National Assessments

All schools in Dumfries and Galloway operate a 5-14 curriculum in accordance with national guidelines and, as part of this curriculum almost all pupils will sit National Assessments in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. These were previously known as National Tests. The 5-14 curriculum is based on 5 levels of attainment :-

Level A
Should be attainable in the course of the first three years at primary school by almost all pupils.

Level B
Should be attainable by some pupils in P3 or earlier, but certainly by most in P4.

Level C
Should be attainable in the course of P4-P6 by most pupils.

Level D
Should be attainable by some pupils in P5 or P6 or even earlier, but certainly by most in their last year at primary school.

Level E
Should be attainable by some pupils in P7 or secondary 1, but certainly by most by their second year at secondary school.

Level F
Documentation regarding level F has also been produced. It is expected that all pupils will attain this level at Secondary School. However, on occasions there may be pupils who are at least working towards this level or indeed some pupils may have passed this level in some curricular areas while at Primary School.

Pupils sit National Assessments when the teacher, as the result of the pupil’s class work, feels that the pupil has largely achieved targets at one of these levels. The assessments are therefore valuable since they offer a nationally agreed standard against which the teacher can confirm his/her own assessment of a pupil’s attainment level.

The only pupils who do not sit these assessments are :-

Pupils who have not yet reached Level A.

Pupils who have a Record of Needs need not sit the assessments, but a decision on this will be taken following consultation between the Head Teacher and the parents of the pupil concerned..