Purpose for Assessment

Assessment is integral to all planning, teaching and learning. The prime objectives are to promote student learning and provide regular and prompt feedback on the learning process and individual needs to students, parents, teachers and administration. The process (formative) as well as the product (summative) of inquiry is assessed. Assessment is the ongoing objective evaluation of the progress made by students based on a variety of methods in various learning situations. It involves the gathering and analysis of information about students' skills and performance and is designed to guide planning and instruction. Students and teachers are actively engaged in assessing the students' progress as a reflective part of their overall learning.

Principles of Assessment

Assessment enables teachers to provide evidence that can be effectively reported and understood by the whole school community and it takes into account a variety of learning styles, multiple intelligences and abilities. Teachers are mindful of the particular learning outcomes on which they intend to report, prior to selecting or designing the method of assessment, and inform the students of these objectives. Effective assessments allow parents to develop an understanding of the student's progress. They allow students to demonstrate a range of knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills while sharing their learning with others.

Elementary School Assessment Practices

Evidence of student progress includes: samples of student work; portfolios; observations of students' understanding, thinking and performance; student reflections; student self and peer assessment; rubrics; exemplars; records of test/task results; journals; conferencing; running records; formative assessments, selected responses (e.g. tests and quizzes); open-ended tasks (original responses); checklists; anecdotal records; continuums and ACER test.

Essential Agreement on Assessing

The Elementary Faculty agrees to:

1. Use our grade level scope and sequence skills as standards for assessment.
2. Do pre-assessment, formative and summative assessment activities.
3. Use a range of assessment activities which allow for a variety of learning styles and needs.
4. Involve students in the assessment process.
5. Maintain a record of student progress on the Reading and Writing Continuums for each student in the ongoing file.
6. Maintain a grade level file of assessment tools.
7. Facilitate a grade 5 exhibition as a summative assessment activity in which students demonstrate engagement with the five essential elements.

Essential Agreement on Portfolios

The Elementary Faculty agrees to:

1. Use the portfolios to build a full picture of the student's year, including all PYP units with Central Idea and stand alone curriculum.
2. Collect pieces that are important to the student, and that reflect process as well as product.
3. Include pieces from single subject classes and special events, as well as photos.
4. Provide time for students to work on portfolios regularly.
5. Include student goals and reflections.
6. Use the student portfolios during student-led conferences and parent meetings.
7. Send portfolios home at the end of the year.

Essential Agreement on Reporting

The Elementary Faculty agrees to:

1. Keep parents informed on student needs and progress (positive and negative) throughout the year, through phone calls and parent/teacher meetings as needed.
2. Send an interim report at least twice a year i.e. after 45 days and after 135 days.
3. Send report cards at the end of each semester i.e. 90 days and 180 days.
4. Report anecdotally about the IB Learner Profile attributes on the report card.
5. Hold parent conferences at mid-semesters with student involvement using portfolios.
6. Keep a written record of parent-teacher conferences in the ongoing file.
7. Maintain the following records in the student ongoing file: parent conference and teacher meeting notes, progress reports, quarterly work samples for writing, math and Arabic, reading and writing continuums and report cards.