Assessment of children’s work is an integral part of the learning and teaching process. It is central to the curriculum and is used to:
- Establish each child’s level of achievement;
- Assist the teacher in planning to meet the needs of each child; and
- Identify children who are experiencing difficulties and may require additional support.
Throughout the school, assessment methods are suited to the age and needs of the children and the subject area concerned. Children are made aware of their progress through positive feedback and work with the teacher to suggest ways of improving. Teachers assess pupils’ cross-curricular skills, thinking skills and personal capabilities, levels of concentration, involvement and social and emotional development.
Baseline assessment of pupils (COMET) is carried out in Primary 1 and Primary 2.
The standardised assessment procedures from P3 – P7 help us assess individual pupil's ability, attainment and barriers to learning at regular intervals. There are a number of elements to this online assessment which include:
- Cognitive Abilities Test: Fourth Edition (CAT4). This identifies a pupil's developed abilities and likely academic potential, highlighting strengths, weaknesses and learning preferences.
- Progress Test in English (PTE) and Progress Test in Maths (PTM). These are used year-on-year to support teachers in identifying current levels of attainment and track progress in the core subjects.
- New Group Reading Test (NGRT). This allows teachers specifically to screen and monitor the reading ability of pupils at a group level.
All pupils’ work in English and Maths is levelled (Levels 1 – 5) by the teachers during the last term and the annual written Progress Reports are sent home in June. This data is used to make up an individual pupil’s portfolio, which is a summative record of progress and achievement supported by relevant samples of work.