Assessment Policy

The main aim of assessment is to support the learning process by offering constructive praise or criticism and to enable teachers to adapt lesson plans and independent work to students' learning needs. Students should be aware of the criteria against which their work will be judged and should, therefore, be able to focus their efforts on the important skills required to improve in each subject and to take on more responsibility as learners.

The school encourages a balance between assessment for learning (the formative assessments, questioning techniques, oral and written feedback which are part and parcel of classroom activity) and assessment of learning (summative assessments such as end-of-unit tests, vocabulary tests and examinations). The outcomes from these assessments are to be used formatively to identify the students' strengths and weaknesses to target areas for improvement, and to influence the planning of future teaching.

Departments are encouraged to develop and share techniques of formative assessment; 'assessment for learning' is a standing item on the Heads of Departments' meeting agenda. As such, departments and teachers are free to adopt a comment-only policy, strategic marking etc, when feeding back on pupils' homework, as long as work is set according to school guidelines and that grades are recorded in teachers' markbooks.

All pupils take MidYis and Alis baseline tests and the data is used alongside summative assessments and the reporting structure to measure the performance of pupils relative to their test scores. It is expected that pupils at Reigate Grammar School will perform in advance of MidYis and Alis predictions. Pupils who are underperforming will be given extra guidance and monitoring. The Head of Assessment works alongside Heads of Departments and Sections to ensure data is used appropriately and effectively.

The Head of Department should:
1. Monitor the marking, assessment and report writing of the staff within the department.
2. Provide guidance to other staff when necessary.
3. Use the outcome of tests and teacher assessments to influence curriculum planning.
4. Encourage and review techniques to improve assessment for learning.
5. Ensure that examination marks and topic assessments are recorded centrally within the department.
6. Ensure consistent standards of assessment through frequent moderation; this is especially important for internal examinations.
7. Ensure the moderation required by examination boards is followed.

Within each department, each member of staff should ensure that:
1. All work is marked promptly, appended with helpful comments where appropriate, and feedback provided to pupils.
2. Time is set aside to discuss grades given on reports.
3. Standards are applied consistently across each year group.
4. Assessment and moderation requirements set by the Head of Department are followed.
5. Where there are common end-of-topic assessments, the marks are recorded and copies given to the Head of Department.
6. All examination marks are recorded, entered on CMIS and copies given to the Head of Department.

Responsibilities:
• Subject teachers and Heads of Departments are responsible for the monitoring of a student's progress within their subject.
• The Tutor and the Head of Section will monitor a student's progress across subjects.
• The Head of Assessment is responsible to the Academic Deputy for developing and monitoring assessment policy and the effective use of data.
• All members of staff are expected to work towards the highest possible quality of assessment and reporting to enable students to enjoy and succeed in their academic studies.

Revised September 2004