most contexts
• develop ideas and feelings through sustained speaking turns
• organise talk to help the listener, with overall structure evident
• adapt language and non-verbal features to suit content and audience
• respond to the speaker’s main ideas, developing them through generally relevant comments and suggestions
• attempt different roles and responsibilities in pairs or groups
• show understanding of characters or situations by adapting speech, gesture, and movement, helping to create roles and scenarios
• recognise and comment on different ways that meaning can be expressed in own and others’ talk 4
Across a range of contexts
• speak in extended turns to express straightforward ideas and feelings, with some relevant detail
• structure talk in ways which support meaning and show attention to the listener’
• vary vocabulary, grammar, and non-verbal features to suit audience, purpose, and context
• show generally clear understanding of content and how it is presented, sometimes introducing new material or ideas
• take on straightforward roles and responsibilities in pairs and groups
• convey straightforward ideas about characters and situations, making deliberate choices of speech, gesture, and movement in different roles and scenarios
• show understanding of how and why language choices vary in their own and others’ talk in different situations 5
• express and explain relevant ideas and feelings, with some elaboration to make meaning explicit
• shape talk in deliberate ways for clarity and effect to engage the listener
• adapt vocabulary, grammar, and nonverbal features in ways well-matched to audience, purpose and context
• recognise significant details and implicit meanings, developing the speaker’s ideas in different ways
• sustain roles and responsibilities with independence in pairs or groups, sometimes shaping overall direction of talk with effective contributions
• show insight into texts and issues through deliberate choices of speech, gesture, and movement, beginning to sustain and adapt different roles and scenarios
• explain features of own and others’ language use, showing understanding of effect of varying language for different purposes and situations

14. What if my child is doing better or worse than expected ?
‘Remember that levels are of more importance to the school than to your child,’ They were used by schools to help with progress and learning, with each child given specific learning objectives based on his own National Curriculum levels, to help teachers plan lessons that reach children of different abilities, to help with resourcing and support (e.g. allocating teaching assistant support where it’s most needed), to set targets and expectations for children, and to highlight Curriculum areas that needed additional focus.

15. What if my child is doing better or worse than expected ?
Rather than getting hung up on levels, concentrate on how your child is progressing from one year to the next. If you’re in any way concerned or surprised about your child’s level, then do speak to his teacher, but bear in mind that his level will actually help him to get the support he needs next year: for example, through extra help in the classroom or extension work if he’s exceeding expectations.

16. What do Book Band levels mean?
Reading books are graded by difficulty by reading levels known as Book Bands. Each Book Band has its own colour. The chart below gives an indication of the range of Book Band levels at which most children will be reading as they progress through primary school.

17. What do Book Band levels mean?
The chart shows the progress of an ‘average’ band of children- but no individual child is ‘average’, so no child makes smooth progress precisely in this way. Children tend to learn in fits and starts
The periods where you don’t see rapid progress may be worrying, especially after a ‘growth spurt’, but they are important as your child develops confidence in using and applying their newly acquired skills.
If you are ever worried about your child’s progress, talk to their teacher.

18. What is the average book band level by year group ?

19. Book BAND/ Collins Big Cat Guide to average year group
Guide to NC level
Book BAND/ Collins Big Cat
Guide to average year group
0 Lilac FS
ELG
1 Pink
2 Red
FS / Y1
1c ELG
3 Yellow 1c
4 Blue Y1 1b
5 Green 1a
6 Orange
Y1 / Y2
7 Turquoise
Y2 End of Term 1 2c
8 Purple Y2 2b
9 Gold
End of Term 3 2a
10 White
Y2 / Y3 3c
11 Lime Y3 3b
12 Copper
13 Topaz Y4 3a
14 Ruby
Y4 / Y5
15 Emerald Y5 4c
16 Sapphire Y6
4b – 5
17 Diamond