About Long Crendon School
I’m Sue Stamp, the Head Teacher and Assessment Co-ordinator at Long Crendon School. We’re in a thriving village setting and have 210 children on roll. We have a very small number of disadvantaged pupils. Approximately 10% of our children are on the SEN register, some of whom have significant needs. Not all of these children are able to access standardised tests.
How are you using NTS Assessments?
We use the reading and maths NTS Assessments papers on a termly basis in all year groups, apart from Foundation Stage. The results are used in our assessment meetings to identify underperforming children, or those requiring additional challenge. We also use the tests as a progress measure to report to Governors. As part of the Thame Partnership of Schools we share our data with other schools so that we can identify any areas where there may be training needs, or opportunities to share good practice.
Why did you choose this resource?
Teachers like NTS Assessments because they look like National Test papers, which helps prepare the children for what they will see in the tests.
What are the main benefits of using NTS Assessments over other assessments you’ve tried?
Early evidence from our data suggests that some lower ability children, or children with dyslexia, may find the NTS Reading tests more accessible, leading to more useful standardised scores than they achieved using previous tests.
How do pupils feel about taking NTS Assessments?
Children seemed to like the tests and preferred them to other standardised assessments we’ve used.
What do staff like the most about NTS Assessments?
Staff particularly like that NTS Assessments mirror the format of the National Tests. They’re easy to mark and provide the same useful data that we previously gained from PiRA and PUMA.
What do you think you’ll gain most from using NTS Assessments?
NTS Assessments provide us with useful attainment, progress and comparison data to use as part of our assessment process and the average strand information generated helps to inform future teaching. What’s even better is that we’re helping the children to become familiar with the National Test format.
Would you recommend NTS Assessments to other schools?
Yes – we already have! They’re an easy to use and useful assessment tool.
RS Assessment have made it much easier for us to track progress and attainment and to report this information to parents & Governors in a way that is easy to understand.