Assessments
At Oasis Academy Sholing we want our students to enjoy learning, make great progress and achieve exceptional outcomes. In order to do this we use a range of methods to determine what each individual student does well and develop the areas they need to improve upon.
Our lessons are planned carefully to take into account the strengths and the areas of improvement in order to enable them to progress in each subject. In addition to the assessment for learning that take place in class, we report formally to parents after the assessment weeks at the end of every term. These reports contain information about progress in every subject as well as reward points and attendance.
What is Progress 8?
From 2016 all students and schools will be measured on how much progress they make from when they start year 7 to when they complete their exams at the end of year 11. It is based on progress across 8 subjects across a broad and balanced curriculum.
Scores will always be determined by dividing the student's points total by 10 (the 8 qualifications with English and Mathematics counting for double) regardless of how many qualifications are sat.
Below is a 3 minute video from the DfE to help explain Progress 8 further.
What is Attainment 8?
Attainment 8 is similar to Progress 8, however this measures attainment rather than progress accross the years over the same 8 subjects.
How does the new GCSE assessment system work?
Many of you will know that the courses and exams for GCSE students were recently changed. The reason is to ensure that young people have the knowledge and skills they need to suceed and be graded fairly. They cover more challenging content and are designed to match standards in the strongest educational systems throughout the world.
- GCSEs in England will have a new scale from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest)
- The old GCSE grading system do not directly compare, however alignments can be made between the letters A*-F and the Scale 9-1
- They have been designed this way to differentiate between student performance, and support those students who sit at the top of their grade banding
Please see this short video from AQA to help you understand how the grade system translates.