GROWING
SUCCESS
12 TAKEAWAYS
TO TRANSFORM
OUR PRACTICE
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
WHAT IS GROWING SUCCESS?
A guide to Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting policy for all
Ontario Public Schools
A guide for best practice and professional learning and discourse
Guiding Assessment and Evaluation policy for all of Ontario
This document is a Growing Success Cheat Sheet, summarizing key points.
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT IS LEARNING!
‘‘The primary purpose of
assessment and evaluation
is to improve student learning.’’
-Growing Success First line
No sifting and sorting
Grades are not rewards for hard work.
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
GROWING SUCCESS IN 12 TAKEAWAYS
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12
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9
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7
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
PURPOSE
OF
GROWING SUCCESS
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - INTRODUCTION
APPLICABILITY “This document supersedes the sections outlining assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Program Planning and Assessment, 2000 and in curriculum policy documents for Grades 1 to 8, Grades 9 and 10, and Grades 11 and 12 published before the release of this document,with the following exception:The achievement charts in all current curriculum policy documents remain in effect.”(p1)
INCEPTION “The Ministry of Education’s assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy has evolved significantly over the course of the last decade. Previously, aspects of the policy appeared in a number of documents and were not fully aligned across the elementary and secondary panels. In addition, stakeholders often expressed concerns about unevenness in the way the policies were being implemented among boards and schools…The policy outlined in this document is designed to move us closer to fairness, transparency, and equity, as well as consistent practice. It depends on creative and judicious differentiation in instruction and assessment to meet the needs of all students, and on strong and committed leadership from school and system leaders, who coordinate, support, and guide the work of teachers.” (p2)
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INTRODUCTION TAKEAWAYS
Empowers teacher professional judgement when deciding levels.
Goals: to provide consistency and understanding for students, parents and educators across all schools, boards in Ontario.
Growing Success SUPERSEDES ALL previous policy.
It guides all REQUIRED practice relating to assessment, evaluation, and reporting.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
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From Growing Success - FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
“The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning.” (p6)
THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES (p6)
To ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of learning for all students, teachers use practices and procedures that:
TEACHER ROLE “Teachers have a leading role to play in the implementation of the seven fundamental principles…How students feel about themselves as learners and whether they enjoy learning and strive for excellence are closely related to their teachers’ professional skills both in differentiating instruction and assessment and in helping students understand how they can improve. Teachers create environments in which all students feel valued and confident and have the courage to take risks and make mistakes. In their important professional role, teachers show students that they care about them, and model a love of learning that can deeply influence their lives. Teachers’ professional judgements are at the heart of effective assessment, evaluation, and reporting of student achievement.” (p8)
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7 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Assessments are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
Assessments support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Métis, or Inuit;
Assessments are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;
Assessments are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year or course and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or course;
Assessments are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
Assessments provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement;
Assessments develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.
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2
3
4
6
5
7
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES TAKEAWAYS
Assessment is more than a mark; it is an environment, an approach and a relationship that allows students to learn, make mistakes, and improve.
All practice must meet these 7 fundamental principles.
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IS TO IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING!
Moving away from the “sift and sort” mentality of evaluation.
LEARNING SKILLS
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From Growing Success - LEARNING SKILLS
LEARNING SKILLS SEPARATE FROM GRADES ‘’The development of learning skills and work habits is an integral part of a student’s learning. To the extent possible, however, the evaluation of learning skills and work habits, apart from any that may be included as part of a curriculum expectation in a subject or course, should not be considered in the determination of a student’s grades. Assessing, evaluating, and reporting on the achievement of curriculum expectations and on the demonstration of learning skills and work habits separately allows teachers to provide information to the parents and student that is specific to each of the two areas of achievement.’’ (p10)
DEVELOPING LEARNING SKILLS ‘’It is expected that teachers will work with students to help them develop the learning skills and work habits identified in the following table. For each of the skills and habits, the table provides examples of associated behaviours, which are designed to guide teachers in the instruction, assessment, and evaluation of the learning skills and work habits. The sample behaviours are intended to assist but not restrict teachers in their efforts to help students become effective learners, and will look different at the various grade levels.’’ (p10)
WHY LEARNING SKILLS ‘’The learning skills and work habits described for Grades 1 to 12 align closely with the goals and areas of learning of the guidance and career education program (outlined in the policy document Choices Into Action, 1999. pp. 6–7) and build on effective practices currently in place in many Ontario schools and classrooms. The goals of the guidance and career education program are to enable students to:
• understand the concepts related to lifelong learning, interpersonal relationships (including responsible citizenship), and career planning;
• develop learning skills, social skills, a sense of social responsibility, and the ability to formulate and pursue educational and career goals; and
• apply this learning to their lives and work in the school and the community.’’
Finally, the learning skills and work habits also align with the goals of the ministry’s character development initiative, as outlined in Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools, K–12’’ (p14)
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LEARNING SKILLS
Growing Success, page 11
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
LEARNING SKILLS TAKEAWAYS
Teachers must explicitly teach, model and follow-up on each skill throughout the year.
Marks are on curriculum expectations ONLY! (lateness and neatness are not in any curriculum)
Learning Skills are a very important but separate part of student learning.
Marks are based on WHAT students learned, and Learning Skills show HOW they went about their learning process.
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ACHIEVEMENT CHARTS
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From Growing Success - THE ACHIEVEMENT CHART
ACCOMODATIONS ‘’The Ontario curriculum for Grades 1 to 12 comprises content standards and performance standards. Assessment and evaluation will be based on both the content standards and the performance standards.‘’ (p16)
CONTENT STANDARDs ‘’The content standards are the curriculum expectations identified for every subject and discipline. They describe the knowledge and skills students are expected to develop and demonstrate in their class work, on tests, and in various other activities on which their achievement is assessed and evaluated. There are two sets of curriculum expectations – overall expectations and specific expectations. The overall expectations describe in general terms the knowledge and skills that students are expected to demonstrate by the end of each grade or course. The specific expectations describe the expected knowledge and skills in greater detail. Taken together, the overall and specific expectations represent the mandated curriculum – the content standards.’’ (p16)
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ‘’The performance standards are outlined in the achievement chart that appears in the elementary and secondary curriculum document for every subject or discipline. The achievement chart for each subject/discipline is a standard province-wide guide and is to be used by all teachers as a framework within which to assess and evaluate student achievement of the expectations in the particular subject or discipline. It enables teachers to make consistent judgements about the quality of student learning based on clear performance standards and on a body of evidence collected over time. It also provides teachers with a foundation for developing clear and specific feedback for students and parents.’’ (p16)
VARIED OPPORTUNITIES ‘’In all subjects and courses, students should be given numerous and varied opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of their achievement of the curriculum expectations (content standards) across all four categories of knowledge and skills. Teachers will ensure that student learning is assessed and evaluated in a balanced manner with respect to the four categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories.’’ (p17)
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From Growing Success - THE ACHIEVEMENT CHART
PURPOSE ‘’The purposes of the achievement chart are to:
• provide a common framework that encompasses all curriculum expectations for all subjects/courses across grades;
• guide the development of high-quality assessment tasks and tools (including rubrics);
• help teachers to plan instruction for learning;
• provide a basis for consistent and meaningful feedback to students in relation to provincial content and performance standards;
• establish categories and criteria with which to assess and evaluate students’ learning.’’ (p16)
CATEGORIES ‘’The categories of knowledge and skills are as follows:
• Knowledge and Understanding: Subject-specific content acquired in each grade/course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding)
• Thinking: The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes
• Communication: The conveying of meaning through various forms
• Application: The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts’’ (p17)
CRITERIA & DESCRIPTORS ‘’To further guide teachers in their assessment and evaluation of student learning, the achievement chart provides “criteria” and “descriptors”. The criteria are the subsets of knowledge and skills that define each category. They identify the aspects of student performance that are assessed and/or evaluated, and serve as a guide to what teachers look for. The descriptors indicate the characteristics of the student’s performance, with respect to the particular criteria, on which assessment or evaluation is focused. Effectiveness is the descriptor used for each of the criteria in the Thinking, Communication, and Application categories. What constitutes effectiveness in any given performance task will vary with the particular criterion being considered.’’ (p17)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ACHIEVEMENT CHART TAKEAWAYS
The Descriptors in each subject on the charts offer great ideas about HOW we can assess the curriculum expectations.
We use descriptors from the achievement charts to decide what we are evaluating in a task. Ex: ‘with considerable effectiveness’
Balanced tasks are rich and authentic tasks! Use at least 3 of the 4 sections of KICA for any evaluation task.
We mark curriculum expectations THROUGH tasks built around the criteria of each subjects’ achievement chart.
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
LEVELS
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From Growing Success - LEVELS
4 LEVELS ‘’The achievement chart also identifies four levels of achievement, defined as follows:
Level 1 represents achievement that falls much below the provincial standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with limited effectiveness. Students must work at significantly improving learning in specific areas, as necessary, if they are to be successful in the next grade/course
Level 2 represents achievement that approaches the provincial standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with some effectiveness. Students performing at this level need to work on identified learning gaps to ensure future success.
Level 3 represents the provincial standard for achievement. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with considerable effectiveness. Parents of students achieving at level 3 can be confident that their children will be prepared for work in subsequent grades/courses.
Level 4 identifies achievement that surpasses the provincial standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with a high degree of effectiveness. However, achievement at level 4 does not mean that the student has achieved expectations beyond those specified for the grade/course. (P18)
QUALIFIERS ‘’Specific “qualifiers” are used with the descriptors in the achievement chart to describe student performance at each of the four levels of achievement – the qualifier limited is used for level 1; some for level 2; considerable for level 3; and a high degree of or thorough for level 4.’’ (p18)
CRITERION BASED ASSESSMENT ‘’Ontario…has moved from norm-referenced to criterion-referenced assessment and evaluation. This means that teachers assess and evaluate student work with reference to established criteria… rather than by comparison with work done by other students…. (There is no expectation that a certain number or percentage of students must be allocated to any one level of achievement.) The goal of using a criterion-based approach is to make the assessment and evaluation of student achievement as fair, reliable, and transparent as possible,’’ (p19)
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LEVEL DESCRIPTORS
R represents achievement that falls much below the provincial standard.
The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with limited effectiveness.
Students must work at significantly improving learning in specific areas, as necessary, if they are to be successful in the next grade/course.
Level 2 represents achievement that approaches the provincial standard.
The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with some effectiveness.
Students performing at this level need to work on identified learning gaps to ensure future success.
Level 1 represents achievement that falls much below the provincial standard. T
he student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with limited effectiveness.
Students must work at significantly improving learning in specific areas, as necessary, if they are to be successful in the next grade/course.
Level 3 represents the provincial standard for achievement.
The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with considerable effectiveness.
Parents of students achieving at level 3 can be confident that their children will be prepared for work in subsequent grades/courses.
Level 4 identifies achievement that surpasses the provincial standard.
The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with a high degree of effectiveness.
However, achievement at level 4 does not mean that the student has achieved expectations beyond those specified for the grade/course.
REMEDIAL
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
10%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
80-100%
C
B
A
D
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
LEVELS TAKEAWAYS
Determining standards for levels requires exemplars from the Ministry, the boards, and moderated marking with colleagues.
Students are not compared to each other!
LEVEL 3 is the provincial standard.
There is no bell curve or expectation of how many students should meet this expectation.
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
LEARNING GOALS
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LEARNING GOALS - LEARNING SKILLS
DEVELOPING LEARNING GOALS ‘’Assessment for learning and as learning requires that students and teachers share a common understanding of what is being learned. Learning goals clearly identify what students are expected to know and be able to do, in language that students can readily understand. Teachers develop learning goals based on the curriculum expectations and share them with students at or near the beginning of a cycle of learning. Teachers and students come to a common understanding of the learning goals through discussion and clarification during instruction.’’ (p33)
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LEARNING GOALS TAKEAWAYS
Learning Goals help students connect concepts.
Learning Goals help communicate complicated curriculum to students and families.
Learning Goals are set by teachers based on curricula.
Learning Goals help TEACHERS map out assessment and instruction.
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ASSESSMENT
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ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK CYCLE
ASSESSMENT OF
***FINAL TASK***
EVALUATED FOR REPORT CARD
USING SUCCESS CRITERIA / RUBRIC
ASSESSMENT FOR
NEW CONCEPT!
ACCESSING PRIOR LEARNING
(DIRECT INSTRUCTION)
ASSESSMENT FOR
SHARED LEARNING WITH TEACHER
(SHARED INSTRUCTION)
ASSESSMENT AS
PRACTICE AND METACOGNITION
(INDIVIDUAL
PRACTICE)
ASSESSMENT FOR
ASSESSMENT AS
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING- SETTING CRITERIA
(GUIDED INSTRUCTION)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
Gradual Release of Responsibility
Teacher teaches, students passively listen.
Students work together. Teacher guides.
Teacher teaches, asks for student involvement. Students participate.
Students show learning alone. Teacher gives feedback.
Students feel capable and confident!
Direct Instruction
Guided Instruction
Shared Instruction
Individual Practice
Independance
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT
FOR
LEARNING
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT FOR (INFORMAL)
Purpose of Assessment
Who does it?
| Assessments tasks can include:
|
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From Growing Success - ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
DEFINITION ‘’Assessment is the process of gathering information that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a subject or course. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. Assessment for the purpose of improving student learning is seen as both “assessment for learning” and “assessment as learning”. As part of assessment for learning, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement. Teachers engage in assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor their own progress, determine next steps, and reflect on their thinking and learning.’’ (p28)
GATHERING DATA ‘’Teachers will obtain assessment information through a variety of means, which may include formal and informal observations, discussions, learning conversations, questioning, conferences, homework, tasks done in groups, demonstrations, projects, portfolios, developmental continua, performances, peer and self-assessments, self-reflections, essays, and tests.’’ (p28)
ROLE OF ASSESSMENT ‘’Assessment plays a critical role in teaching and learning and should have as its goal the development of students as independent and autonomous learners. As an integral part of teaching and learning, assessment should be planned concurrently with instruction and integrated seamlessly into the learning cycle to inform instruction, guide next steps, and help teachers and students monitor students’ progress towards achieving learning goals.’’ (p29)
LEAD LEARNER ‘’The use of assessment for the purpose of improving learning and helping students become independent learners requires a culture in which student and teacher learn together in a collaborative relationship... The teacher acts as a “lead learner”, providing support while gradually releasing more and more responsibility to the student, as the student develops the knowledge and skills needed to become an independent learner.’’ (p30)
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From Growing Success - ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
BEST PRACTICE ‘’As essential steps in assessment for learning and as learning, teachers need to:
• plan assessment concurrently and integrate it seamlessly with instruction;
• share learning goals and success criteria with students at the outset of learning to ensure that students and teachers have a common and shared understanding of these goals and criteria as learning progresses;
• gather information about student learning before, during, and at or near the end of a period of instruction, using a variety of assessment strategies and tools;
• use assessment to inform instruction, guide next steps, and help students monitor their progress towards achieving their learning goals.
• analyse and interpret evidence of learning;
• give and receive specific and timely descriptive feedback about student learning;
• help students to develop skills of peer and self-assessment. (p28-9)
TRIANGULATION ‘’Teachers use a variety of assessment strategies to elicit information about student learning…Teachers can gather information about learning by:
• designing tasks that provide students with a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning;
• observing students as they perform tasks;
• posing questions to help students make their thinking explicit;
• engineering classroom and small-group conversations that encourage students to articulate what they are thinking and further develop their thinking.
HOMEWORK Homework tasks designed to help students practise and consolidate new learning can also provide assessment information that both teachers and students can use to adjust instruction and focus learning.’’ (p34)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING TAKEAWAYS
Keep it simple, keep it easy! Observations, checklists, exit tickets, etc. provide excellent data with little work!
Should NOT count on the report card!
(including homework)
Assessment FOR learning is everything we do to inform our instruction.
An abundance of evidence lets us intervene and change our instruction.
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT AS
LEARNING
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ASSESSMENT AS (INFORMAL)
Purpose of Assessment
Who does it?
| Assessments tasks will include:
|
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING TAKEAWAYS
Metacognition is a skill and takes instruction, modelling, and practice!
Building strong learning skills leads to insightful meta-cognition.
Students learn best when they know what they are learning and how they are progressing.
Can be formal (ex: self-assessments), and informal (polls, bansho, conferencing, learning goals, etc.)
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SUCCESS CRITERIA VS. CHECKLISTS
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From Growing Success - SUCCESS CRITERIA VS CHECKLISTS
COMMON UNDERSTANDING ‘’Assessment for learning and assessment as learning also require that students and teachers share a common understanding of what constitutes success in learning. Success criteria describe in specific terms what successful attainment of the learning goals looks like.
CREATION When planning assessment and instruction, teachers, guided by the achievement chart for the particular subject or discipline (see Chapter 3), identify the criteria they will use to assess students’ learning, as well as what evidence of learning students will provide to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
USE The success criteria are used to develop an assessment tool, such as a checklist, a rubric, or an exit card (i.e., a student’s self-assessment of learning). Teachers can ensure that students understand the success criteria by using clear language that is meaningful to the students and by directly involving them in identifying, clarifying, and applying those criteria in their learning.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Teachers can enhance their understanding of success criteria and build common knowledge about levels of achievement through teacher moderation – that is, through assessment of student work done collaboratively with fellow teachers.’’ (p33)
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SUCCESS CRITERIA VS CHECKLISTS TAKEAWAYS
Success criteria use qualifiers and are directly related (or replace) rubrics. They ARE the evaluation.
Checklists are procedural - and may expand on one success criteria. Ex: What makes a good paragraph?
Planning learning cycles and having success criteria in advance helps guide our instruction and makes us more effective educators.
You can co-create or create yourself - as long as students are aware of the criteria throughout the learning cycle.
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
FEEDBACK & METACOGNITION
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Meaningful Feedback
Descriptive
Timely
Focus on Strengths
Specific
Front-load feedback early on in the learning cycle when students are still learning and applying feedback for the most effectiveness.
Focus on what is there so far - not just what is lacking. Deficit feedback can undo student self-perception
Focus on your learning skills to offer just a few specific areas for improvement.
Describe what you like, and what needs to be improved upon with specific examples.
A
B
C
D
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - FEEDBACK
PURPOSE OF FEEDBACK ‘’As part of assessment for learning, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement. Teachers engage in assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor their own progress, determine next steps, and reflect on their thinking and learning.’’ (p28)
ON-GOING, TIMELY, DESCRIPTIVE ‘’Feedback provides students with a description of their learning. The purpose of providing feedback is to reduce the gap between a student’s current level of knowledge and skills and the learning goals. Descriptive feedback helps students learn by providing them with precise information about what they are doing well, what needs improvement, and what specific steps they can take to improve. According to Davies (2007, p. 2), descriptive feedback “enables the learner to adjust what he or she is doing in order to improve.” … Multiple opportunities for feedback and follow-up are planned during instruction to allow for improvement in learning prior to assessment of learning (evaluation). The focus of the feedback is to encourage students to produce their best work by improving upon their previous work and, at the same time, to teach them the language and skills of assessment, so they are able to assess their own learning and that of their peers.’’ (p34)
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From Growing Success - METACOGNITION
TEACHERS AS LEAD LEARNERS ‘’The emphasis on student self-assessment represents a fundamental shift in the teacher-student relationship, placing the primary responsibility for learning with the student… Teachers help students develop their self-assessment skills by modelling the application of success criteria and the provision of descriptive feedback, by planning multiple opportunities for peer assessment and self-assessment…
GROUP WORK Group work provides students with opportunities to develop and practise skills in peer and self-assessment and gives teachers opportunities to model and provide instruction related to applying success criteria, providing descriptive feedback, and developing collaborative learning skills. Teachers and students can use assessment information obtained in group situations to monitor progress towards learning goals and to adjust the focus of instruction and learning.’’ (p35)
MODELING ‘’As a result of developing self-assessment skills, students learn to identify specific actions they need to take to improve, and to plan next steps … Teachers begin by modelling the setting of individual learning goals for students. They also provide follow-up support, give specific feedback on learning goals, and help students identify and record focused actions they can take..
GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY Teachers need to scaffold this learning for students, using a model of gradual release of responsibility for learning, as follows:
• demonstrate the skills during instruction;
• move to guided instruction and support;
• have students share in the responsibility for assessing their own work;
• gradually provide opportunities for students to assess their own learning independently.’’ (p35)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
FEEDBACK & METACOGNITION TAKEAWAYS
Keep it simple! No elaborate systems or checklists required! Simple discussions, polls and references to learning goals and success criteria are very effective!
Teachers are not the gatekeepers of knowledge or marks - we are the lead life-long learners!
Front-load feedback: Feedback is best when it is early, timely, and specific BEFORE an evaluation task.
Model metacognition to create autonomous learners. This is not just over a unit, or year, but over years!
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
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Assessment OF (FORMAL)
Purpose of Assessment
| Assessments tasks will include:
|
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From Growing Success - SUCCESS CRITERIA VS CHECKLISTS
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
EVALUATION ‘’Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student learning on the basis of established performance standards (see Chapter 3) and assigning a value to represent that quality. Evaluation accurately summarizes and communicates to parents, other teachers, employers, institutions of further education, and students themselves what students know and can do with respect to the overall curriculum expectations. Evaluation is based on assessment of learning that provides evidence of student achievement at strategic times throughout the grade/course, often at the end of a period of learning.’’ (p38)
FOCUS ON OVERALL EXPECTATIONS ‘’All specific expectations must be accounted for in instruction and assessment. (Note: Evaluation focuses on students’ achievement of the overall expectations.’’ (p28)
‘’For Grades 1 to 12, all curriculum expectations must be accounted for in instruction and assessment, but evaluation focuses on students’ achievement of the overall expectations. A student’s achievement of the overall expectations is evaluated on the basis of his or her achievement of related specific expectations. The overall expectations are broad in nature, and the specific expectations define the particular content or scope of the knowledge and skills referred to in the overall expectations. Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement of the overall expectations.’’ (p38)
EVIDENCE ‘’Evidence of student achievement for evaluation is collected over time from three different sources – observations, conversations, and student products. Using multiple sources of evidence increases the reliability and validity of the evaluation of student learning. “Student products” may be in the form of tests or exams, … rich performance tasks, demonstrations, projects, and/or essays. To ensure equity for all students, assignments for evaluation and tests or exams are to be completed, whenever possible, under the supervision of a teacher. Assignments for evaluation must not include ongoing homework… Assignments for evaluation may involve group projects as long as each student’s work within the group project is evaluated independently… The evaluation of student learning is the responsibility of the teacher and must not include the judgement of the student or of the student’s peers.’’ (p39)
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ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING TAKEAWAYS
Use levels! Even if you use tests, use levels to get rid of ‘fake level 4s’ and ‘fake failures’ in tests!
Students should feel capable and prepared before getting to the Assessment OF because of feedback, learning goals and success criteria along the way!
Assessment OF learning and Evaluation are the same - based on the final product of learning! The only thing that should count on the report card!
Effective evaluations are rich, personal, based on overall expectations using at least 3 of the 4 sections of the achievement chart.
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DIFFERENTIATION
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From Growing Success - DIFFERENTIATION
SPECIAL EDUCATION ‘’The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation for students with special education needs, as for all students, is to improve student learning. To achieve this goal for students with special education needs – that is, to provide the most effective programming possible to support student achievement – it is especially important to review and ensure the ongoing effectiveness of instructional strategies. Assessment for students with special education needs should be an ongoing and continuous process that is an integral part of the daily teaching and learning process.’’ (p71)
ACCOMMODATIONS ‘’Students with special education needs may require accommodations to allow them to participate in the curriculum and to demonstrate achievement of the expectations. Accommodations include individualized teaching and assessment strategies, human supports, and/or individualized equipment. In a subject or course identified in the student’s IEP as “Accommodated Only”, the provincial curriculum expectations are not altered…If accommodations are required to assess and evaluate student learning, the strategies to be used are outlined in the student’s IEP.’’ (p72)
MODIFICATIONS ‘’Modifications are changes made to the grade-level expectations for a subject or course in order to meet a student’s learning needs. Modifications may include the use of expectations at a different grade level and/or an increase or decrease in the number and/or complexity of expectations relative to the curriculum expectations for the regular grade level.’’ (p72)
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DIFFERENTIATION TAKEAWAYS
Focus on Universal Accommodations for all instead of making different learning for all.
Ask for guidance!
Follow the IEP!
Defer to your MART or Spec Ed lead!
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REPORTING
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From Growing Success - REPORTING
FORMULATING A MARK The teacher will consider the evidence for all the tests/exams and assignments for evaluation that the student has completed or submitted, the number of tests/exams or assignments for evaluation that were not completed or submitted, and the evidence of achievement that is available for each overall expectation for a subject in a particular grade or course…
WEIGHING MARKS Some evidence carries greater weight than other evidence; for example, some performance tasks are richer and reveal more about students’ skills and knowledge than others. Teachers will weigh all evidence of student achievement in light of these considerations and will use their professional judgement to determine the student’s report card grade. The report card grade represents a student’s achievement of overall curriculum expectations, as demonstrated to that point in time.
PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT Determining a report card grade will involve teachers’ professional judgement and interpretation of evidence and should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement, with special consideration given to more recent evidence.’’ (p39)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - REPORTING
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
From Growing Success - REPORTING
CODE R The code “R” represents achievement that falls below level 1 … signals that additional learning is required before the student begins to achieve success… and the need for the development of strategies to address the student’s specific learning needs in order to support his or her success in learning. (p42)
CODE I Code “I” may be used in a mark book and/or on a student’s report card… to indicate that insufficient evidence is available to determine a letter grade or percentage mark. (p42)
LATE WORK MARK DEDUCTIONS ‘’Many experts in the field of assessment and evaluation discourage deducting marks or giving zeros for late and missed assignments, arguing that such measures do not make students change their behaviour or help them succeed in the long run…. Every assignment – whether submitted on time or late – provides evidence of learning, deducting marks for late assignments could misrepresent the student’s true level of achievement… Lateness and failure to submit assignments are most appropriately reported – and addressed – as issues relating to the development of learning skills and work habits.” (p45)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
REPORTING TAKEAWAYS
To determine a grade, use the most recent, most consistent data of Assessment OF learning, and refer to FOR and As if necessary.
Marks are a reflection on the quality of WHAT was learned, not how and when it was learned. Keep learning skills and marks separate and don’t use marks to penalize students - it is an equity issue!
USE LEVELS!
Levels have standard conversions to letter grades or percentages!
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)
‘‘It is worth noting, right from the start, that assessment is a human process, conducted by and with human beings, and subject inevitably to the frailties of human judgement.
However crisp and objective we might try to make it, and however neatly quantifiable may be our “results”, assessment is closer to an art than a science. It is, after all, an exercise in human communication.’’ (Sutton, p. 2)
Created by Angela Berry (www.madelleberry.ca)