Assessments

Assessment of pupils by their class or subject teacher provides a lot of important information on how your child is doing.

Teacher Assessment

This helps teachers see what progress your child is making and helps teachers plan how to help them make further progress. It provides information that schools can report to parents as well as information to help older children make choices about the examination courses they will follow and the qualifications and careers they will seek.

It also help schools to set targets for the future and to measure their performance. The assessment information lets government monitor the performance of the schools system generally.

Key Stage Assessment

At the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, pupils’ achievements in communication and using mathematics are assessed with reference to transitional Levels of Progression. Revised Levels of Progression are currently being finalised and, when they are introduced, pupils’ achievements in communication, using mathematics and using ICT will be assessed at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.

This will let parents know how their child is doing and whether they have reached the level expected for their age in areas such as reading, writing and maths.

Further information on assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, including the level descriptions (transitional Levels of Progression) can be found on the Northern Ireland Curriculum website.

Assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 on the Northern Ireland Curriculum website

Additional information on assessment at the end of Key Stage 3, including the level descriptions (transitional Levels of Progression).

Assessment at the end of Key Stage 3

To find out more about the Revised Curriculum, follow this link:

Understanding the Revised Curriculum

InCAS Assessments

Primary pupils in Years 4 - 7 do an assessment on a computer during normal class time. This Interactive Computerised Assessment System (InCAS) helps teachers see what children find easy or hard in reading and maths.

These assessments are carried out in the autumn term so that teachers can find out how children are doing early in the year.

They are extra to other forms of assessment used by the school and show a reading age and a mathematical age for each child - this is how they are doing for their age. These help teachers decide how to help children make further progress.

More information about InCAS

Guides for parents on the curriculum

The Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) have produced two booklets for parents of primary and post-primary children on the curriculum and what to expect when their child starts school. The booklets can be downloaded below.