Target setting is carried out for each child on entry to the school and their target applies to all subjects.

At the top of your child’s report, you will see a Global Target Grade.   This is the minimum grade we think your child should be aiming for in each subject at the end of year 11.   You may feel a target set for the end of Year 11 is a long way off. However, we view your child’s progress as a flight path, from Year 7 to 11 with points along the way where we expect your child to be.   We draw an imaginary line between the two points and can work out where a pupil should be in terms of level or grade at any time during their five years with us.

To help us with this, we use Welsh Government predictions which are based on how students across the country performed in previous years, on average, in their GCSE’s, compared to their end of primary school tests.   In other words, on average, a child gaining a Level 4 at the end of Key Stage 2 in English would (on average) be expected to gain a C grade at GCSE. We also use literacy and numeracy tests (which are also compared to other pupils nationally) to double-check the accuracy of our targets.   

Whilst we appreciate that each pupil will differ in their ability within a particular subject, we believe that having one target grade will encourage pupils to have higher aspirations across all their subjects.   Obviously, if a pupil performs extremely well in one subject compared to all the others, then their teacher will ensure they aim for a higher grade.

These are internal assessments and are carried out by your child's teachers for every year group 3 times a year. Please see the attached example report below.

As a result of this new way of setting targets, we have changed the format of our reports:

• Below the column headed Predicted Grade are the predicted grades your child’s teachers have set for them to achieve at the end of year 11 according to how they are working at present.  

• Below the column headed Distance From Target are numbers which represent how far your child is from their Global Target Grade (GTG).   E.g. If a pupil has a GTG of a C grade and they are predicted a B in Maths, the report will show a score of 1 for Maths.  In other words, they are achieving 1 grade higher in Maths than their GTG. A score of 0 will mean they are in line with their GTG and a negative score, eg -1, would mean that they are performing below their GTG. 

• There are then 4 columns representing the 4 Rs, which enable you to look for reasons why your child is perhaps not achieving their GTG.  All pupils are given scores out of 5 for each R in every subject. Discussions about performance within a subject can then be explained and examined with the pupil in their classes and learning family as well as at home.   The Approach to Learning grid can be found on the reverse of the report.  

• In the final column, we work out a subject average approach to learning score for each subject, which gives an approach to learning score for that subject.  This is useful to pick up issues in particular subjects.

Finally, at the bottom of the page is the Approach To Learning (ATL) score.  This is calculated by adding up the average from each of the R columns, giving a score out of 20.   We would expect all students to be aiming for an ATL score of at least 12 or above. Please note: ATL scores are nothing to do with ability.  The focus here is on the approach/attitude to learning.

This report is issued to parents when your child reaches the end of Year 9. The report indicates the levels achieved during Key Stage 3.

Eastern High has a two-year Key Stage 3 and levels reported may be those achieved at the end of year 8, where subjects are not taught in Year 9, as they have been replaced with Option choices.

National Reading and Numeracy tests take place in May for years 7,8,9. The Welsh Government validates the results and reports of the results are sent to parents in July. Please see the video and attached resources. Personalised Assessment and Literacy and Numeracy guidance booklet.