At St Michael’s, assessment and home learning are designed to support every student in making strong progress, developing confidence and becoming increasingly independent learners.

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. Throughout each unit of work, students will complete a range of assessment activities, including:

  • Daily knowledge retrieval and key word quizzes built into the start of each lesson to strengthen recall  of core knowledge use of subject-specific vocabulary.
  • Proof of Progress (POP) tasks to check understanding and identify next steps. These are extended pieces of work which may be set in class or as homework, usually part way through a unit of work and formatively marked against the assessment criteria to provide feedback to students on their progress.  
  • End-of-unit assessments to evaluate knowledge, skills and progress over time.

Assessments are designed to be developmental ,students receive feedback typically twice per half term in the form of What Went Well and Even Better If, to help students recognise their strengths and identify areas to improve further. Students are encouraged to reflect on and respond to feedback in green pen so that they can continue to improve.

In the lead up to end-of-unit assessments, students will be set home learning activities designed to support their preparation and consolidate their learning. Students will also be encouraged to undertake independent revision and review key knowledge and skills covered throughout the unit. Parents and carers receive a termly report outlining their child’s attainment, effort and progress in each subject.

Following the summer half term, all Key Stage 3 students complete formal end-of-year assessments that evaluate the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout the academic year. To support students in preparing for these assessments, each subject includes a structured three-week revision programme within its curriculum. This programme incorporates knowledge retrieval activities, revision homework, published revision checklists and dedicated revision lessons. A revision booklet is also provided to students and made available on the school website, clearly identifying the content that should be revised in preparation for the end-of-year assessments.

KS3 Attainment Bands

Students are assessed using the Trust-wide Key Stage 3 framework and are awarded one of the following attainment bands:

These attainment bands show how well students are meeting the curriculum expectations for their year group and subject. Our curriculum is designed as a clear progression model, with knowledge and skills building year on year. As students move through Key Stage 3, the expectations within each attainment band become increasingly challenging, reflecting the greater depth of understanding and higher levels of skill required. This ensures that students are continuously developing and are well prepared for the demands of Key Stage 4 and GCSE study. The progression table below illustrates how the KS3 attainment bands align with the GCSE assessment framework.

 

Year 7 Assessments

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6.47 MB

 

Year 8 Assessments

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188 KB

 

Year 9 Assessments

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170 KB

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123 KB