This policy describes our perspective on, and use of, assessment.
· It provides a framework that promotes consistency throughout the school.
· It assists teachers in the planning, presenting and evaluating assessments.
· It provides families with information about our practices and purposes.
Beliefs
: Assessment is a tool that drives instruction. At Peter Hobart Elementary we believe that through the use of various methods of assessment we can guide our instruction, improve learning, and strengthen our teaching. This is an ongoing process that involves the teacher, student, and parents to track progress and improve practice. Assessment allows us to identify students’ understanding, knowledge, skills, and location in the learning process. It also droppable-1547749445307helps in setting goals for learning and growth. By understanding our learners we can adapt and change our instruction to help students achieve.
Purpose
:
· to understand our learners
· to collect data that drives instruction
· to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses
· to differentiate instruction
· to track progress and growth
· to evaluate student achievement
· to communicate with families
· to strengthen our learning process and practices as educators
Effective Assessments:
Allow students to:
· Use their prior knowledge to build on and guide the inquiry process
· Set goals for academic and social growth
· Demonstrate and share their learning and understanding
· Use a variety of ways to show what they know
· Build confidence in their own work and self
· Reflect and learn from the assessment
· Understand what their own needs are and how to improve
Enable teachers to:
· Create instructional plans to guide instruction
· Understand the academic strengths of students
· Clearly define student needs
· Direct and differentiate instruction
· Define learning targets
· Adapt for learning styles
· Acquire data that can be used to inform students, teachers, grade levels, school, and community
· Monitor progress throughout the learning process
Assist parents in:
· Understanding student learning
· Providing support outside of school
· Observing and tracking student progress and growth
· Celebrating learning and student accomplishment
Types used at Peter Hobart:
Benchmark Assessment:
Benchmark assessments are assessments administered periodically throughout the school year, at specified times, to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills relative reading fluency. At kindergarten these are early literacy skills. In grades 1-5 it assesses fluency of reading a passage.
Progress Monitoring:
Progress monitoring is a set of assessment procedures for determining the extent to which students are benefiting from classroom instruction and for monitoring effectiveness of curriculum. Progress monitoring takes place in reading and mathematics.
Formative Assessment
: Formative assessments are connected to instruction and learning to provide instant and frequent feedback on the learning process. This allows teacher and student to guide instruction, giving a glimpse into the effectiveness and enthusiasm of what is being learned. This form of assessment looks like: anecdotal records, running records, mid-unit quizzes, student reflections, peer to peer evaluations, classroom participation, and/or classroom work.
Summative Assessment
: Summative assessments allow the learner to show what they have learned at the culmination of the teaching or learning process. Expectations are clearly defined by the teacher, and students will have a model and learning strategy to demonstrate the desired result. This allows the teacher to measure the understanding of skills, academic standards, and/or the central idea. This form of assessment looks like: tests, individual or group projects, presentations, and/or demonstrations.
Reporting:
Parent/teacher/student conferences
:
Conferences are held two times each year. The fall conference is an opportunity for students to set goals for the school year. The spring conference is a chance to review the goals and set new goals for continued learning.
Report Cards:
In addition to ongoing classroom evaluations, students will receive a formal report card twice year. That report card will include their progress towards achieving grade level outcomes as defined by the St. Louis Park School District.
Portfolios:
Each student has portfolio that contains items that reflect the work of the student as they move through the PYP.
Reflection and Conferencing:
As teachers are working with students, they reflect on the work and conference with students for strategies for improvement. This occurs in with social and academic work.
-
Developed by the staff of Peter Hobart in accordance to SLP expectations
