Use of Data to Track Progress

Key Stage 3 (KS3)

Your child’s teacher will monitor their progress accurately and regularly. At the end of each term, you will receive a Grade Card which will tell you how well your child is progressing at school. A typical Year 7 Grade Card is shown below.  This is the Grade Card that you might expect to receive at the end of the first term.

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The Grade Card has a list of Subjects and a list of ‘End of KS3 Targets’. Following the ‘End of KS3 Target’  you will see an ‘End of KS3 Forecast’ for Term 1. On the far right of the grade card there is a score for ‘Attitude to Learning’ for each subject

End of KS3 Target Grade
A Target Grade is the grade that a pupil will achieve if they make outstanding progress across Key Stage 3 (Years 7 and 8). A Target Grade is based upon a pupil’s prior performance and is given as a National Curriculum Sub-Level. National Curriculum Sub-Levels are listed in the table below with a short explanation.

End of KS3 National Curriculum Sub-Levels	Comments
8a	Exceptional achievement – Likely to reach A* at GCSE
8b	Exceptional achievement – Likely to reach A* at GCSE
8c	Exceptional achievement – Likely to reach A* at GCSE
7a	Very High achievement – Likely to reach A* or A at GCSE
7b	Very High achievement – Likely to reach A* or A at GCSE
7c	Very High achievement – Likely to reach A at GCSE
6a	High Achievement – Likely to reach B or A at GCSE
6b	High Achievement – Likely to reach B or A at GCSE
6c	High Achievement – Likely to reach B at GCSE
5a	National Average Achievement – Likely to reach C or B at GCSE
5b	National Average Achievement – Likely to reach C or B at GCSE
5c	National Average Achievement – Likely to reach C at GCSE
4a	Below National Average – Will be challenging to reach a C grade
4b	Below National Average – Will be challenging to reach a C grade
4c	Below National Average – Will be challenging to reach a C grade
3a	Below National Average – Will be challenging to reach a D grade

Forecast Grade
A Forecast Grade is the Grade that the teacher believes your child will achieve at the end of the Key Stage if they continue to work as they are now. It is the most realistic assessment of their likely outcomes.

We hope that all Forecasts will match the Target as this means that the pupil is performing very well (remember the Target Grade is set at a very challenging level). If a pupil achieves a Forecast Grade that matches their Target Grade then they deserve congratulations. The pupil may wish to consider increasing their Target Grade.

If a Forecast Grade falls below the Target Grade then this may be for a number of reasons; low attendance, poor attitude to learning e.t.c. If the Forecast Grade is below the Target Grade then an action will follow to help the pupil improve their Forecast Grade in their next Grade Card

Attitude to Learning Grade
All pupils are given a grade from 1 – 4 based on their attitude to learning over the term. This uses the following scale:

1 = Outstanding

2 = Good

3 = Satisfactory

4 = Inadequate

The table below gives more detail on the types of behaviour typically shown by pupils with each of these grades.

 

Key Stage 4 (KS4)

Your child’s teacher will monitor their progress accurately and regularly. At the end of each term, you will receive a Grade Card which will tell you how well your child is progressing at school. A typical Year 11 Grade Card is shown below.  This is the Grade Card that you might expect to receive at the end of the first term.

Click here for Full Size Image

The grade card has a list of Subjects and a list of ‘End of KS4 Targets’. Following the ‘End of KS4 Target’ you will see an ‘End of KS4 Forecast’ for Term 1. On the far right of the grade card there is a score for Attitude to Learning for each subject

End of KS4 Target Grade
A Target Grade is the grade that a pupil will achieve if they make outstanding progress across Key Stage 4 (Years 9 to 11). A Target Grade is based upon a pupil’s prior performance and is given as a GCSE Grade (or equivalent ie. BTEC Grade or Functional Skills level). GCSE Grades are listed in the table below with a short explanation.

GCSE Grade	Comments
A*	Complete understanding of subject. Highly suited to Level 3 study of subject after KS4.
A	Very high understanding of subject. Suited to Level 3 study of subject after KS4
B	High understanding of subject. Likely to be successful at Level 3 if good effort is made.
C	Sound understanding of subject. Would require significant effort to be successful in this subject at Level 3.
D	Reasonable understanding of subject. Highly suited to Level 2 study of subject after KS4
E	Some understanding of parts of subject. Suited to Level 2 study of subject after KS4
F	Light understanding of parts of subject. Likely to be successful at Level 2 if good effort is made.
G	An understanding of a part of the course. Would require significant effort to be successful in this subject at Level 2.
U	Ungraded. This pupil has not completed the required parts of the course sufficiently to achieve a grade.
Some pupils follow OCR and BTEC courses for which the grades look different but are equivalent to GCSE Grades:
Distinction	Equivalent to GCSE Grade A
Merit	Equivalent to GCSE Grade B
Pass	Equivalent to GCSE Grade C

Forecast Grade
A Forecast Grade is the Grade that the teacher believes your child will achieve at the end of the Key Stage if they continue to work as they are now. It is the most realistic assessment of their likely outcomes.

We hope that all Forecasts will match the Target as this means that the pupil is performing very well (remember the Target Grade is set at a very challenging level). If a pupil achieves a Forecast Grade that matches their Target then they deserve congratulations. The pupil may wish to consider increasing their target grade.

If a Forecast Grade falls below the Target Grade then this may be for a number of reasons; low attendance, poor attitude to learning e.t.c. If the Forecast is below the Target then an action will follow to help the pupil improve their Forecast Grade in their next Grade Card

Attitude to Learning Grade
All pupils are given a grade from 1 – 4 based on their attitude to learning over the term. This uses the following scale:

1 = Outstanding

2 = Good

3 = Satisfactory

4 = Inadequate

Z = Course completed and so no Attitude to Learning Grade given

The table below gives more detail on the types of behaviour typically shown by pupils with each of these grades.