Assessment

Assessment at Dover Grammar School for Girls aims to:

• Offer all students an opportunity to show what they know, understand and can do
• Help students understand what they need to develop
• Advance the learning process
• Enable teachers to plan more effectively
• Help parents to be involved in their child’s learning
• Provide the school with information to evaluate progress and set suitable targets
• Help raise standards of achievement and attainment for all students  

Helping at Home

There are a number of ways in which you can support your child with their work:

• Remind them to consolidate each day’s learning by checking their understanding of key terms and concepts and testing themselves regularly. (This is known as ‘retrieval practice.)
• Encourage them to review all marked work carefully and to reflect on what they could do to improve
• Remind them of the importance of excellent attendance - there is a clear correlation between attendance and achievement
• Help them to manage their time effectively. They should limit the amount of time spent on part-time jobs. One day at the weekend is more than enough; any more could be too much and is likely to have a detrimental effect on their studies

Vision Setting

Students discuss their plans for university or apprenticeship pathways with form tutors and set aspirational target grades. UCAS predicted grades are shared with students at the beginning of Year 13. However, UCAS predicted grades are flexible and students may be able to apply to raise their predictions on the basis of meeting their subject teachers’ conditions for improvement e.g. improved performance in assessments, improved effort and commitment to revision, or the completion of extra assignments.

Tracking

Teachers are required to record the following information:

• A projected grade for each student. The projected grade is an indication of the final grade that the student is on track to achieve given their current levels of effort and academic progress. Projected grades are fluid, flexible and open to change: students will always have the opportunity to increase projected grades due to improvements in effort or refinements to study practices or examination technique.
• Three ‘Attitude to Learning’ (ATL) grades based on a student’s overall behaviour, engagement in class and approach to homework. These are ranked 4 -1 with 4 being the highest.

School Assessment Weeks

Mock Examinations take place in term 3 for Year 13 students. Using this assessment, each teacher forecasts the AS/A2 grade students will achieve in the public examination.

End-of-year School Examinations for Year 12 students take place in Term 6. These examinations are an important indicator of students’ progress at the half-way point of the course, and are used to inform UCAS predicted grades.

There will be a brief period of study leave to allow students time to revise and to sit all of their examinations. Students will be expected to resit any of their School Examinations where there are concerns with performance and progress.

Parents’ Evenings

All students in the Sixth Form have a Parents’ Evening. Students in Year 13 also have an interview with a member of the Leadership Team in order to discuss outcomes from any Mock Examinations and to support them with their plans for the future. Parents are also invited to attend this interview in order to support the process. An additional interview is sometimes organised for students in the Year 12 following the School Examinations in July.