AfL (Formative Assessment) at the Towers School

The aim of formative assessment is to give students clear guidance about how to improve their work. Students must be told of the assessment criteria for both class work and homework tasks.

1. All work that is formally assessed must receive formative comments. This will usually be in writing. When formative feedback is given verbally by the teacher, it may be appropriate for it to be recorded by students in exercise books or files.
2. Opportunities must be given for students to act upon the guidance. This could be done through class or homework, for example:
   • A starter or a plenary activity
   • Discussion with the student
   • A peer assessment activity
   • Peer teaching Re-drafting pieces of work
3. Formative comments should follow the ‘www.ebi' model i.e. “what went well/ even better if…”. Therefore they should:
   
   • Be concise and accessible for students
   • Highlight achievement
   • Be diagnostic
   • Indicate how improvement can be achieved, usually consisting of one or two targets
   • Be personal by using the students first name
   • Encourage and support the student in a constructive way
   • Encourage students to take ownership of their learning
4. Peer and/or self-assessment should develop and begin to take place at least once a term in every subject area. The aim of self-assessment is to enable students to be actively involved in the assessment process and give them ownership of their learning.

Assessment Tasks

1. There should be a minimum of one formal assessment per term in every subject area. These tasks can be set for classwork or homework.
2. The task must be common across comparable groups
3. There are many types of assessment task including:

• An extended piece of written work
• An investigation/project
• A practical task
• Whole class presentations, sometimes using ICT
• An oral or aural activity
• A mid topic test
• An end of unit test
• End of Key stage test
• The end of year examination

Achievement Grades

1. At KS3 it is the responsibility of individual departments to ensure that the full range of levels/grades are used for every assessment task.
2. At KS4 & 5 grades should be awarded according to examination board criteria
3. Each department must have a clear rationale regarding the awarding of grades within each subject area across the entire year group – simplified versions of these should be shared with students.
4. Students must be given guidance on how to improve from one level/grade to another.
5. These grades should be collated and recorded centrally following any necessary departmental moderation
6. Each department must have a clear rationale for awarding teacher assessed levels for the end of Key Stage 3 i.e. based on the National Curriculum.