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Grade 9 PowerSchool 101

November 04 (BCHS) and 05 (CCHS)

Parent Information Sessions

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Agenda

What is effective assessment?
What will assessment and reporting look like for grade 9 students?
How can I find out how my child is doing in school?
Questions to ask at your Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences

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Shared Vision of Learning (excerpt)

Written by CRPS teachers and leaders, 2024

We believe that exemplary teachers consistently design and assess to ensure that all learners develop, create and find joy in learning. As responsive designers and assessors of learning, we:

collaborate to use evidence of learning gathered through products, performances, observations and conversations to respond to learner needs and inform instructional decisions.
are responsive in our approach to facilitate the development of learners who improve from specific and timely feedback and experiences that build confidence.
design differentiated tasks that provide opportunities to practice such competencies as critical and creative thinking, problem solving and innovation.
foster deep understanding, through multiple perspectives and experience, communicating ideas, questions and understandings in order to transfer learning.

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Triangulated Evidence of Student Learning

Observations during learning

Products �students create

Conversations about learning

Group work
Feedback
Benchmarks
Personal responses
Self-assessments
Recordings

Performances
Presentations
Skills
Demonstrations

Projects
Assignments
Portfolio
Tasks
Tests
Show what you know

Primary Program, 2000, Anne Davies, 2011, Damian Cooper, 2022

Photos, videos, checklists
Responding to questions
Process
Discussions

We know that good assessment results from the triangulation of evidence. Which ensure that teachers make accurate conclusions about student achievement.

Triangulation creates a balanced approach which includes observations of students DURING the learning experiences, conversations with students about their learning, and products that students create with their learning.

Triangulation offers multiple ways for students to show what they know, understand, and can apply within complex situations. It allows teachers validate and verify the evidence of learning. And helps teachers make informed decisions about their next instructional steps with every student they teach.

During your Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences, you should expect that teachers will speak about a number of different pieces of evidence when they talk about your student’s achievement.

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What will assessment and reporting look

like for grade 9 students?

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CRPS’ Three Pillars of Assessment

Based on the work of Joe Feldman, Grading for Equity

STUDENT SUPPORTS

Accurate

Bias Resistant

Motivational

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CRPS Outcomes Social Studies 9

Rather than traditional grading which focuses only on the products of learning (such as tests, essays, presentations) teachers are now assessing students by learning outcomes alone.

What do we mean by learning outcomes?

Outcomes-based assessment focuses on evaluating students based on how well they meet specific learning outcomes outlined in Alberta Education’s Programs of Study. The program of study for each course details what students should know and be able to do. Different than traditional grading, this method focuses on demonstrated knowledge and skills rather than factors like behavior, attendance, or participation, which are reported separately. This approach allows teachers to provide clear feedback and thus help students understand the criteria for success and areas where they need to improve. Students can become more engaged and motivated when they know which outcomes they have mastered and which outcomes require more attention and effort.

Grade 9 teachers and principals have collaborated to determine the learning outcome weightings for each grade 9 course. Here are the Social Studies 9 course outcome weightings. This collaboration further reduces biases and increases reliability between teacher assessments. One teacher’s grading will likely be more similar to another teacher’s grading if they have collaborated on the weightings they both give the learning outcomes and have a common understanding of why certain outcomes are more important.

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The Proficiency Scale

The proficiency scale is a strengths-based and growth-oriented assessment tool, used to describe the depth of understanding a student has demonstrated of course outcomes.

The scale describes the quality of learning from simple (Not Yet) to sophisticated (Exemplary).

This past year staff worked together to develop the Canadian Rockies High School Proficiency Scale. These have been built upon the levels that are part of the K-8 report card of which you would be familiar. There are now 8 levels instead of the 101 levels that would appear on a percentage scale (that is zero to 100). The levels range from "Not Yet" to "Exemplary," with the addition of a plus to each level. Each level has a corresponding percentage grade attached to it as well. The proficiency levels do not translate directly into a RANGE of percents. Rather each proficiency level translates into a SPECIFIC percent. This is because it is not possible to accurately describe the distinct differences in quality of evidence for 101 levels. The proficiency scale allows us to be more accurate in assessing the learning evidence.

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▪ Teachers provide clear and understandable criteria for each proficiency level to help students know what success looks like and to set goals for improvement.

▪ Students receive feedback for each outcome so that they know their strengths and areas for further growth. Each assessment reflects a student’s current level of achievement.

▪ Once students have received feedback and opportunities for more learning, the teacher uses the same criteria to evaluate a student’s level of achievement through formal assessment(s).

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Determining Final Grades at the End of the Course

How are grades determined? Throughout the learning period, students receive proficiency scale marks for formal assessments. At the end of the period (at the end of a quarter, a semester or the year), teachers evaluate the three most recent pieces of assessment evidence for each outcome, assigning a proficiency scale level to each. Final grades are determined using these proficiency levels and the weightings of each outcome, and are then converted to a percentage grade on the report card.

For example, if student Sam consistently performs at a "Proficient" level (75%) across all outcomes, their final grade would be 75%. If another student Alex shows varied proficiency across different outcomes, their final grade would reflect these differences, providing a more accurate representation of their learning. So in Alex’s case an 80%

In determining final grades, teachers do have the ability to change grades to those that they deem to most representative of their students’ achievement. Teachers would look for the most frequent and/or most recent or based on their professional judgment and then record those grades.

It is important to understand that most of the grades that you see in PowerSchool are temporary grades that will not likely reflect your student’s final grade. There is considerable work still to be done in all their courses (aside from Quarter 1 courses which finished on Oct 30).

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How can I find out how my child is doing in school?

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