Target setting - John Taylor High School

How students’ expectations are set

KS3

JTHS assigns students to one of five starting attainment bands for each subject, using subject level FFT20 estimates (see below). Once assigned, this is a student’s expected attainment band and attainment in all subsequent KS3 assessments will be compared to this.

Attainment Band FFT Estimate		FFT Estimate
O	Outstanding	Grades 7 & 8
E	Exceeding	Grade 6
S	Secure	Grade 5
A	Approaching	Grade 4
B	Beginning	Grades 2 &3

N.B. there is also an ‘Initial’ band (Grade 1 - below Beginning) and a ‘Mastered’ band (grade 9 – above Outstanding), but neither are used as students’ expected bands.

IBASEOM attainment Bands (Table 1 below)

Each Attainment Band has an associated descriptor.

Table 1

Attainment Band FFT Estimate		Short descriptor	Long descriptor
M	Mastered	-	Exceptional performance.
O	Outstanding	Consistently working above age-related expectations.	Has acquired, learned, and remembered key knowledge, understanding and skills which is consistently above age related expectations.
E	Exceeding	Some evidence of working above age-related expectations.	Has acquired, learned, and remembered key knowledge, understanding and skills linked to age-related expectations and there is some evidence of working above age related expectations.
S	Secure	Consistently working at age related expectations.	Has acquired, learned, and remembered key knowledge, understanding and skills and consistently works at age-related expectations.
A	Approaching	Working at age related expectations but with some inconsistency.	Has acquired, learned, and remembered key knowledge understanding and skills linked to age-related expectations but not consistently so.
B	Beginning	Some evidence of working at age related expectations.	Is beginning to acquire, learn and remember some key knowledge, understanding and skills linked to age related expectations.
I	Initial	-	Working well below age related standards.

The minimum expectation is that students’ attainment should fall within their expected band at all points during KS3. If at any point their attainment falls below their starting attainment band, then they should receive subject/class level intervention to raise their attainment back to the level of their expected band.

At the end of the academic year, we can review the attainment bands of the students. If the attainment of a student has consistently been one or more bands above their original expected band, in all (or the majority of assessments within a subject), then we can lift the expected attainment band for the student ahead of the next academic year. Students are always given the opportunity to exceed their expectations.

KS4

At John Taylor High School we use Fischer Family Trust (an external organisation) to create ‘minimum expected grades’ for each student. FFT compares each student with all other students nationally who achieved the same KS2 results and the average GCSE grade they achieved for their subjects. We are able to moderate those grades to ensure that they are appropriately challenging, and the resulting grade becomes the initial target grade. These grades are then reviewed again at the end of Year 10.

KS5

Minimum expected grades are calculated using each student’s average GCSE points score. Each student is compared with all other students nationally who achieved the same average GCSE points score and the average grade they received in all A level subjects being studied. As such, it should be a realistic but challenging grade. Subject teachers then use their professional judgement to decide whether or not this grade is aspirational enough and may choose to increase it. The resulting grade becomes the target grade.