Why Assessment Is Important

At Cardiff and Vale Tutors, we believe that by providing initial assessments that help students to identify their strengths and their weaknesses, we can help unlock their true academic potential. We offer free assessments with every first lesson which allow both the students and their parents or guardians to figure out the particular areas they are struggling with. Our tutors are dedicated to recognising issues and working with students to fast-track them to exam success.

The Traffic Light System

In a student’s first session with their tutor, the time will mainly be spent trying to identify their strengths and weaknesses using the traffic light method of assessment. Red indicates the areas a student is struggling the most; Amber indicates any skills that need fine-tuning and green specifies the areas in which they are excelling.

Red:

These are the areas a student is struggling with the most. By asking plenty of questions, observing how a student works and looking over graded work they have completed in class, our tutors will be able to identify the root causes of a student’s struggles with any given subject. Sometimes the cause of a problem is a simple fix; for example, an English student might have excellent literacy levels but struggle to structure their essays in accordance with the exam board’s specifications.

Amber:

These are the areas that need fine-tuning. For example, a student might just need an extra bit of help to develop their analytical skills or get their heads round balancing equations.

Green:

Tutors will also make a note of a student’s strengths and help them to harness these skills in order to achieve the best grades possible.

Learning To Learn

Our tutors know that how students revise is just as important as how much they revise. By assessing students’ individual learning styles tutors can help them find revision methods that work for them. Be it flashcards, mind maps, or past papers our tutors work with their students to optimise the effectiveness of the time they spend revising.

External Assessments

As well as offering our own initial assessments, we are also able to send student’s work to be marked by an external examiner. Every exam board is different and has a unique set of marking criteria. Tutors can help students to familiarisethemselves with the assessment objectives they will need to meet in order to achieve their predicted grades, while external assessments allow students to track how well they are meeting these.

In school, students may never get the chance to have their work assessed externally before they take their final exams. Feedback from an examiner can offer invaluable insight into any areas of weakness and give students and their parents/guardians a better understanding of their progress.

Get in Touch

If you have any questions about our tutoring methods or the type of assessments we offer, do not hesitate to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you!

Written by Mary-Anne, Cardiff & Vale English Tutor & Creative Writer

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