Assessment Overview

Assessment at The Macclesfield Academy 

At The Macclesfield Academy we believe that our assessments have three key purposes: 

1. To check understanding  

Teachers will use assessments to check that students have understood and can recall the Essential Knowledge and Vocabulary (EKVs) that forms the basis of our ambitious curriculum.

2. To monitor progress through the curriculum 

Teachers will use assessments to monitor the progress their students are making through the curriculum. Students who are making progress, will know more, be able to remember more and be able to do more. 

3. To inform planning   

Teachers will use the results and outcomes of assessment to reshape the curriculum and their planning to support students through the curriculum content. 

Assessments will take place routinely across the academy using a variety of methods. The primary focus of each assessment will be to identify skill gaps and monitor both progression through the curriculum and the students’ ability to recall information stored in long-term memory. 

Key Stage 3 Assessment Overview 

In Year 7, students will complete an online baseline assessment. These are a series of three 45-minute assessments completed on a computer, that assess students in four areas: verbal, non-verbal, spatial, and quantitative reasoning. Additional baseline tests will take place in some other subjects including Design & Technology and Computer Science. 

Throughout Key Stage 3, we will assess student’s progress through the curriculum, and retrieval of knowledge stored in long term memory. Whilst different subjects may choose to assess more frequently, assessments data and feedback will be shared with parents twice per year. 

Key Stage 4 Assessment Overview 

In Key Stage 4, assessments will follow, where possible, GCSE/BTEC examinations or non-examined assessments.  The purpose of these assessments is still to check understanding and recall adaptive practice, long term retrieval & identifying knowledge gaps, but for the first-time assessments will also be used to calculate current grades and predicted final grades.  

Assessments and Reporting 

Subjects will run assessment windows across the academic year, with all students completing at least two formal assessments each year. Following each assessment, we will send reports home to parents that include a range of academic data, as well as subject specific areas of strength and areas for development.