We are justly proud of our pupil’s academic success and maintain a rigorous range of external and in-house assessment strategies to ensure progress is monitored.

BASE (Reception)

BASE assessment is used at entry to the Reception year to provide an insight that can be acted upon to support the development of each child. Used again at the end of the same year, detailed reports demonstrate the progress that a child has made. It covers early literacy, early numeracy, communication & language and Personal, Social & Emotional development.

Reading

Word Recognition: The pupil hears a high or medium frequency word, which includes a sentence to put it in context. They must then select the target word from a choice of five words on screen

Word Decoding: The pupil hears a nonsense or unfamiliar word. They must then select the target word from a choice of five words on screen.

Comprehension

The pupil reads through a passage and, when given a choice of three words, must select the word that fits into the sentence most appropriately.

Spelling

The pupil hears a word, which includes a sentence to put it in context. They then use the onscreen keyboard to select the correct letters for the target word.

General maths

Number 1: This covers counting, informal arithmetic, partitioning and place value, fractions and decimals. The questions are non-curriculum based.

Number 2: This covers sorting, patterns, formal arithmetic, problem solving and algebra. The questions are non-curriculum based.

Measures, Shape and Space.

Data Handling.

Mental Arithmetic

Assesses the pupil’s ability to process numerical operations quickly and accurately.

GL Assessment (NFER) papers (Years 3 – 6)

GL Assessment papers provide us with a nationally recognised standard against which we can compare our pupils’ level of attainment.

Pupils sit the following tests in the Summer term: Progress Tests in English and Maths with additional papers in Mental Maths, Spelling, Reading (vocabulary), Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning and Cognitive Ability tests. These tests are marked externally, with the results published in the child’s end of year report. An additional paper in Creative Writing is taken and marked internally.

The child’s raw score is converted into a standardised score dependant on the age at which the test was sat. The standardised scores are then banded 70 – 85 Below Average, 85 -115 Average, 120 -129 Above Average and 130+ Well Above Average. It should be noted that these scores reflect the national average, not the Ashton House School average, which is usually higher.