Assessment

Hey folks,

In my following page, I will provide to you a summary of the resources I have collected in class regarding assessment and what I have learned based on my experience from the past and my experience today.  In the Growing Success document, we used a jigsaw method and were divided into 6 groups where we covered the chapters from 1-6 in the document. Well, first off, I learned that we are constantly always assessing students no matter what, and thinking back to my days, I would never imagine that when a teacher did not hold a clipboard and checking off boxes when evaluating me, was actually still evaluating whether with a clipboard or without.  The document also provided personal reflection on which given ways to help me improve on my own personal practice while also learning to implement them into my classroom.

Learning Skills and Work Habits (Chapter 2)

Growing Success lists six learning skills and work habits that are an integral part of a student's learning (page 11). They are as follows:

• Responsibility
• Organization
• Independent Work
• Collaboration
• Initiative 
• Self-Regulation

My professional learning goal is to incorporate the learning goals and work habits as often as possible into lessons.  I plan on achieving this goal by setting up a success criteria chart at the beginning of the year. I will keep this success chart posted and visible throughout the year and would refer back to this chart when necessary for lessons and also as a tool to guide the students in their own learning. This will be a criteria that students need to meet especially when students are assessing and evaluating themselves. 

Performance Standards: The Achievement Chart (Chapter 3)

The Ministry of Education provides achievement charts as a way of standardizing the assessment of the curriculum expectations. The Growing Success documents offers teachers several examples of what a ministry-approved achievement chart looks like on page 20.

4 Types of Knowledge (page 17):

• Knowledge / 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 

Levels of Achievement:

• Level 1: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: 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: 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: achievement that surpasses the provincial standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with a high degree of effectiveness. However, achievement at a level 4 does not mean the student has achieved expectations beyond those specified for the grade/course.

My professional learning goal will be to ensure that I develop lesson plans that allow students to succeed and reach a level 4 on the achievement chart.  To do so, I would have to set clear instruction and clarify with any students questions before an assignment. I will also provide constant feedback and guidance from my colleagues in regards to my lesson plans, while also sharing success criteria once again with the students.  

Assessment for Learning, and Assessment as Learning (Chapter 4)

In chapter 4, it is stated "assessment is the process of gathering information that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a subject or course" (page 28). According to the Growth Success document, there are two types of assessments as follows:

• Assessment for learning: teachers provide students with descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement.
• Assessment as learning: teachers help 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.

 My professional learning goals will be to incorporate as much assessment for and as learning as possible into my daily routine by using a day planner or journal to jot down notes throughout the day on students work/behaviors.  I will also provide students with a journal book or an "interactive notebook" where the students reflect weekly on what they have learned and how they think they are doing in the class.

Evaluation (Chapter 5)

Evaluation is "the process of judging the quality of student learning on the basis of established performance standards and assigning a value to represent that quality" (page 38). The evidence of achievement is collected from three different sources: observations, conversations, and student products.  Grades 1-6 student's will be reported using letters, while grades  7-12 will use a percentage mark.

My professional learning goal for evaluating is to NOT be bias when evaluating students and always mark them fairly not matter what their situation is. I will do this by keeping a detailed record book of student marks.

Reporting Student Achievement (Chapter 6)

Student achievement is recorded in a series of report cards which reflects a student's general progress through the curriculum as well as their development of learning skills and work habits. The elementary progress report card indicates a student's progress towards achievement of the curriculum. while the elementary provincial report card indicates a student's development of the learning skills and work. This is issued twice in the school year.

My professional learning goal is to provide student's with meaningful feedback that can encourage and motivate them to work harder in a subject that they might have found to be challenging. In order to provide student's with a personal and meaningful report card, I will  have to achieve a detailed, notebook with comments about student's achievements or room for growth.