Student Progress & Assessment

Target Setting

As a school we are focussed on providing accurate and insightful information which enables pupils to achieve their full potential.  We firmly believe in setting academic targets for students. Targets, if used well, can inspire, motivate and can help young people see the possibilities that are open to them.

However, when talking about targets, there are some really important questions that need to be answered:

• How are they calculated? 
• How do we track and record progress?

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Target Calculation:

Like most schools in the country, we use ‘Key Stage 2’ data to set our targets. You will remember that at the end of Year 6, your son/daughter did a ‘SAT test’ in English and maths. From this, they will have been given a level – we call this a ‘key stage level.’ However,due to the pandemic, our students in years 8 & 9 did not have these results, so instead, we used the students' CAT results that they sat at the start of year 7.   

Again, like a lot of schools in the country, we then send this data to Fischer Family Trust (FFT). Fischer Family Trust is a non profit organisation that processes the National Pupil Database for the Department of Education and provides data and analyses to all schools in England and Wales. They provide grade predictors for student attainment at the end of KS4 and we use these to inform the setting of ambitious and aspirational targets for students (at Tring School this is a students year 11 Expected Progress Grade - EPG) .  As a school we use the Fischer Family Trust benchmark FFT5.  This is an ambitious benchmark that puts us in line with schools that made much greater than average progress (FFT5 – 5th percentile progress - the top 5% of schools nationally with a similar intake). Fischer Family Trust datasets are updated each academic year.

We then create a flight path, working backwards from the end of key stage 4 target to plot the expected progress for each student, in each subject; to work towards at the end of each academic year (please see the diagram below for a simplistic overview - in reality progress is never linear and our calculations differ slightly to this model).   Obviously, this is a statistical calculation. We always need to be aware of the individual behind the statistics and have to be mindful of whether our target setting is inhibiting ambition. In other words, should the student’s target really be “X”.  In this situation, we can use professional judgement to adjust the target to ensure stretch and challenge is maintained.  We are also aware that in some very small cases, targets may need to be lowered due to the impact they may be having on an individual’s mental well being. Either way, we will communicate home if we need to adjust a student's target.

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Tracking Progress:

Student assessment information can be accessed through Go4Schools (via the app or website) and at specific times in the year (generally, at the end of each term), a formal tracker will be available to you. This will allow you to track your child’s progress against the targets mentioned previously, as well as enabling us to celebrate excellent achievement and to offer support to students where expected progress is not being made.  This academic year we are making teachers' markbooks live and this will show how your child is progressing throughout the course of the year in any particular subject.  Each department (KS3 & 4 Subjects / Sixth Form Subjects) will be providing detailed information about how they will be assessing students in each year and will be available via the school’s website.  We will continue to provide trackers at the end of each term that will focus on the markbook grade and then any assessment/exam period.

It is important to recognise that it is not possible to accurately predict GCSE grades for students in Key Stage 3. As such, these targets do not represent GCSE targets but a target for the end of their current academic year. Clear criteria will be provided to students by their subject teachers to give them an understanding of what they would need to achieve in order to gain a particular grade by the end of the year. However, during the course of the year, a student may demonstrate that they have achieved a grade indicated on the KS3 assessment grid (see below), for a certain piece of work. What this means is; at that time, a student has shown a glimpse of that grade; not that they will definitely get a “6” at GCSE or that they are consistently working at that grade.

KS3 Assessment Grid
Year 7	Year 8	Year 9
4	5	6
3	4	5
2	3	4
1	2	3
P	1	2
	P	1
		P

P = working below grade 1

Exceeding = working above the indicated highest grade for that particular year group.

If you are ever concerned about your child’s progress in a particular subject, please contact the subject teacher directly about this.  Email is usually the best way to do this - for example if your child’s teacher was Peter Parker, their email address would be pparker@tringschool.org

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Key Stage 3 Assessment 

Markbook Grade

This is the grade that the student is working at based on the summative assessment that they have taken that term in each subject area.  

End of Year Target Grade (EPG)

This is the aspirational grade the student should be able to achieve at the end of each year in their KS3 studies if they fully apply themselves.

Formal Assessment Result  (Year 9 Only)

This is the grade the student achieved in their formal assessment week. There is not a formal assessment for every subject.

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Key Stage 4 Assessment 

Markbook Grade 

This is the grade that the student is working at based on the summative assessment that they have taken that term in each subject area. 

GCSE Target Grade (EPG)

This is the aspirational grade the student should be able to achieve at the end of their GCSE in Year 11, if they fully apply themselves.

Examination Result (Year 10 only, February)

This is the level or grade the student achieved in their formal examination.

Mock Grades (Year 11 only)

This is the grade that the student achieved in their mock. This grade encompasses every component/unit of the specification and may contain some predicted elements. 

Core Mock (Year 11 only)

For English, Maths, Science and PRS the students sit an extra mock exam. This grade shows the result of the exam only, this grade does not encompass every component/unit of the specification.

Grade Boundaries

Each year we use the most recent grade boundaries from the relevant exam boards. Due to the impact of Covid and there being limited public exams, most departments will be using the boundaries set by the boards in 2019.  There may be a small number of departments who are not but this will be indicated on students trackers with a short explanation.

GCSE Grades

9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and U

BTEC Grades (in most cases)

Level 2 Distinction* (L2D*), Level 2 Distinction (L2D), Level 2 Merit (L2M), Level 2 Pass (L2P),  Level 1 Pass (L1P), and Unclassified (U)

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Key Stage 5 Assessment 

Markbook Grade 

This is the grade that the student is working at based on the summative assessment that they have taken that term in each subject area. 

A Level or BTEC Target Grade 

This is the aspirational grade the student is targeted to achieve at the end of their Sixth Form studies. 

Grade Boundaries

Each year we use the most recent grade boundaries from the relevant exam boards. All departments will be using the boundaries set by the boards in 2023.  There may be a small number of departments who are not but this will be indicated on students trackers with a short explanation.

Examination and Formal Assessment Result (Year 12 only)

These are the grades that the student achieved in the examination and formal assessment.

Mock Grades (Y13 only)

This is the grade that the student achieved in their mock. This grade encompasses every component/unit of the specification and may contain some predicted elements. 

A2 Grades

A*, A, B, C, D, E, and U

BTEC Grades (in most cases)

Distinction* (D*), Distinction (D), Merit (M), Pass (P) and Unclassified (U)

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Behaviour 4 Learning (B4L)

As a school we have been doing a lot of work on our behaviour curriculum this year and as a consequence, this academic year, we are introducing a new system that reports on each student's engagement with their learning and the classroom environment over the course of the year.

At every tracker point you will see a Behaviour for Learning grade for every subject.  I have attached a grid in the document folder at the end of this page that clearly lays out for all parties how this grade will be awarded - it is all based around our christian ethos.  You can see that we have been very specific with the criteria and have clearly set out for students what they have to do in each area to achieve an overall B4L grade (1-4).  To gain an outstanding rating - the student has to meet the outstanding criteria in all four categories.  There is one overall grade given for all of the four components.  To be awarded outstanding is challenging but this is deliberate as we want students to aim high in terms of their approach to their learning.  

We will also be able to use the B4L data to recognise and reward those students who achieve the best scores on a termly/yearly basis.  I also believe that this data will help us recognise those students who turn up every day, who always have their equipment, complete the work set to the best of their ability and generally embody the school’s values of wisdom, hope, dignity and respect.  This B4L system also allows for all students regardless of academic ability to strive and achieve the best possible scores and be recognised for doing so.

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Trackers, Assessments & Results

At Tring School, the progress of students is monitored using a variety of reporting and assessment methods. These include exams and other formal tests, together with teacher assessments and informal tests.

At each assessment point during the year, a snapshot of your child’s progress to date is recorded in Go 4 Schools, and this is communicated to you via the tracker reports.

Carrying out regular assessments enables us to measure your child’s progress towards their expected outcomes, and ensure interventions are put in place if required. Student's attendance should be 100%, and a summary of your child’s attendance will also be shown. All dates given are the expected date of publication.

End of Term Trackers
All Years	w/c 18 December 2023
All Years	25/26 March 2024
Years 7, 8 & 10	w/c 8 July 2024
Year 9	24 May 2024
Year 12	24 June 2024

Assessment/Exam & Mock Results
Year 9 Assessment Results	25/26 March 2024
Year 10 Exam Results	w/c 8 July 2024
Year 11 Mock Results Day	14 December 2023
Year 11 Assessment Results	25/26 March 2024
Year 12 Exam Results	w/c 24 June 2024
Year 13 Mock Results	26 February 2024