British International Colleges and Schools


Illuminate et Optimus
 

Preparatory Assessment Centre

 Pupils in the Early Years Programme (ages 3 to 5) are assessed continuously. This assessment tracks all aspects of the developmental progress of the pupil.

Primary Start, Stage 1 and 2 children write year end tests set by our teachers under test conditions appropriate to their age. These tests assess the year’s work.

Stages 3 to 7 write Cambridge Progression Tests in English, Mathematics and Science. Integrated Studies, ICT and Expressive Arts Progression Tests are set by our teachers. Active Education is assessed via practical exam. French/Afrikaans/Zulu/Spanish (Stage 7) has a listening and speaking test and Stages 4 to 7 also have a written test. All tests assess the year’s work and are conducted according to Cambridge regulations for examinations.

Apart from these examinations, progress in all Stages, including Nursery and Reception is recorded and communicated to children and to parents in four Records of Achievement, published during the course of the year. Their Record of Achievement is discussed with each child. The final Record of Achievement indicates the results of the year end examinations and/or Progression Tests.

Entry Procedures - Cambridge Exam Entries

  1. Stage 7 students who have not yet written Checkpoint exams will be notified by the Principal of the need to enter. Students will be issued with an exam entry form.
  2. Entry forms must be submitted with payment to the school on time. Thereafter Cambridge’s penalty fees apply.
  3. Students will be issued with their Statement of Entry (Cambridge Exam Timetable).

Sessions

Stage 6 pupils at British International Preparatory School write international English, Mathematics and Science Checkpoint exams in September / October. New pupils in Stage 7 will write these in April. Registrations with Cambridge International Examinations for these exams take place in June. These examinations are compiled by Cambridge and marked by Cambridge in the UK. Pupils receive a Statement of Results from Cambridge.

Pupils in Stage 6 and 7 write school examinations in all subjects in November.

Pupils must have their student card with them to be able to write any examination.

From CIE

Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint tests have been designed to assess learners at the end of Cambridge Secondary 1. They are available in English, English as a second language, mathematics and science, and give valuable feedback on learners’ strengths and weaknesses before they progress to the next stage of education. 

The tests are marked in Cambridge and provide schools with an external international benchmark for learner performance. Each learner receives a statement of achievement and a diagnostic feedback report, giving schools detailed information and parents extra trust in the feedback they receive. 

We hold two Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint test series each year, in May and October. The tests cover all major areas of learning in the Cambridge Secondary 1 curriculum frameworks for English, English as a second language, mathematics and science.

Feedback reports                 

Schools use the feedback from Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint to make strategic decisions, drawing upon a pool of information and specialist reporting tools that are built into the tests.

The Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint feedback reports enable teachers to:

  • Tailor individual learning programmes
  • Monitor group and individual performance
  • Compare the performance of all learners taking tests in that session
  • Manage learning programmes within schools and as learners move between schools
  • Predict performance in learners’ formal examinations.

The test feedback measures a learner’s performance in relation to:

  • The curriculum framework
  • Their teaching group
  • A whole school cohort
  • Previous years’ learners.


Learner report

The report on a learner gives:

  • A Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint score for the whole subject
  • A Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint score for each main topic/skill
  • A list of the questions (and the sub-topics/skills) where the candidate’s performance was particularly strong or particularly weak
  • A statement of achievement.

 

Teaching group report

The report on a teaching group gives:

  • An average Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint score for the whole subject
  • An average Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint score for each main topic/skill
  • A list of sub-topics/skills with comments on the performance of the group
  • The Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint scores of each learner on the subject and on each main topic/skill
  • The marks scored by each learner on each question.

  

School report

The report on a school gives:

  • An average Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint score for the whole subject
  • An average Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint score for each main topic/skill
  • A list of sub-topics/skills with comments on the performance of the learners.


End of series report

The end of series report gives the results of the whole cohort, from all schools worldwide, broken down by age and first language, so that schools can compare their own results with those of similar learners. The report also gives the examiner’s comments on the test.

 
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