KS1 and KS2 Tests


Whilst the teachers at Carr Lodge Academy are continually assessing the children’s progress on a day-to day basis there are also official Government tests that all children must take during primary school. We try to make these tests a calm and relaxed process for the children.

Phonics Screening

All children in Year one and some children in Year two will be completing a Phonics Screening check during the Summer Term. The phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.

Key Stage One SATs

Across the month of May the children in Year 2 will complete their Key Stage one Standardised Tests. These will be done in as relaxed an environment as possible with the children’s class teacher.

Please click the link here if you want to watch a short video explaining the tests in more detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8MjPFWRQs0&feature=youtu.be

Key Stage Two SATs

During May the children in Year 6 sit their end of Key Stage 2 standardised tests. The children will complete tests in: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, Reading and Mathematics.

Please click the link here if you want to watch a short video explaining the tests in more detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF1n1g4CePI&feature=youtu.be

Click here to view information for Parents for the KS1 and KS2 tests.

The use of National Curriculum levels to measure pupils’ achievement and attainment has been brought to an end, as of September 2014. (New National Curriculum End of Key Stage tests for KS1 and KS2 will begin in 2016). 

Our approach to assessment

Assessment is integral to high quality teaching and learning. It helps us to ensure that our teaching is appropriate and that learners are making expected progress. All staff are regularly trained in our approach to assessment. Our Senior Leadership Team are responsible for the monitoring and tracking of assessment.

Our method of assessment

Assessment serves many purposes, but the main purpose of assessment, in our academy, is to help teachers, parents and pupils plan their next steps in learning. We also use the outcomes of assessment to check and support our teaching standards and help us improve. We assess pupils against assessment criteria, which are short, discrete, qualitative and concrete descriptions of what a pupil is expected to know and be able to do. Assessment criteria are derived from the school curriculum, which is composed of the National Curriculum. Assessment criteria for periodic assessment are arranged into a hierarchy, setting out what children are normally expected to have mastered by the end of each year.  The achievement of each pupil is assessed against all the relevant criteria at appropriate times of the school year. Each pupil is assessed as either ‘emerging’, ‘expected’ or ‘exceeding’ each relevant criterion contained in our expectations for that year.  Where a pupil is assessed as expected in the relevant criteria in a subject for that year provision will be made to deepen their understanding so that they have excellent conceptual knowledge that they can apply in many different scenarios. Assessment judgements are recorded and backed by a body of evidence created using observations, records of work and testing. Assessment judgements are moderated by colleagues in school and by colleagues in other schools to make sure our assessments are fair, reliable and valid.

Our use of assessment

Teachers use the outcomes of their assessments to summarise and analyse attainment and progress for their pupils and classes. Teachers use this data to plan the learning for every pupil to provide every opportunity for them to meet or exceed expectations. Teachers and leaders analyse the data across the school to ensure that pupils identified as vulnerable or at particular risk in the academy are making appropriate progress and that all pupils are given the opportunity to ‘master’ the curriculum. The information from assessment is communicated to parents and pupils on a regular basis through meetings with parents and pupils. We celebrate all achievements across a broad and balanced curriculum, including sport, art and performance, behaviour, and social and emotional development.