Barack Obama Elementary School

Click to view a copy

Assessment Policy

The purpose of this document is to clarify teachers’ understanding of the assessment process within our school community. It is an evolving document which reflects our school’s needs. It applies to the whole school and is consistently implemented across grade levels. This will provide a context for reflection, which in turn will help your students improve concentration and focus, foster and develop creative, critical thinking and meta-cognitive skills. This policy is in alignment with the school’s mission statement.

Mission Statement: Through collaboration, inquiry-based learning and community partnerships, Barack Obama Elementary School strives to provide a nurturing and engaging learning environment to support all learners so that they can become global citizens.

International Baccalaureate Program Standards and Practices

Standard C4: Assessments

Assessment at the school reflects IB assessment philosophy.

• C4.1: Assessment at school aligns with the requirements of the program.
• C4.2: The school communicates its assessment philosophy, policy and procedures to the school community.
• C4.3: The school uses a range of strategies and tools to assess student learning.
• C4.4: The school provides students with feedback to inform and improve their learning.
• C4.5: The school has systems for recording student progress aligned with the assessment philosophy of the program.
• C4.6: The school has systems for reporting student progress aligned with the assessment philosophy of the program.
• C4.7: The school analyses assessment data to inform teaching and learning.
• C4.8: The school provides opportunities for students to participate in, and reflect on, the assessment of their work

School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP)

Tenet 3 (Curriculum Development and Support)

The school has rigorous and coherent curricula and assessments that are appropriately aligned to the common core learning standards for all students and are modified for identified subgroups in order to maximize teacher instructional practices and student learning outcomes.

Tenet 4 (Teacher practice and Decision)

Teachers engage in strategic practices and decision making in order to address the gap between what students know and what they need to learn so that all students and pertinent subgroups experience consistent high levels of engagement, thinking and achievement.

       (Actions)

• All students will set academic goals regarding literacy and mathematics. Teachers will provide feedback to students assisting them in attaining their goals.
• All students will generate a project based on their understanding of the focus unit.

Philosophy: We believe assessment is an ongoing progressive and holistic process. Through a variety of engaging and observable learning experiences, students are able to acquire knowledge, skills, an understanding of concepts, develop attitudes and attributes and make decisions to take action. * All students are unique and possess varying skills, knowledge and abilities, which can be identified through assessments.

Category of assessment: 

•  Pre-assessments are administered before students begin a lesson or unit. Students are not necessarily expected to know most, or even any, of the material evaluated by pre-assessments—they are generally used to (1) establish a baseline for  students in which educators measure learning progress over the duration of a program, course, or instructional period, or (2) determine general academic readiness for a course, program, grade level, or new academic program that student may be transferring into.

• Formative assessments are tools frequently administered to gauge student conceptual understanding and skill level. Data collected from formative assessments inform teachers and students and help them to determine the course of action.  Measurements provide understanding as to the need for academic intervention, acceleration, and/or other modifications.  This form of assessment does not have a high impact on academic ranking or the student grade point average.  The purpose of this assessment is to improve student learning and to provide feedback.  Reflection upon the feedback yields growth and student autonomy.  The feedback should inspire goal setting. 

     Examples:  Pre-test             Entrance and exit tickets        

                        Annotation       Standardized test scores      

• Summative assessments are tools used to determine student mastery of grade level skills, content and concepts. This assessment is usually administered or evaluated at the end of an instructional unit.  It measures the level of proficiency as it relates to standard level of achievement.  The purpose of this assessment is to monitor student learning and retention of understanding.     

                    Examples:  Presentations                               Portfolio Exhibitions     

                                        Individual or group project        Traditional Examinations

• Self-assessments are ongoing throughout the unit. Student self-assessment involves students in evaluating their own work and learning progress.  Self-assessment is a valuable learning tool as well as part of an assessment process.  Through self-assessment, students can identify their own skill gaps, where their knowledge is weak and see where to focus their attentions. Students are able to use this information set realistic goals and track their own progress.
• https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/...students/assessing-student.../student-self-assessm...
• https://www.edglossary.org/assessment/

We assess our students in order to:

• Provide students with the tools and the opportunity for self-reflection and improvement in their studies.
• Inform instruction and planning
• Provide feedback and guide learning
• Celebrate student progress and performance
• Allow opportunity for goal setting
• Provide parents with information to understand and appreciate their children's efforts, progress and achievement over time.

Characteristics of Effective Assessments:

• Assessment practices and evaluations are fair to all students.
• Assessment criteria is known and understood prior to the assessment being given.
• Promote student reflection and self-evaluation.
• Assessments may be differentiated according to the student’s abilities.
• Assessments provide the opportunity for collaboration between student and teacher, students and their peers.
• Produce evidence of student growth and learning that can clearly be reported and understood by students, parents, teachers and administrators.

Assessment Tools – (Included but not limited to these examples)

Interactive Notebook and Folder (required)

Portfolios (required)

Rubrics

Checklist

Anecdotal Notes

Quiz

Chapter test

Projects

Performance Task

Assessment Schedule

Grades 1- 6

District Grading Policy

Grading System (4710)

Grading will not be used for disciplinary purposes, i.e., reducing grades for an unexcused absence, although a lower grade can be given for failure to complete assigned work or for a lack of class participation.

Grades 1-6
For grades 1-6, the Grading System for Achievement will be used as the marking key to indicate the student’s performance in relation to the standards.

(4) Independent- At this time, the child understands and meets expectations for task or behavior.

(3) Developing-At this time, the child's progress toward tasks or behavior is steady and consistent.

(2) Beginning- At this time, the child is making attempts to accomplish the task.

(1) Experiencing Difficulty- At this time, the child is unable to complete tasks or exhibit appropriate behavior without assistance.

The classroom teachers shall be guided by the criteria set forth for grading students.  They will use the following factors to calculate the achievement and performance of the students in assigning quarterly grades:

Districtwide Per Quarter

Recording and Reporting Practices
Student Progress Reports to Parents (4712)
Progress reports of each individual student's academic achievement will be issued periodically following an evaluation by the appropriate teacher(s) or other professional personnel.  This report shall be based upon full information, accurately and honestly reported with proper maintenance of confidentiality.   Copies of letters sent to parents/guardians relating to a particular situation or problem should be kept in student folders.

In addition to these periodic reports, parents shall be notified when a student’s performance requires special attention.  Parents are urged to visit the school and confer with teachers.  They are requested to arrange appointments in advance through the school office.

Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conference (4714)
Teachers meet with parent(s)/guardian(s) to discuss student challenges and progress.  When a parent requests a conference with a teacher, the teacher shall make every effort to arrange a mutually convenient time.  Such conferences should be scheduled around the school day so as not to interfere with the instructional process.  Teachers should notify the appropriate Building Principal in advance of such conferences.

Conferences may include but are not limited to:

• Communicating student achievement to parents
• Goal setting
• Review of objectives and tasks
• Review of data and artifacts collected
• Presentation of growth
• Student-Led conferencing*
• IB PYP Exhibition (5^th and 6^th grades only) *

*A student-led conference is a conference with parents led by the student. This conference offers the students the opportunity to self-reflect on their learning and set goals. It demonstrates their communication skills and attributes of the learner profile. This gives parents a clear insight into the kind of work the student is doing. The role of the classroom teacher is a facilitator in the conference process. (Student agency maybe included)

*The IB PYP Exhibition  represents a unique and significant opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB learner profile developed throughout their engagement with the PYP. The exhibition involves students working collaboratively to conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or problems.  Students collectively synthesize all of the essential elements of the PYP in ways that can be shared with the whole school community.

Reference

https://www.learning-theories.com/experiential-learning-kolb.html

https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/...students/assessing-student.../student-self-assessm...

https://www.edglossary.org/assessment/

https://www.ibo.org/programmes/primary-years-programme/curriculum/assessed-curriculum/

Essential Elements of Written Curriculum

Making PYP Happen: pg. 10

Knowledge - Significant, relevant content that we wish the students to explore and know about, taking into consideration their prior experience and understanding.

Concepts- Powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas but also transcend them and that students must explore and re-explore in order to develop a coherent, in-depth understanding.

Skills -Those abilities that students need to demonstrate to succeed in a changing, challenging world, which may be disciplinary or transdisciplinary in nature.

Attitudes- Dispositions that are expressions of fundamental values, beliefs and feelings about learning, the environment and people.

Action- Demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behavior through responsible action; a manifestation in practice of the other essential elements.

Holistic assessment refers to the process of using multiple sources to continually gather information on a child's development, to provide feedback to support and guide learning. ... Students clarify learning intentions, assess themselves and one another, set goals for improvement, and track and communicate their progress.