We all know that feedback and target setting are the bedrock of student progress. By getting them to realise where they need to improve we instil independence and allow them to become lifelong learners. Often this is done at the start of term and reviewed at the end, largely because often we do not have students for more than one year. Other than this data is placed into administrative software, such as SIMs, to prove students are progressing then are passed on to parents who quite often do not understand it.

This year I feel I the team I have worked in has been tighter than ever so I decided it would be worth making sure students understand how data works and could review their progress and set target for next year even though it will be with a different teacher. Students understand the difference between a 5a and a 5c but are often unsure of how we come to an overall grade for the whole year, particularly in a subject such as ICT where there are so many different strands.

We do write student grades in the front of books and folders but how often do we revisit them? This year, therefore, I gave students a final lesson built around self review. Rather than just a list of grades students were give an end of year review sheet with titles for specific pieces of work rather than subjects, this brought back a memory of the work done rather then them asking what we did in that unit of work. Creating individual grade sheets might seem a daunting task but using my, slightly edited, electronic mark scheme and a bit of mail merge magic they were created in a matter of minutes. Students were then given the sheet, which included target and actual grade, and asked to fill in an electronic evaluation which involved creating understanding from the data to evidence their thoughts. They then needed to set three targets for the year ahead, with Year 7 this was for Year 8 and for Year 9 how they would improve their use of ICT within their GCSE years. The lessons went well and students quickly got the idea of what was needed, one or two were confused at first and said they did not know what they were good at. One even said they were bad at everything. Pointing them towards the data supplied meant they could quickly see where they had gained the highest grade and could be proud of that achievement as well as allowing them to think about why they did so well. I only needed to explain what was required to a few students and all produced semi-detail reviews with suitable targets.

The real work comes next as I will pass these self reviews onto their teachers next year which, if used properly, will work as the basis for progress over the coming terms. I also think it is very important that students understand how to evaluate data about themselves, it is good if they know what we need to do as teachers with data but also that they can pick up a set of grades and work out where strengths and weaknesses lie within them. I am confident that students understand what each level means but not so sure they can use a list of levels achieved to fully understand their own progress. If we can get them to a stage where they do then that is half our job done. It is of particular importance as we move away from levels and, in our school, towards GCSE grades with fine scores. Students may be disheartened to get an E2 rather than a 5b but if they understand the data and that they are on a journey they will be able to pick out areas of weakness and set targets so they can do something about this. If targets are not set based on work they have done and grades given then surely they are just plucking ideas out of thin air and, it may be easy to show progress but they might be doing something they already know how to do and thus this could be false progress. I, for one, would rather less progress in an area they are weaker in than appearing to make progress in an area they are actually already strong in. It might not look as good on the surface but deep down students will have move further forward.