IS Primary Assessment and Reporting
Online Parent Workshop
Marina will be sending a Google sign-up form well in advance of the workshop.
The workshop will cover IPC assessment, assessment systems in IEYC, English, and Maths used in classrooms, the external assessment we use in IS Primary NGRT reading, PTM Maths, and PASS well-being, what the data means and how we use it, and parent guidance on year reports.
Types of Assessments at FIS IS Primary
There are three main forms of assessment, each with its own purpose:
- Day-to-day in-school formative assessment which is used by teachers to evaluate students’ knowledge and understanding on a day-to-day basis and tailor teaching accordingly. For example:
- Questions and answers in class
- Rubrics
- Developing the marking partnership – verbal and written in accordance with the marking policy
- Observational assessment
- Regular recaps of learning
- Scanning work
- Reflection feedback
- In-school summative assessment, which enables schools to evaluate how much a student has learned at the end of a teaching period. For example,
- End of unit tests (Abacus Math & Wordsmith English) – student ongoing assessments are recorded on the Active Learn platform to build a picture over time
- Termly writing assessments – stored in the student portfolio which follows each student through the school. A writing target is set each term
- On going observations in EY recorded on Tapestry
- IEPs and reviews for students with special educational needs.
- Internationally standardised summative assessment. For example:
- NGRT Reading assessments
- PTM Math assessments
- PASS Wellbeing assessment
Assessment should be inclusive of all abilities. It should be used to contribute to the early identification of children with special educational needs and any requirements for support and intervention.
Assessment in the Early Years
During the Nursery and Reception year, children will be assessed using the Early Years Foundation Stage outcomes through teachers’ ongoing observations and assessments in the three prime and four specific areas of learning.
The Prime Areas of Learning are: communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development.
The Specific Areas of Learning are: literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.
Baseline: On entry to school, children will be observed against the early years outcomes over a four-week period which will formulate the Baseline. This is used to inform planning, set targets, and aid in the early identification of needs.
Formative Assessment: Children are tracked on their development and progress across the seven areas of development throughout the year as well as the characteristics of effective learning.
Examples of learning and development are documented through Tapestry and take the form of observations and evidence from both adult and child-led activities.
Observations are at the centre of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and enable staff to:
- Celebrate each child’s achievements;
- Share information with parents;
- Plan for a child’s interests;
- Plan for a child’s next steps of development;
- Ensure every child accesses a broad range of activities
Through using Tapestry to log observations and assessments, staff ensure that the next steps are appropriately planned for and that children make continued progress. Teachers have access to the data from their class as well as the cohort in order to analyse the thoroughness of assessment evidence, individual and group progress and potential gaps within the provision.
