Student Progress & Reporting

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.

Years 7 & 8

We have used the Key Stage 2 data to place students in an ‘attainment band’ for each subject, which reflects their current position on entry in relation to their peers. This ‘attainment band’ provides a baseline during Years 7 & 8, and each term, their current attainment in each subject should match or exceed their attainment band on entry. This will indicate whether they continue to attain in line with the other students in their year group, or are in fact exceeding or falling behind their starting position.

Each attainment band contains a specific proportion of the year group. No student will initially be allocated to the ‘exceptional’ band when starting at the school, in order to provide the opportunity for all students to exceed their starting point.

Attainment band	Proportion of the year group (approx)
Exceptional	5%
High	20%
Upper middle	30%
Middle	30%
Entry	15%

 

Years 9-11

The Key Stage 2 data enables us to assign your child with a level – we call this a ‘key stage level.’  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.

Year 9 (EPG)	Year 10	Year 11 (EPG)
7	8	9
6	7	8
5	6	7
4	5	6
3	4	5
2	3	4
1	2	3

Tracking Progress

Student assessment information can be accessed through MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) 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.  Teachers' mark books are live and this will show how your child is progressing throughout the course of the year in any particular subject, however, for students in Year 7 & 8, their current attainment band will only be updated at the end of each term.  Each department (KS3 & 4 Subjects / Sixth Form Subjects) has provided detailed information about how they will be assessing students in each year and this is available via the school’s website.  We will continue to provide trackers at the end of each term that will focus on the attainment band / markbook grade and then any assessment/exam period.

Year 9 only

It is important to recognise that it is not always possible to assess students in Year 9, against GCSE criteria, and therefore, the Year 9 current grades and expected progress grades, are providing an approximate indication of the GCSE standard but may not be exact. During the course of the year, a student may demonstrate that they have achieved a GCSE style grade 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. Clear criteria will be provided to students by their subject teachers, to give them an understanding of what they would need to do in order to gain a particular grade by the end of the year. 

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@tring.school.

Years 7 & 8

Expected attainment band is the attainment band that your child has been placed in on entry to the school, based on their Key Stage 2 data.

Current attainment band is the attainment band that your child has been placed in based on their assessed work for that term.

Attainment Bands	The year group has been divided in 5 bands - Entry, Middle, Upper Middle, High & Exceptional.
Expected Attainment Band	Based on KS2 SATS scores or CAT scores where not SATS or teacher estimate where neither are available.  In terms of progress you would expect the student to stay within the expected band.
Current %	All assessments have been converted into percentages.  This is the % that they got in the most assessment
Current Attainment Band	This shows you which 1 of the 5 bands their assessment puts them in. The results for the whole subject for the whole year are ranked to create these bands. Students may have the same scores. This will affect the parameters of the bands. This is their attainment. Students, parents/carers and teachers should be comparing this to the expected attainment band.
Subject Average	This is the average % scored in each subject.  This allows students and parents/carers to see how their performance compares to others in the year group.

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Year 9

Markbook grade 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) is the aspirational grade the student should be able to achieve at the end of Year 9 if they fully apply themselves.

Formal Assessment Result  (Year 9 Only) is the grade the student achieved in their formal assessment week. There is not a formal assessment for every subject.

Years 10 & 11

Current Grade 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 Expected Grade 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) is the level or grade the student achieved in their formal examination.

Mock Grades (Year 11 only) 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).  Some subjects will ask students to 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.

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 2024.  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)

Years 12 & 13

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

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 2025.  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)

This academic year, we are introducing a new system that reports on each student's engagement with their learning over the course of the year.

At every tracker point you will see an Engagement in Learning grade for every subject.  The document folder at the end of this page clearly lays out how this grade will be awarded.  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 Engagement in Learning grade (1-4). To be awarded 'Highly engaged' 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 Engagement in Learning data to recognise and reward those students who achieve the best scores on a termly/yearly basis.  The data will help us recognise those students who always have their equipment, engage with their learning and the work set to the best of their ability and generally embody the school’s values of wisdom, hope, dignity and respect.  This system also allows for all students, regardless of academic ability, to strive and achieve the best possible scores and be recognised for doing so.

1. Highly engaged	Contributes to discussions and volunteers answers in different ways Listens to and acts on feedback On task in lessons Has the correct equipment for lessons Completes home learning to deadline, always to a high standard Engages in tasks to deepen and develop their learning
2. Mostly engaged	Contributes to discussions and volunteers answers in different ways Listens to and acts on feedback On task in lessons Has the correct equipment for lessons Completes home learning to deadline, often to a high standard
3. Sometimes engaged	Contributes to discussions and volunteers answers in different ways Listens to and acts on feedback On task in lessons, but can often lack focus in learning Brings the correct equipment Completes home learning to deadline
4. Rarely engaged	Contributes positively to class activities in different ways Listens to or acts on feedback On task in lessons Has the correct equipment Completes home learning
All staff will be aware that adaptations may be required to enable students to meet the criteria successfully. Consideration of students’ needs will be taken into account.

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 MyChildAtSchool (MCAS), 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.

Assessment and Exam Trackers
Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 Autumn Tracker	w/c 15 December 2025
Year 11 Mock Results Day & Tracker	8 January 2026
Year 13 Mock Results Tracker	13 February 2026
Year 9 Assessment Results & Spring Tracker	w/c 16 March 2026
Years 7, 8, 11 & 13 Spring Tracker	w/c 23 March 2026
Year 10 Exam Results & Spring Tracker	w/c 27 April 2026
Year 12 Exam Results & Spring Tracker	w/c 11 May 2026
Year 9 End of Key Stage 3 Tracker	22 May 2026
Years 7, 8, 10, 12 Summer Tracker	w/c 13 July 2026