Directorate of Children’s Services The Essential Guide to Average Points Score (APS) Duncan Gregory Advisor for Assessment This presentation has been designed to provide either a self-study module or a workshop style INSET opportunity for use with staff. It relies on the active involvement of the participants. A handout of KS1 & KS2 levels to points equivalence tables accompanies this module and is used extensively throughout. Some slides are designed to take participants through the task one step at a time so please rehearse timings before presenting to staff. Notes are provided on the Normal view of the PowerPoint

Directorate of Children’s Services Levels and Points What is the difference between the points scores for different levels? How are letter codes dealt with? Do we understand what the letter codes mean? How can levels be converted to points scores? And back again? How are the 2A, 2B and 2C sublevels dealt with? Using the handout that shows the levels to points equivalents for KS1 and KS2, consider the following questions

Directorate of Children’s Services Levels and Points ………….……………………. Answers The difference between the points scores for different levels is 6 points. The letter codes ‘A’ (absent) and ‘T’ are disregarded. The ‘B’ and ‘N’ letter codes are worth 15 points (equivalent to level 2) The letter codes: – B - working below the level of the test so not entered. Teacher Assessed only – N - entered for the test but did not score enough marks to achieve a level – T - working at the level of the test but unable to access them, even when considering the access arrangements available. This is very rare (see ARA) Levels to points = Multiply by 6 and add 3 OR points to levels = minus 3 and divide by 6 2A, 2B and 2C sublevels are 2 points more and 2 points less than 2B respectively (sublevels split the 6 point range between levels into thirds)

Directorate of Children’s Services Levels and Average Points Scores KS2 Example Englishmathematicsscience LevelB34 Average points score:( ) / 3 = 21 Points Average Level = ? It would be difficult to calculate the average level for this pupil given that they have a ‘B’ for English So… Using the handout of KS2 levels to points table, convert the levels in the above table to points scores. Now calculate the average points score for this pupil

Directorate of Children’s Services Pupils – converting levels to points & calculating average points scores For the following pupils, convert their levels to points and calculate their APS

Directorate of Children’s Services Pupils – converting levels to points & calculating average points scores For the following pupils, convert their levels to points and calculate their APS…………….. Answers

Directorate of Children’s Services Subject/groups - calculating average points scores Using the answers on the previous slide, calculate the TOTAL points for each subject. EnglishMathsScience TOTAL points score AVERAGE points score Now calculate the average points for each subject. They should be shown to ONE decimal place Cohort - calculating average points scores Now calculate the APS for the whole cohort as follows:. (Total points for English + Total points for maths + Total points for science) (Total number of eligible pupils for each subject) =( ) / 20 =474 / 20 =23.7 Remember there are only 6 eligible pupils in English Remember there are only 20 eligible levels overall

Directorate of Children’s Services Levels and Average Points Scores ……… Summary Points scores are assigned to levels so that mathematical averages can be calculated. The main levels are 6 points apart and sometimes they are applied to sub-levels (2A, 2B & 2C) To convert a level to a points score: Multiply by 6 and add 3 [e.g. for level 3: (3x6) + 3 = 21] The APS for an individual pupil at KS2 is: ( English points + maths points + science points ) / ( number of eligible subjects ) The APS for a group/cohort at KS2 is: (Total points for English + Total points for maths + Total points for science) / (Total number of eligible pupils for each subject)