National Standards - Levels of Achievement
This information is sourced from the Ministry of Education.
Definitions of achievement
Each student's achievement in each of the three standards, Reading, Writing & Mathematics, will be assessed and reported as either:
|
Above
|
A student's current level of achievement is at a standard above their year group, which means that special consideration needs to be given to their learning needs in order to provide them with sufficient challenge to continue their accelerated rate of progression into the future. |
|
At
|
A student is currently meeting the standard, and effective classroom teaching should realistically enable them to meet or well exceed the standard for next year. |
|
Below
|
A student is not currently meeting the standard, but there is every reason to believe that their learning needs can be accommodated within effective differentiated classroom teaching in order to meet the standard for next year. |
|
Well below
|
A student's current achievement against the standard is such that in order to have a realistic chance of making sufficient progress to meet the standard for next year, special consideration needs to be given to their learning needs and specific actions in addition to effective differentiated classroom teaching may need to be taken. |
Making the assessment
The way in which these generic definitions are translated into practice within different subject areas may vary. One approach is to identify the year standard (linked to curriculum progression) which is the ‘best fit' with the student's current level of achievement in the subject. If the balance of evidence shows that student performance:
- maps more closely to a standard above that year's standard, the student's achievement is likely to be described as above the National Standard
- is predominantly meeting the expectations at a year level, the student's achievement will be described as at the National Standard
- maps more closely to the preceding year's standard, the student's achievement will be described as below the National Standard
- maps more closely to a standard more than one year below, the student's achievement is likely to be described as well below the National Standard. Students who are well below the expected standard may require modified classroom programmes and extra support to continue their development and maintain positive attitudes.
In order to make a judgement from the balance of evidence, a range of sources will need to be considered, including:
- classroom observation against clear criteria,
- demonstrated behaviour on texts and tasks, and
- the information from student performance on assessment activities.