Assessment & Reporting

Students at New Mills School receive three reports per academic year. These reports provide valuable insights into their progress and learning behaviours. 

Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9)

Students are assessed on a scale of 1 to 4 in the following areas: 

  • Attitude to Learning

  • Behaviour for Learning

  • Home Learning

  • Progress

 

These grades offer an indication of how well students are engaging with their studies and developing academically.

 
Key Stage 4 (Years 10–11)

In addition to the areas assessed at KS3, students at KS4 receive achievement grades in each subject. These come in two forms:

Assessed Grade:

This reflects the outcome of the most recent formal assessment, which may include GCSE (or equivalent) exam components. It represents the grade the student actually achieved or a close approximation. As these assessments are taken part-way through the course, it’s common for the grade to be lower than the final expected outcome.

Forecast Grade:

This is the teacher’s professional judgement of the most likely grade a student will achieve by the end of the course, based on their current progress, attitude, and performance in classwork, homework, and assessments.

Students also receive a Target Grade for each examination subject. These targets are calculated using prior attainment data from primary school assessments, via a respected statistical method developed by the Fischer Family Trust (FFT). These targets represent the grade a student could achieve if they performed in line with the top 20% of students nationally. They are intentionally aspirational, designed to motivate and challenge students.

You can find more information about FFT estimates here:

A quick overview of FFT estimates for secondary schools - FFT Education Datalab

 

Tracking Progress

The grades reported are directly comparable to the student’s target grades, making it easy to identify those who are on track or falling behind.  Importantly, if a student maintains the same grade over time, this still indicates progress, as the complexity and demands of each subject increase throughout the course.