How we track progress

In previous newsletters and blogs – I have often stated the obvious – that children come to school to learn – and this involves learning skills, knowledge and attitudes. At the Aquila School,we are committed to giving children access to amazing learning – engaging and relevant learning experiences that help prepare them for an exciting future.

The school I previously led was the first school ever in Abu Dhabi to be graded as being outstanding – and one of the reasons for this was that children made such great progress – and for me – this is the core purpose of our school – to help the children ‘get better’ and ‘improve’ as quickly as they can in every area.

We are often asked how this is measured – so in this week’s blog I would like to talk about how we measure progress at The Aquila School.

Traditionally, teachers find out what the children can do – and how much they have improved, through tests. The children study at school, revise at home, then take a test in school which invariably has a score attached to it. For me – this is not a true reflection on learning – such tests show what children can remember and how they apply this – and for many children this is not the right way to learn.

At The Aquila School, we will use what are called “Assessment for Learning” techniques. This means that teachers will look carefully at the work the children are doing on a day to day basis – and use this to help plan what they should learn the next day. This method means that what the children are doing ‘for real’ in class matters rather than what they can remember for a test – and because in class matters rather than what they can remember for a test – and because the work is looked at on a day to day basis the feedback and plans for future learning are relevant to maximise learning and progress. In the background teachers compare what the children are doing against age-related expectations. This is important but we do not get bogged down in this – as every child learns in different ways and at different rates. Learning is not linear – and our approach to assessment reflects this – progress is king – and a determinist view that says that a child needs to learn this, then that, then that – and this can only be ascertained through a test – is not how we will work. We will focus on celebrating the achievements of every child, working with them so that they know what they need to learn next and how they can learn it – and by setting up engaging relevant learning experiences – amazing learning – to allow every child to make as much progress as possible. This is what matters at The Aquila School.