Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests are available in English, English as a second language, mathematics and science. The results – which are given in detailed feedback reports – help learners understand more about their strengths and weaknesses in these subjects.
Teachers and schools can use this information effectively to help learners achieve better results in the future and make the most of their educational opportunities. The tests are marked by Cambridge.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint includes a curriculum with optional assessment. The tests provide an assessment at the end of a lower secondary education based on the learning objectives within the Cambridge Lower Secondary curriculum frameworks. Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests skills and knowledge from years 7–9.
Through Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint, learners experience a test held under external examination conditions and gain early preparation for Cambridge IGCSE or Cambridge O Level examinations. In addition to the detailed feedback reports, all learners taking Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests receive a statement of achievement.
What information do learners receive?
Each learner receives two documents:
- a Statement of Achievement which gives the learner’s overall results
- a report which provides further detail on the learner’s performance.
Results are given as Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint scores. These scores are between 0.0 and 6.0, from the weakest performance to the best performance.
The report provides a Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint score for the subject as a whole and for the main strands within each subject (a strand relates to a particular topic or skill area). This helps teachers, parents and learners identify any strengths and weaknesses.
The report also shows the types of questions that best illustrate the learner’s strengths and weaknesses in comparison to other learners. The ‘strengths’ highlight the questions the learner answered correctly, but which most other learners of similar ability answered incorrectly. The ‘weaknesses’ highlight the questions that the learner answered incorrectly, but which most other learners of similar ability answered correctly.
How do Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests work?
Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests have two question papers for each subject. Each paper takes approximately one hour to complete, although this varies from subject to subject. Schools hold the tests at any time during a specified period to fit within the school timetable – during April and October each year.
Learners from many countries around the world take Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests so the questions are suitable for an international audience and can be answered by learners from different cultural and language backgrounds.
Questions are written for learners aged approximately 14 years old. To ensure suitability, test questions are trialed before being used in question papers.
After the tests are completed they are sent to us in Cambridge for marking. Marks are carefully analysed and a report is produced on each learner’s work. The marking process and preparation of the reports takes approximately six to eight weeks from receipt of scripts. There is a single date for release of results.
How does Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint help the classroom teacher and the school?
In addition to the reports which are provided for each learner, we also give feedback reports to each school. These reports give detailed information about the strengths and weaknesses of each class or teaching group and of the school as a whole. Teachers can then focus their teaching on the particular needs of each class and consider areas to concentrate on for future classes.
There is also a report for the school at the end of the test series. This gives the results of all learners from schools which took the Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests. These are broken down by age and whether English is a first language for the learner, so that schools may compare their own results with those of similar learners around the world. The report also gives the examiner’s comments on how learners performed in the tests.
The following figure show a sample report given to a student for a particular subject.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint reports allow schools to:
- tailor individual learning programmes
- monitor group and individual performance
- provide information for reporting to learners and parents
- compare the performance of all the learners taking the test in that session
- manage learning programmes as learners move between schools
Feedback for learners, teachers and schools
Detailed feedback is a central feature of Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint.
The main purposes of the feedback are:
- To provide information on a learner’s areas of strength and weakness. The feedback enables the future teaching of those learners to be effectively focused. The strengths can be consolidated and the areas of weakness can be tackled.
- To review the parts of the curriculum where teaching has been most effective and the parts where it has been less effective. This can help teachers to learn lessons about the teaching approaches that work well, and to improve their teaching of future groups of learners.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Curriculum Framework
English (Syllabus 1111)
English as a Second Language (1110)
Mathematics (1112)
Science (1113)
Examination Administration with Year 9 students
Our Pride ISM students who are attending year 9 are roughly around the age of 14 and they are suitable to site for the Checkpoint Examination. We will be administering the Checkpoint examinations during the last week of April every year for the following three subjects:
- English as a Second Language (1110)
- Mathematics (1112)
- Science (1113)
By default, we strongly encourage all the students in year 9 to take the Checkpoint examinations for above subjects. However, if both parents and student have a very strong reason not to take part in the examination, please approach the Principal / Vice-Principal in advance.
Please note that the results obtained from the checkpoint examinations and feedback reports are to be used by the students, teachers and school for the purpose of teaching and learning. However, there will be no effect on students summative assessment and grades if they choose to opt out of taking the check points.
