Assessment is a critical component in the teaching cycle and is used both as a summative tool - to make judgements about where your child is up to at a particular point in time and as a formative tool to inform
both the students and teacher about what has been achieved and to set goals about what are their next
steps in learning.
A range of tools are used to assess your child, these include standardised testing - in literacy ; Running Records, PAT & STAR, and in Maths ; PAT, IKAN and GLOSS. However they also include : observing your child at work, listening to your child as they talk about their learning to other students and talking with your child as they explain their learning to their teacher.
You can be part of the process as well by talking with your child about what they are learning at school.
Teachers are constantly assessing your child and are making 'overall teacher judgements' (OTJ's) using the above processes. These professional judgements (against the relevant National Standards in Reading, Writing and Mathematics) are communicated to you with your child in a formal (written) situation at mid and end of year reporting.