28th May 2021

Dear Parent/Carer

Unit 3 Assessments 28th June - 2nd July 2021 Year 9

I am writing to share with you your child’s assessment timetable which starts from Monday 28th June 2021.

The third assessment cycle of this academic year is fast approaching and as such your child will sit a series of assessments allowing them to demonstrate their learning over the previous academic year.

These assessments are called KIP assessments.  KIP stands for ‘Knowledge is Power’ The knowledge which your children will be tested on has been carefully selected as it is knowledge that when mastered, will enable them to access the highest-level content in their subject areas.  These assessments will take place in their usual lessons between the 28th June and the 2nd July 2021.  Please find answers to some potential questions below.

What will they need to learn for the assessments?

In exactly the same way as we did in Unit 1 & 2, the assessments link directly to the work completed for homework and in class.  Your child will be given a list of definitions and they will be asked to write next to each definition the keyword that it is describing.  These are all the words from the Knowledge Organisers that students have been memorising for homeworks and using in lessons.  Since we are in the third part of the assessment cycle, students will be assessed as follows: 

• Subjects with 10 weeks of information in the knowledge Organisers will have 100 definitions in their assessment: 50 from Unit 3 & 25 from Unit 1 & 2
• All other subjects will have 40 definitions in their assessment: 30 from Unit 3 & 10 from Unit 1 & 2

Students will be tested over the week on each subject according to the timetable I have written below.

How can I help my child?

You can help prepare your child for these assessments by quizzing them.  Simply find the subject they would like to revise in the knowledge organiser, then read the definition to your child and ask them to say what the key word is. For example, you would say to your child:

‘This is a device for measuring the atmospheric pressure of a place’

Hopefully your child will remember the keyword is ‘Barometer’ and you could tick it in their Knowledge Organiser, it is as simple as that.  If they cannot remember, simply tell them the correct answer, then quiz them on it again later.

Please remember there is a video in the “Students” section of the school website demonstrating how students should be memorising this information when they do their homework. It would be worth rewatching this to aid revision.

How will you know how well they do in each assessment?

Your child’s assessment will be marked immediately and the percentage of words they get correct will be recorded by their teacher.  Students with additional needs will have had the support they need to complete the test so they are not at a disadvantage.

A report will then be sent home to you to explain how well your child has done in each subject compared to the year group and how well they are doing overall.  The report will also explain how much progress your child has made in each subject which is the main focus of the assessments.

What will the school do with the assessment scores?

Once we have all the assessment information we will reset the classes to ensure the right students are obtaining the right support to progress even further as they enter the next twelve weeks of the school year.  You and your child will be told of any class movements and a conversation will be had with the Head of Year if there are any concerns.

The dates for each assessment that your child will sit are on the next page of the letter and have been designed so you can easily display them in the house.

What homework do they do for weeks 11 and 12 following assessments?

During weeks 11 and 12 your child’s Homework practice book will be used to practice any definitions from their Knowledge Organiser that they do not know.

If your child misses an assessment they will have to take it at a later date.

If you have any questions around assessments at all please contact me using the email jwatson@gloucesteracademy.co.uk

Yours sincerely

Mr J Watson

Assistant Headteacher

Year 9	Week 12 (Week beginning 29th June)
Class Code	28th June	29th June	30th June	1st July	2nd July
9G	Art French Music	Science Maths	History English Drama	Geography	DT & Food RS
9L	French History Music	Science Maths	Art Geography	English	DT & Food RS
9O	Spanish History Geography	DT & Food Art Science Maths	RS English Music		Drama
9U	Drama	Science Geography Maths Music	History English	Spanish	DT & Food Art
9C	Spanish History	Science & RS Maths Music	English Drama	DT & Food Art	Geography