Year 7 Expectations Evening

1. Year 7 Expectations Evening 2017-18

2. Knowing our students better

3. Our assessment system means that every child in every year group is known twice: through our subject teams, and through our whole school teams e.g. the Heads of House

4. Assessment and Reporting Schedule for Year 7

5. Our approach to assessment

6. We divide the assessment we do into two different types: Formal, “summative” assessments Twice per year • Normally in the form of written exams • Designed to measure how well a student is learning and performing Informal, “formative” assessments • Frequent • In many different forms • Designed to uncover misconceptions, give students practice and hold them to account for learning certain things

7. We encourage a healthy, positive and resilient approach to assessments • An exam result should be seen as a performance – everyone can have an off day • … and one good exam performance doesn’t mean you can stop working hard • Rather than talk about targets, we talk about Personal Bests • Rather than work towards a fixed grade or level, which can be unhelpful, we are always aiming to beat our Personal Bests

8. Personal Bests • PBs is an attitude which goes beyond exam results – we also encourage students to think about their approach to school & growth more widely • For exams (summative assessments) we process the results in a special way to ensure that the Personal Bests idea is meaningful and works well. We call this S-Scores.

9. The problem with percentages Percentages are not very helpful in some ways because: • Some exams are much harder than others • 100% is therefore not always a good reference point • 50% might actually be a really good result for some students in some exams • You might get 100% in a fairly easy exam and then never be able to do any better than that – you can’t beat your personal best if it is 100%

10. Why are we using percentages less? 0 50 100

11. S-Scores So, instead we are starting to use standardised-scores which look a little different • 100 is average for students in your year group, nationally • 105 is average for a typical Wilmslow year group • S-scores range between around 60 and 140 • Most people (about 70%) will score between 85 and 115 • If you get 105 this year and 110 next year then you have probably done something differently and better – the same is not true of percentage marks

12. The standardising and scaling process 0 70 100 130

13. Be aware that if a student consistently achieves the same S-Score, it does not mean they are standing still and making no progress – actually they will be making good progress.

14. Ensuring students are progressing Our approach to standardising is essential norm-referenced: it only compares students’ performances to each other’s, and only within our school. We therefore use nationally standardised assessments each year to moderate our S-Scores and tell us whether our students progress as fast, or faster than students in other schools – which they do. These do not match the exact curriculum we have taught in school, but they give a good measure of overall development in English, maths and science.

15. Assessment certificate

16. In 2017-18 there will be 2 aspects to our reports Current performance (Based on S Scores in Key Stage 3 and projected grades in Key Stage 4) Key learning targets Demonstrating that we know and celebrate your child as a ‘whole’ person

17. Reading the comments

18. Old report style comment • Anthony has had a good year in German this year. He usually listens carefully to instructions and can involve himself enthusiastically when focused. He should be very pleased with his examination score, which reflects his potential. Next year he must focus on improving his pronunciation by using authentic material.

19. Old report style comment • Anthony has had a good year in German this year. He usually listens carefully to instructions and can involve himself enthusiastically when focused. He should be very pleased with his examination score, which reflects his potential. Next year he must focus on improving his pronunciation by using authentic material.

20. Old report style comment • Anthony has had a good year in German this year. He needs to concentrate and listen when I’m talking – because he doesn’t always do this. He should be very pleased with his examination score, which reflects his potential. Next year he must focus on improving his pronunciation by using authentic material.

21. Old report style comment • Anthony has had a good year in German this year. He needs to concentrate and listen when I’m talking – because he doesn’t always do this.He should be very pleased with his examination score, which reflects his potential. Next year he must focus on improving his pronunciation by using authentic material.

22. Old report style comment • Anthony has had a good year in German this year. He needs to concentrate and listen when I’m talking – because he doesn’t always do this.He should be very pleased with his examination score, which reflects his potential. He must improve his pronunciation by using authentic material.

24. Teachers know the key things that students of each age/KS need to do in their subject • Teachers know the learning behaviours that students need to improve. • These things are small in number • They are concrete and objective

25. Features of the reports for 2017-18 • For subjects: • Specific learning targets for students in each subject linked to their acquisition of ‘Complete Learning’ in key stage 3 and their performance against GCSE criteria in key stage 4 • ‘Learning attitude’ comments used across all subjects to give you, and us, a clearer picture of a students’ learning behaviours. • A form tutor comment summing up their development as a young person of character

26. How you can help • Encourage your child to read as often and as widely as possible • Ensure they do their homework as well and as independently as possible, but call a halt if it gets too much • Allow them to get it wrong occasionally if they are too reliant on you to be organised or to get their work finished – the worst that can happen is a referral or a text home • Call a halt to their work if they are spending too long on it; write a note in the book for the teacher if necessary • Encourage them to prepare over the whole year for examinations, not cramming the night before  • Encourage them to have a healthy attitude to performing in exams – praise their good efforts and positive attitudes more than you praise the outcome: good exam marks are their own rewards and don’t need your praise so much, or your financial rewards • Don’t cause students to become unhealthily stressed about exams – treat them as an ordinary and normal part of life: minimise the exam monster

27. Grouping in English • The pursuit of excellence for every student every day • Evidence on the effects of grouping by ability, either by allocating students to different classes, or to within-class groups, suggests that it makes very little difference to learning outcomes (Higgins et al 2014) • High expectations teaching (Rubie-Davis)