Key Stage 4 Assessment
Students sit summative assessments throughout Key Stage 4. These assess what students have been learning during both the current academic year as well as learning in Key Stage 3, and will test both their declarative and their procedural knowledge. Regular testing of key curricula concepts enables us to monitor this knowledge over time on Key Stage 4 courses.
These assessments enable teachers to know how ‘secure’ a students’ knowledge is and at Key Stage 4 the majority of assessments are based on examination style questions similar to those that they will meet in their examinations at the end of year 11. This means that students gain an understanding of how their knowledge will be tested, they learn the techniques needed to respond to the demands of Key Stage 4 exams, and they will learn how to apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations which will enable them to access the higher grades.
When assessing and reporting home to parents we want to be able to:
- Assess how well students have learnt the curriculum so that we know that students are secure in their knowledge and can be successful in their year 11 examinations
- Assess their attitude, approach and learning habits using the effort grade so that they can become confident independent learners.
Year 10 sit summative assessments in most subject areas in the Spring half term 1 and during mock exams at the end of year 10.
Year 11 sit mock examinations in Spring term 1 and core examinations spread throughout the academic year before their final end of year examinations. Further information on examinations can be found in the Examinations section of the website.
Reporting using predicted grades
At North Gosforth Academy we report the attainment of students at Key Stage 4 as a predicted outcome at the end of year 11. The grades are based on a holistic picture of learning in lessons and key data from summative and controlled assessments.
Grades and Targets at Key Stage 4
Grades at Key Stage 4 are numbered from 9-1 in GCSE subjects and L2D-L1P in vocational subjects. It is quite difficult sometimes to put them into perspective if we are used to the old A*-G grades, the image below gives a rough equivalence
A grade 4 is regarded as a standard pass and is often needed to access courses at College. A level 2 pass in a vocational subject is regarded as the equivalent to a grade 4. A level 2 merit in a vocational subject is regarded as the equivalent to a grade 7.
Targets
At North Gosforth Academy we give our KS4 students, where possible, a target grade. These are predominantly based on Key Stage 2 performance and average student performance of similar students across the country. We use aspirational targets so that our students are given target grades that are only obtained by the top 20% of students.