Assessment
All students in the Academy are assessed regularly, in lessons, through marking and with a formal assessment taking place twice a year.
The assessment model at Harris Academy Crystal Palace is designed to provide a rigorous and effective way to determine students’ progress.
The aims of our assessment model are:
- To develop the key knowledge and skills required for success in each subject at each Key Stage.
- Embed principles of preparing and sitting formal assessments in preparation for public examinations.
- Provide feedback that allows all students to improve.
- Provide termly summative assessment to support this ongoing formative feedback.
- Provide information to inform curriculum planning.
- Be simple and easy to understand – for staff, parents/carers and students.
- Use consistent principles across subjects with the flexibility to be suitable for all subjects.
The assessment periods are outlined below for the 2021-22 Academic Year. This will be when your son/daughter will be expected to complete summative assessments in each of their subjects. Following each of these assessment periods we will standardise the assessments and student assessment reports will be issued to parents.
| Year group | Assessment window 1 | Assessment window 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6th-9th December | 25th April – 6th May |
| 8 | 3rd-7th January | 16th -27th May |
| 9 | 6th-9th December | 25th April – 6th May |
| 10 | 3rd-7th January | 16th -27th May |
What is the process of each assessment?
Before the assessments, students will be given information and revision materials to help them prepare thoroughly. This information will also be sent out to parents and be added to our website. During the assessment window, assessments will be completed in normal lesson time for each subject. Each department will then ensure that each assessment is marked accurately, with standardisation taking place inside department areas. For English, Maths, Science, MFL, History and Geography students’ marks are also compared to results in other Harris Academies to determine grade levels.
Following each assessment, teachers will provide feedback that will highlight strengths and areas to improve. Students will be given time to reflect on their work and respond to this feedback to help drive progress. Individual subject areas will also look at the assessment data to review the progress of the cohort and plan to address any areas of need through the curriculum or additional intervention.
What information will parents receive?
The Academy reports the assessment of student performance and progress to parents/carers twice a year in writing following formally moderated examinations/tests. One of these profiles will also include written comments from teachers regarding areas of progress and future development.
An example of the performance profile that parents will receive can be shown below.
The performance profile comprises of the following information:
- Attendance and Punctuality: There is a positive correlation between high attendance and high attainment. The Academy target is that each student has attendance of 97% or higher.
- Baseline: This is the average sub level attained by the student based on their end of primary school data. This is used as the basis by the DfE to calculate average expected progress for each pupil.
- Target: This is the Academy target for the student in each subject. The expectation is that all students at the Academy will make better than average expected progress.
- Behaviour Points: Students receive points for their behaviour in lessons and within our Academy community.
- Subject Assessment Most Likely Grade (AMLG): This is the grade the student received in the assessment, extrapolated to an end of Key Stage 4 grade based on the Harris Federation standardisation process.
- Attitude to learning grade: Each student will receive a grade based on the quality of their work in lessons and displaying the five core values of the Academy. The four levels are:
- Outstanding
- Good
- Requires Improvement
- Inadequate
In addition, there is an Academic Tutoring Day each year and an annual Parents’ Subject Consultation Evening. These events present further opportunities for parents/carers to find out how the son/daughter is doing and discuss their progress with teaching staff.
