Assessment is used across the school to learn weather children have retained key information and to see if children are at age related expectations. We do this in many different ways.
Reception – When children start with us they are assessed against the Reception Baseline Assessment to see what the child can do on entry. We then use target tracker (our in house data tracking system) throughout the year to see if children have reached targets to achieve GLD by the end of the school year. By achieving GLD (Good Levels of Development) in 17 key areas, will indicate that your child is ready for Year 1.
Year 1 – children are tested in their phonics understanding through a national assessment where the children are required to read 40 words – real and nonsense words – using sounds that they should know. Children prepare for this throughout the year. The pass mark for this test is currently 32 out of 40.
Year 2 – SATS are currently used in Year 2 as an optional assessment method. Children will sit the assessments in informal test conditions to gain an understanding of what children have learned in key stage 1. It is also an indication weather they are ready for learning in Key stage 2 (Year 3). These are normally sat in May every year.
Year 4 children sit the multiplication screening which is a new national assessment to see if children know their times tables. Children prepare for this from as early as year 1 and 2. All children should know their timetables up to 12 x 12 by the end of year 4.
Year 6 sit the national SATS tests at the end of key stage 2, typically in the middle of May every year. Children are well prepared for these assesssments and results are shared in July.
Throughout the year, Years 1-6 sit formal assessments in class so that teachers can learn what the children know and more importantly, what they don’t know. This will allow teachers to close the gaps, preparing children to be ready for their next stages in education. We use PiXL assessments as our tool for this.
