At the Gateway Academy, there are two types of assessments that we utilise to inform us about exactly what each individual student knows and can do, and what we need to do to support and challenge them to reach the next grade.  The two types of assessment are called formative and summative.

Formative – used to close the gap between students' current understanding and the desired goals for individual lessons/topics. (ongoing monitoring of student learning)

Summative – this mirrors the actual examination and identifies students' strengths and areas to develop based on everything they have learnt since September/start of the course.  This is a cumulative analysis of student learning over a longer period of time.

Every year group has specified times when these assessments will occur:

Additionally, every Year 7 student will complete baseline assessments in every subject to give us a very clear indication of how strong students' knowledge and application from KS2 is and what we need to do to support and challenge them further in each department.  This is carried out in weeks 4 and 5 of the school year to ensure we are gaining early data to allow us to provide a rapid response in order to maximise students' learning and progress immediately.

Furthermore, Year 11 students (and Year 10s in the Summer Term) will complete PPE’s (Pre-Public Exams) twice over the course of the year.  In these assessments, they will sit the actual exam board papers in the sports hall, so they have a very good indication of what the real exams will feel like, the skills needed, and it also allows the staff here at the Gateway Academy to have a very clear indication of where any student gaps or misconceptions are and what we need to do to address them.

Instructions for candidates for written examinations