S1
In S1 classes come to maths in houses; we have three houses (Cademuir, Dunrig and Meldon) and three classes in each house which are roughly set. Placement in a set is initially carried out using information and data from primaries. Following their first assessment in S1, young people are moved according to attainment and class teacher judgement to a more appropriate class if required. Class moves are kept to a minimum and so affect very few young people. There are two large assessments in S1, with regular low stakes assessments throughout the year. Following the initial assessment, which is non calculator, all assessments have a non-calculator and a calculator component.
S2
In S2 classes come to Maths in two columns, each with 5 set classes and students are placed based on their S1 attainment and class teacher judgement. Some young people worry that having been in a set 1 or 2 in first year and they are now in a set 2, 3 or 4, that they haven’t done well, this is often not the case; it is usually due to the difference in how the classes attend maths i.e. there are 90-99 students in a set 1, S1 class – and only 60-66 spaces in a set 1 in S2.
There are 3 main assessments in S2 for sets 1-4 and for set 5 there are several differentiated assessments throughout the year. Attainment in assessments, reviews, quizzes and class teacher judgement is used to place young people on the most appropriate course in S3. Class moves are possible following assessment but are kept to a minimum. Sets 1-4 follow the same curriculum and assessment may be differentiated for set 4, dependent on the year group. For Set 5 both curriculum and assessment are differentiated.
