Target Setting

In the Autumn Term of Year 12 you will receive ALIS data based upon your ALIS test and your average GCSE performance. You will complete an ePassport Tracker document that you can use to monitor and track your own progress over the two year A-level course. This Tracker is available to download at the bottom of this page.

Both your LFL teacher and your Form Tutor will monitor your progress in this, and advise and consult with you regarding setting reasonable, aspirational targets. The ALIS data will supply you with Predicted Points and Grades for each of your A Level subjects. These are all based upon your average attainment at GCSE and the scores you achieved in the ALIS test. To explain how these are calculated, ALIS collects A Level results from all students in all schools that subscribe to their service (including King’s).

They also record for each of these students their average GCSE results. For each possible average GCSE score and each possible ALIS test score they calculate the percentage of students who achieved each possible grade at A Level in each subject.

They use this to calculate the average A Level Point scores achieved and the most common A Level Grades. Although these are referred to as the ALIS predictions, they should really be seen as the average performance by similar students in past exams. This is because, although these are the most common grades achieved, other grades are also achieved but with lower frequencies. For this reason, you are also provided with chances graphs for each subject. Each of the bars on the chances graphs represents the percentage of students who achieved each A Level grade for a particular subject having started the course with a similar average GCSE score, or ALIS test score, to you.

In the example above, the graph on the left uses the average GCSE score, and the graph on the right uses the ALIS test score. From the graph on the left it can be seen that the most frequent grade that similar students achieved (modal grade) was Grade A with a 47% probability of them achieving this grade. However there is also a good chance that the student will achieve some other grade - in fact there is a 32% chance of getting lower than an A and a 21% chance of getting higher than an A. The graph on the right also shows that the most common grades achieved by similar students, but based on their ALIS tests. The data is slightly different in the two graphs because different students have different levels of performance between their GCSEs and the ALIS test. However, both are informative when considered together.

Your main thoughts on reviewing these graphs should be to look at the percentage of students who achieved grades higher than the most common (modal) grade, and to consider what you need to do to perform like one of those students. You should also reflect that some students, who might not have approached their A Level studies in the most optimum way, achieved A Level grades below the modal grade; you should certainly want to avoid being in that category!

You should consider both graphs alongside your ALIS Predicted Grades, and, in consultation with your LFL teacher, decide upon a sensible, aspirational yet realistic Target Grade. If the probability of you getting a higher grade is of a reasonable size then you may wish to consider increasing your target!

Your Target Setting file should be named: FORM_Surname_Forename_TargetSetting, so and example could be GMS_Bloggs_Joe_TargetSetting.

We would really encourage you to keep your own copy of this file in your own user area, and perhaps on another device. Please remember that this is your own confidential information.