Why is my tracker tiered?
All Pupil Progress trackers are built in line with exam-board specification, meaning that, for schools in England, GCSE Maths, MFL and Science trackers will all contain both a Higher and a Foundation tier.
For more info on how tiered trackers work, take a look at the article linked below:
But what if I don't want to tier my students yet?
We appreciate that some schools may not initially want to use tiers, particularly in the case of Y10 classes where it is not yet clear which tier a student will sit come exam season.
However, Pupil Progress is built to support this and help teachers to make informed decisions on which tier to enrol each student for;
When your classes are first added to Pupil Progress, the class will be set up on the Higher tier by default. If you are looking to not yet tier your students, we would recommend leaving this as is.
It may initially seem counterproductive, but using the Custom Grade Boundaries feature when adding an assessment will mean a student can achieve grades below a 3 or 4 even when on a Higher tracker.
For more info on how Custom Grade Boundaries work, take a look at the article linked below:
Something to note:
When adding your assessment and selecting the unit, be sure to add it to both tiers; this will mean that the data will remain visible regardless of which tier a given student ends up on. (Pictured in the GIF below)
Also, upon scrolling down to the Grade Boundaries area of the page, you'll want to select Custom Grade Boundaries. Again, this means that the students' grades will remain consistent regardless of which tier they are assigned to in future. (Pictured in the GIF below)
Once you've configured your assessment, add it to your trackers as you normally would.
How will this look in my tracker?
When you return to your tracker and enter your students' marks, you'll notice that;
The grade they receive for that individual assessment will match the Custom Grade Boundaries that you have set.
But their overall unit and average grades will instead match the boundaries that the exam-board have set for the Higher tier. (Pictured below)
Why is this the case?
In doing this, you're not only able to see the grades that your students have achieved for also each individual assessment, but your Pupil Progress trackers helps you to make informed decisions as to which tier each student should be entered for.
Of course, if you notice a student who is consistently performing below a grade 3, you may choose to make the decision to switch them to the Foundation tier instead.
For more info on how to move students' tier group , take a look at the article linked below:
Something to note:
You can switch your students' tiers back and forth as many times as you need, and it only takes a moment to do this.
For example, you would easily be able to switch lower performing students to the Foundation tier should you want to produce a report for parents' evening, and then switch them back again to simplify your tracking.
Get in touch!
In addition to the above, we're really keen to hear from you on how you would like to see your untiered tracker on Pupil Progress - this may be an adapted set of grade boundaries to either tier, an amalgamation of both tiers in one, or anything else that you think may be helpful in your context.
If you have a moment, please click the button below to share your feedback directly with our development team:
📖 Pupil Progress Tip
View all of your assessments, Higher and Foundation alike, within your Assessment List.