“Your potential, the absolute best you’re capable of – that’s the metric to measure yourself against”
Ryan Holiday
Aim/Purpose of Academic Tracking
Academic tracking promotes reflection and acts as a catalyst to change a grade, attitude or indeed the experience of being assessed. In addition, academic tracking is a successful intervention programme that is rooted in students reviewing their own work, tracking their progress and working to set their own goals and targets in order to realise their full potential.
Academic Tracking in Kingswood Community College
Athena Academic Tracker is used in Kingswood Community College. Athena is a tracking system that was introduced to Kingswood Community College during semester 3 of the academic year 2021/2022. To begin with, this tracking system is being implemented for 3rd, 5th and 6th Year students 2022/2023. All of these students results from entrance exams to their most recent semester assessments are available on the tracker and this means we can support each student in an individual way and allow each student to see the trends being established in the different subjects.
Target Grade Setting
Students set their target grade at the beginning of each semester using the template provided in their school journal. These target grades should be specific for every subject. Teachers/Guidance Counsellors then input the student targets into Athena Tracker for record and to create a visual aid for students to see where exactly they are at in terms of meeting this target.
Target grades are used as a motivational tool for what students should achieve in semester exams. They help to focus and set a goal for students to achieve academically. This strategy allows teachers/parents/guardians to find out what the students expectations are and push them to exceed these expectations.
Once students have performed at a level that is beyond their own expectations, they gain confidence in their own learning ability. After each semester exams, subject teachers and students should identify if the student achieved are below, in line with or above their target grade and use this as a point of reflection as they enter each new semester/academic year