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GREENHEAD COLLEGE

Using Value Added to Improve Student Learning

Contents

  1. How do subject teachers arrive at a progress grade?
  2. How do progress and target grades affect the student's learning within the subject?
  3. What do tutors do with progress grades?
  4. What can Heads of Departments do with progress grades?

Subject teachers and progress grades

Subject teachers give students progress grades, in November and March each year, which are then compared with target grades to monitor whether students are achieving their potential. The target grades are those decided by the college management team taking into account the National data set.. These progress grades are passed to tutors and collected centrally to enable progression to be monitored across the college.

How do subject teacher arrive at a progress grade?

As with teaching, all teachers' methods vary slightly, however it is important that all the staff are allocating progress grades according to same philosophy:

The most important point is that all students are receiving the same message from all staff to this end the Principal at Greenhead issues the following statement to all staff prior to every monitoring period:

"What does the grade mean? If you award a grade B/C to an A-level student, say, what it should mean is as follows:-

the impression I have at this moment of this student's work, attitude, ability skills and knowledge from all the evidence she/he has produced in class and out of class, leads me to say at this stage that I would expect her/him to gain a grade B/C in her/his A-levels at the end of the A2 year.

I think it is very important that we all follow the same procedure, because, even if some do not like it, it gives a consistency from which personal tutors, HoDs, careers staff and senior staff can work, and can help students to focus on aims, objectives and routes for progression realistically."

One possible approach by subject staff could be firstly to look back at results from previous groups and see how many of each grade were achieved over the last few years. They should also look at the average of the 'average GCSE' points on entry.

Secondly,

Thirdly, every student has a monitoring interview with their subject teacher to discuss their progress grade. This should be a two way, adult to adult, discussion with a possible negotiation of the progress grade, with the result that the progress grade may change. During this discussion the progress grade agreed on should be compared with the target grade. Praise and encouragements are given at this point if the student is on or above target. Asking these students what they find works for them is then useful when discussing progress with other students. Strategies to help and support those who are below their target grades should also be discussed at this point. (Prior to monitoring many departments give students a questionnaire to help them reflect on their studies before the interview. Each one is different and reflects the personalities of the staff & subjects involved. (example: physics)
Monitoring interviews are conducted during a maximum of 2 lessons while the students are set work. Lessons are not cancelled. Any students not seen during this available time are seen during staff/student's non contact time. All progress grades must be submitted centrally and placed on student progress reports on "Progress report Day". Due to AS examinations in June these now occur in November and March of each year.

This may seem a longwinded approach but as staff become more used to the system and can recall similar previous students it becomes far easier and quicker to give progress grades. It is amazing how after a few cohorts of students how accurate progress grades can be. The monitoring interview is the most important stage of the progress and should not be omitted. Progress grades will only affect a student if they are openly discussed with them and the student understands how it has been awarded. Purely submitting grades on piece of paper to the management without the students being involved has removed the most important factor.

In addition, an interesting exercise is to look back at progress grades for students who have left and look to see how the grades allocated during the course compare to the final result. This will help teachers decide for themselves whether they are being pessimistic or over optimistic with their progress grades. Over time teachers can improve these predictions with uncanny accuracy.

How do progress and target grades effect the student's learning within the subject?

If these grades are never referred to again they have no affect.

Most teachers have some idea of how their students are progressing. This system attempts to quantify the process in a way which all teachers, students and parents understand, and highlights those students who are underachieving. The following table show the National Target Grades from the ALPS benchmark data set along with the progress grades students should be receiving from their teachers. From this, teaching staff can decide whether the progress grade that they have given a student is at the student's potential.

National Minimum Target Grades for Students

  1. Data from the Benchmark clearly defines the minimum grades students should be aiming for relative to their incoming GCSE scores. Laying this expectation early with each student, we have found, is very important.
  2. The minimum target grades the data suggests is as follows:-
Approx.GCSE Grades GCSE Score Band Average Grade Expectation A-level Subject Teacher's target Grade (1) Minimum Target Grades (excl Gen St) in Advanced Courses
Mainly A & A*
7.5-8.0
A
 GNVQ(4)
Dist.
A*(2)
AAAA
Mainly As
7.0-<7.5
A
A
AAAB
Mainly As few Bs
6.7-<7.0
A/B
A/B
AAB
Mainly Bs few As
6.4-<6.7
B
 GNVQ Merit
B*
ABC
Just over all Bs
6.1-<6.4
B
B/C
BBC
Mainly Bs few Cs
5.8-<6.1
C
C(3)
BCD
Mainly Cs few Bs
5.5-<5.8
C
C/D
CCD
just over all Cs
5.2-<5.5
D
 GNVQ Pass
D*
CDD
Ds witha few Cs
4.0-<5.2
D
D/E
CDE
Ds, Es with a few Cs
2.5-<4.0
E
E
EEE
  1. This column is given as a guideline only to assist those new to the system. The progress grade given to tutors at Greenhead is always a split grade (apart from the minority of dead cert A's).
  2. Although the A* is not a valid A-level grade (yet!) it indicates that the student was a very high achiever at GCSE and should be consistently producing exceptional work at A-level.
  3. Where the single grade is shown e.g. 'C' teachers give a B/C if it is a 'high C' or a C/D if it is a 'low C'. We would hope to give band 5.8 - <6.1 mainly B/C.
  4. GNVQ analysis valid for 2001 results or earlier.

We have developed an easy to use excel spreadsheet that will calculate the target grades for your students automatically. You may download it from here.

Teaching staff can look at each student's target grade and discuss with them the standard of the work being submitted. If necessary, asking students to repeat sections that are clearly below their ability. Photocopies of other student's work who are of comparable ability can help to show them what they can achieve. Just saying 'this is not good enough' is unlikely to motivate the student.

Other strategies often involve the tutors and include:

What do tutors do with progress grades?

POTENTIAL:
The average GCSE number places the student in one of six bands (Table 1). It must be emphasised that the expectations listed below are the minimum based on the results from past students. The more effort put into organised learning, the greater is the chance of achieving grades higher that these minimum predictions.

Table 1 Minimum Expectations
Target Band Entry Points A2 AS
1
7.0+
AAB
AAAB
2
6.4-6.9
BBB
BBBB
3
5.5-6.3
CCC
CCCC
4
4.7-5.4
CDD
DDCC
5
4.3-4.8
DDD
DDEE
6
3.5-4.2
DEE
DEEE

From 2000 all students starting A-levels must have on entry 5C's of which one is English or Maths.

Overall position for monitoring

Grades allocated each term by subject teachers are given points as follows:

A = 10 pts A/B = 9 pts B/C = 7 pts C/D = 5 pts D/E = 3 pts E/U = 1 pt U = 0

 

Calculation

Year 1 - AS- levels
Stage 1 Add the total score
Stage 2 For a 4 AS level course go to stage 4 now
Stage 3 For any other number of AS-levels, divide the total in (1) by the number of AS-levels. Multiply this result by 4
Stage 4 Find the corresponding band from table 2

Year 2 - A2/A-levels
Stage 1 Add up the total score
Stage 2 For a 3 A-level course go directly to stage 4 now
Stage 3 For any other number of A-levels, divide the total in (1) by the number of A-levels. Multiply this result by 3
Stage 4 Find the corresponding band from table 2

 

Current potential

Band AS-levels A2/A levels
1 38 points or more 28 points or more
2 32 - 37 points 23 - 27 points
3 24 - 31 points 17 - 22 points
4 15 - 23 points 13 - 16 points
5 9 - 14 points 9 - 12 points
6 8 points or less 8 points or less

By using the two tables the tutor then compares the potential band with the target band. This gives an overall position and at this point differentiates between the AS and A level.

So for example an A level student with an average GCSE of 6.5 and progress grades:

    Table 2
Biology
B/C
7
Chemistry
B/C
7
Business Studies
C/D
5

Total of 19 progress grade points which puts them in band 3 of table 2. The average GCSE points of 6.5 puts them in band 2 from table 1.

Table 1
(predicted)		 Table 2
(progress)
2
3

So overall this student is underachieving.

Possible tutor responses

What can Heads of Departments do with progress grades?

The main use of these is to identify students within the department which will need extra support to help them achieve their potential. These can be easily identified in one of two ways:

1) Plot a graph of progress grade against average GCSE points, or

2) List the students (in an excel spreadsheet) with a column for

For those students significantly below the line on the graph, or with progress grades below the target:

Discuss with teachers the individual students who are not achieving their potential and look for strategies that the department as a whole can do to support. Likely reasons may be:

Some issues may be cross-college and will need to be referred to senior management. If say, HoD's can show a correlation between poor attendance and low progress grades then the senior management will need to take a holistic approach. Likewise the department may need to introduce timetabled student help sessions, or common resources between teaching staff to try to support both staff and students.

It is the work of the subject teachers, tutors, heads of departments, & senior management together with the students that can use a Value Added and Progress Grade system to raise student expectations of themselves and realise their potential.

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