The following is the official ISR statement regarding
assessment. I welcome all feedback regarding assessment at our school and would
like to foster a lively dialogue about how we help each child reach their full
potential at our school. Our standards-based assessment team is still working
to decide on a format for a new report card and needs our patience while they
pilot a second option.
I am looking
forward to hosting an evening meeting to discuss assessment next month.
What is assessment?
Assessment is the collection of information about the
learning and teaching process using a variety of strategies and tools.
We use assessment to…
·
improve student learning outcomes by providing
meaningful and timely feedback
·
provide students with information to reflect on
their own learning
·
give students opportunities to demonstrate their
knowledge and skills
·
ensure students understand what has been taught
·
assist teachers in adjusting teaching and
planning according to student needs
·
provide data to evaluate and improve the
effectiveness of our programs
·
assist in communicating accurate and accountable
evidence about student learning to parents, community and board members
Philosophy of
Assessment at ISR
At ISR we believe that students have a right to
·
worthwhile (engaging, educative and authentic)
intellectual tasks that are validated against real world problems, roles and
situations
·
clear, published and consistently applied
teacher criteria in grading work and published models of excellent work that
exemplifies standards
·
ample opportunities to produce work that they
can be proud of and thus ample opportunity in the curriculum and instruction to
monitor, self assess and self correct their work
·
genuine feedback: usable information on their
strengths and weaknesses and an accurate assessment of their long-term progress
towards a set of exit level standards
·
the freedom, climate and oversight policies
necessary to question grades and test practices without fear of retribution
