How are Key Stage 2 Fine Points calculated?

The following information relates to Y11 2015/16. When using Y11 2016/17 and beyond, the Reading mark is imported and a Fine Points score calculated from this instead.

Example pupil data:

READMRK = 31 (This is her test mark from the English Reading element)

ENGWRITMRK = 21 (This is her test mark from the English Writing element)

ENGLEV = 4 (This is her overall English level)

To work out her Fine Points, we need to use the calculation:

Basic Level + ((actual test mark - bottom of level threshold) / (top of level threshold - bottom of level threshold + 1))

Using the data above, the calculation becomes: 6 x (4 + (52 - 41)/(69-41+1))

BUT, before multiplying by 6, the score must be rounded to 2dp. (4 + (52 - 41)/(69-41+1)) = 4.38 (rounded to 2dp).

Now, multiply this score by 6 to get her Fine Points score = 26.28

Her Maths Fine Points will be:

6 x (5 + (88 -77)/(100 - 77 + 1))

This equals 32.76.

Using these values we can then determine her Fine Test Levels using the boundaries from RaiseOnline:

5A  34-35.99

5B 33 32-33.99

5C  30-31.99

4A  28-29.99

4B 27 26-27.99

4C 24-25.99

3A 22-23.99

3B 21 20-21.99

3C 18-19.99

Her English and Maths Fine Levels will be 4B and 5B respectively.

To calculate her Progress 8 baseline, add the English and Maths Fine Points together, divide by 2 and then by 6, and then round to 1dp.

((26.28 + 32.75) / 2) / 6 = 4.9 rounded to 1dp.

For the purposes of calculating a pupil's Progress 8 baseline, English and Maths Level 6's are always ignored and so it should be the mark/level from the standard KS2 test that is imported. 

There are some exceptions to the rules above and users should refer to page 10 in the Official VA Guide for further information on KS2 levels that fall below a 3. An example for a pupil with an overall English level N is provided below:

READMRK = 5 (This is her test mark from the English Reading element)

ENGWRITMRK = 5 (This is her test mark from the English Writing element)

ENGLEV = N (This is her overall English level)

In this scenario, the Fine Points calculation is ignored. Provided that she has a Teacher Assessment, she will receive default points according to the VA guide. If she does not have a Teacher Assessment, her Fine Points are left blank and her English score is excluded from calculating the Progress 8 baseline.

Test Level 2 and TA or 3 or higher:

Prior to update 3.5.12.0, if the pupil had a Teacher Assessment higher than 2, the minimum points were capped at 15. This is because, for example, if the pupil had a TA of a 4, when running this through the calculation above they would only receive 12 points, which is less than if they had a TA of 2 (for which they would receive 15 by default).  As of 9th September 2016, the DfE have clarified the exact methodology for these pupils as follows (and this is included as part of update 3.5.12.0);

Pupils with a test level of 2 and a teacher assessment of W, 1 or 2 would have a fine point score of 3, 9 and 15 respectively. For pupils with a teacher assessment higher than 2, the following formula is used:

FINEGRADE = 3.0 - ((MINLEVL3MARK - MAINMARK) / (MAXLEVL3MARK - MINLEV3MARK +1))

Where MAINMARK is the mark for the test, i.e. ENGTOTMRK or MATTOTMRK, and MIN/MAXLEV3MARK are the bottom and top of the mark range for level 3 in the relevant subject. When the mark is less than the minimum mark in the level 2 range, MAINMARK is set to be the minimum mark in the range. Where it is greater than the maximum mark in the level 2 range, MAINMARK is set to be the maximum mark.

The Fine grade is then rounded to 2 decimal places and multiplied by 6 to calculate fine points as usual.