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Guide
How to work out continuous assessment (CA) and term scores
Most basic schools combine class work during the term with an end-of-term exam. The arithmetic is simple once each step is written down, and most mistakes come from skipping one. This guide walks through it with one worked example.
Updated
1. Decide the policy first
Before any marks are added up, the school needs three decisions written down: what counts towards CA (class exercises, homework, class tests, projects), how much CA and the exam each weigh, and the grade bands. Many schools use CA 30% and exam 70%, but the split is the school's choice, so check your school's or district's current guidance rather than assuming one. The two weights must add up to 100.
2. Turn every piece of work into a percentage
Different pieces of work are marked out of different totals: one exercise out of 10, a class test out of 50. Add up what the child earned and what was possible, then divide. A child who scored 7/10, 8/10 and 36/50 earned 51 out of 70, which is 72.9%.
If parts of CA carry their own weight (say class tests count for more than exercises), work out each part's percentage separately and combine them by their weights.
3. Weight CA and the exam
Multiply each percentage by its weight and add them. With CA 30% and exam 70%, a CA of 72.9% and an exam of 64% gives 72.9 × 0.30 + 64 × 0.70 = 21.9 + 44.8 = 66.7. Round once, at the end, using one rule for every child; rounding at each step can move a child across a grade boundary.
4. Treat a missing mark as missing, not zero
A child who was absent for a test, or excused from it, did not score zero. Leave the mark out of both the earned and the possible totals, or record why it is missing, and decide in the policy what happens when too much is missing. Writing in a zero quietly lowers a child's grade for being sick.
5. Read the grade from the bands
Look the total up in the school's bands, from the highest band down, and take the first band whose minimum the total reaches. Write the bands with their minimum scores and remarks so every teacher grades the same way. Many schools use the GES 1 to 9 bands; use the boundaries your school has adopted.
Letting the software do it
In Veloxa SmartSchool the school enters its weighting and bands once. Teachers record each piece of work as it is marked, CA adds up as the term goes, missing marks stay missing, and the report card shows the CA, exam, total and grade for each subject. A published report keeps the numbers it was issued with, even if the policy changes later.
Common questions
What is the formula for a term total?
Term total = CA percentage × CA weight + exam percentage × exam weight, with the weights written as fractions of 100. With CA 30% and exam 70%: total = CA% × 0.3 + exam% × 0.7.
Should a missing test count as zero?
No. Leave it out of both the marks earned and the marks possible, or follow your school's written rule for missing work. Counting it as zero penalises the child for being absent.
When should we round?
Once, at the end, with the same rule for every child. Rounding each step can push a total across a grade boundary.
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