At New Haw, assessment is a vital part of our pupils’ learning journey.  Most people think that assessment means taking a test, but there is far more to it than that.

There are two main types of assessment:

Summative assessment sums up what a pupil has achieved at the end of a period of time.  It may be an assessment at the end of a topic, or at the end of a term or half-term, at the end of a year or, in the case of Year 2 and Year 6 SATS, at the end of a key stage.  A summative assessment might be a written test, an observation, a conversation or a task.  Whichever medium is used, the assessment will show what has been achieved at the end of a learning journey.   Examples of summative assessment at New Haw are:

• Formal (written) reading, grammar and maths tests in the autumn and summer terms.
• End of term teacher assessments in curriculum subjects
• Key Stage 2 SATs (in year 6).

Formative assessment is far more frequent and takes place during the learning journey.  It is similar, for example on a car journey, to stopping every so often to check the map.  Formative assessment takes place every day in school, with teachers and pupils reviewing progress, identifying strengths and weaknesses in knowledge and/or skills and then using that information to plan for next steps.  Examples of formative assessment at New Haw are:

• Question and answer sessions during class
• Marking of pupils’ work
• Short quizzes
• Talking to children during class to identify when pupils are struggling, when they have consolidated learning and when they are ready to progress.