KS4 targets will be set or reviewed in September, based on the prior performance of students, and will be aspirational and challenging. Teachers will regularly review these targets with students to ensure that they also reflect student aspirations.
Students at Somervale School regularly review the progress they are making in their learning through a series of low, medium and high stakes tests and assessments.
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Most of the assessments that take place will be ‘low-stakes’ knowledge based tests and quizzes. These will allow students to identify strengths or gaps in their knowledge, and help teachers identify how to plan for future learning. These will usually be recorded in class as marks out of 10, or as a percentage.
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Students will also have longer assessments, where GCSE grades are used. This will allow students to see how well their knowledge is applied. At the start of Y10, these assessments will be more general in their approach, as students will have had little experience of the GCSE course. As the year progresses, the assessments will begin to tackle specific requirements of the GCSE course, with GCSE questions being used at the end of Y10, and in Y11. This allows students to focus on their understanding of knowledge and concepts through most of Y10, and not just the specifics of particular GCSE questions.
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For Technical Awards, such as NCFE, BTEC or OCR courses, assessment throughout Y10 and 11 requires that particular assessment objectives and examinations are prepared for earlier than GCSE subjects. These include Health and Fitness, Health and Social Care, Business, and Graphics.