Assessment for HS

HS Assessment Policy
2016-17

This document is a guide for principles, policies, and procedures related to assessment. It is a work in progress. Please study the document carefully and apply the policies thoughtfully. These policies and procedures will be reviewed each year by the leadership team with input and feedback from all staff. (This version was updated on 20 May 2016)

Philosophy: What is assessment and why do we assess?

Assessment is a continuous process of gathering data about how well a student has attained the aims and objectives of a lesson, unit, or course. It is feedback and information for the student, teacher, parents, and supervisors.
Assessment is an integral part of the curriculum; it is derived from curricular goals (aims and objectives)
Therefore, we assess to:
- Support curricular goals (i.e. the attainment of knowledge, concepts, skills, and attitudes in course aims and objectives)
- Help students learn how to learn, thereby becoming independent, self-directed learners
- Help teachers diagnose students’ needs
- Help teachers assess the effectiveness of their instructional strategies
- Help the school leaders to assess effectiveness of policies and professional development needs

Assessing: how do we discover what students have learned?

Assessment is integrally planned with the curriculum
- Curricular aims and objectives refer to knowledge, concepts, skills, and attitudes that we expect of students.
- These aims and objectives are an embodiment of the Learner Profile, which is itself derived from the IB Mission Statement.
Assessment tasks systematically probe all the knowledge, concepts, skills, and attitudes contained in the course aims and objectives and taught in the course (as in figure A, not as in figure B)
- Assessment practices that teachers must perform include
  1. Developing strategic tasks and clear assessment rubrics
  2. Providing exemplars or representative samples of students’ work to show what success looks like
  3. Collecting evidence of students’ learning processes, as individuals and groups
  4. Analyzing qualitative and quantitative data about learning and taking subsequent action
- Assessment practices that students must perform include
  1. Using a variety of methods to demonstrate their learning
  2. Contributing to the design of meaningful assessment tasks and rubrics
  3. Evaluating against the rubrics work produced by themselves and their peers
  4. Reflecting on and analyzing their learning outcomes
  5. Sharing their learning with peers, teachers, parents, and others
Assessment must be criterion referenced, meaning that we measure student learning against common standards (that are indicated or symbolized by grades or performance indicators)
- These criteria are derived from lesson/unit/course aims and objectives (or scope and sequence)
- These criteria are made known to students before they do a task (e.g. through rubrics)
- We do not assess learning by comparing students against one another or by ranking them
- We do not assess learning by adding up marks alone or calculating a percentage of marks; rather these marks must be interpreted against the learning criteria
Formative assessments are ‘assessments for learning’. In the first instance, they help teachers and students find out their prior knowledge and skills. Teachers then use this information to adjust their planned curriculum. During instruction, formative tasks help students understand and practice meeting the criteria by which learning will be measured. These tasks give opportunities for students to reflect, self-assess, and self-monitor, thereby becoming independent learners.
Summative assessments are ‘assessments of learning’. They are tasks that indicate a final level of attainment at the end of a learning unit. As such, summative tasks help students demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Being comprehensive in nature, these tasks should also assess students’ attitudes and encourage them to take action. Summative assessments help teachers evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.
- Summative assessment and test procedures
  1. Teachers must inform students at least 2 lessons before conducting a summative assessment
  2. Teachers must make students write in the diary the specific topic, concept, or skill that will be tested
  3. Assessments must be typed with the standard header
  4. Assessments should have been reviewed and signed in the header by the coordinator in the weekly review
Teachers must inculcate the value of academic honesty in all kinds of assessments
- The following pledge expresses the school-wide commitment to academic honesty: “I pledge to do my own academic work. I do not steal the words or ideas of others. I do not lie or cheat. I make this pledge because my honour and character are more precious than marks or popularity.”
- Teachers should help students to interpret and practice this pledge in ways that are appropriate for their age and the tasks at hand.
Correcting students’ work
- Teachers must take a great deal of care in correcting students work, keeping in mind the following
  1. Ensure that corrections are correct!
  2. Do not simply tick mark unless the work is actually entirely correct
  3. Give helpful information and comments to help the student improve
  4. Provide encouragement; do not humiliate, insult, or ridicule
  5. Give feedback on handwriting, grammar, spelling, etc. in such a way that the student can still see the mistake (i.e. do not overwrite)
  6. Teachers are to use red pen for corrections; coordinators and principal will use green pen for their comments
  7. Sign and date the corrections
- Encourage self and peer corrections
  1. Teach children about the assessment criteria for any task
  2. Help them to monitor and assess their own learning
  3. Provide opportunities for reflection and improvement on assessed work
- Teachers must analyse the outcomes of assessment and take appropriate action

Recording: how do we collect and analyse assessment data?

Assessment strategies are methods or approaches that teachers use to gather information about students’ learning
- Observations: gathering information about learners individually or as a group; during a task or in a ‘natural’ setting
- Performance assessments: skill based tasks that pose authentic, significant challenges or problems to be solved, such as using trigonometry to measure the height of a tree
- Process-focused assessments: skill based tasks in which the execution of a process is assessed, such as writing a persuasive essay
- Selected responses: paper-pencil tests that are conducted on one occasion and focus largely on knowledge, comprehension, and possibly application
- Open-ended tasks: tasks in which students must generate original responses to a stimulus or situation, such as using drama to explore a social issue
Assessment tools or instruments used to collect data
- Rubric: a table that describes criteria and achievement levels for a task
- Exemplars: samples of students’ work that serve as concrete standards for evaluating other students’ work
- Checklist: lists of desired learning outcomes (e.g. actions, attitudes, etc.) that are ‘checked off’ as they are observed
- Anecdotal records: brief, written (or audiovisual, photographic) observations about students at work, systematically organized for analysis
- Continuums: simple multi-point range (from high to low), used to judge extent to which a student demonstrates specific behaviours, attitudes or understanding
- Blueprint or mark scheme: a table or index of expected responses that helps to analyse student performance; expected responses are indexed to curricular objectives
Records to be maintained by HS teachers
- Marks register
- Formative assessment notebooks (NB1 with students, NB2 with teacher) with rubrics, annotations, and feedback. See detailed procedures below.

Formative assessment notebooks

Component

Contents

Guidelines

Notebook 1

Written Work

(5 marks)

Children’s written work in their notebooks – Self-expression, writing to the questions, tasks given in the exercise part under each unit/lesson.

The children shall not copy the answers from guides/study materials etc. but they should think and write on their own.

· Place label on cover; all pages must be numbered and the notebook must be indexed.

· Students may take this notebook home.

· Use the ‘Written Work’ rubric (next page). 20 marks will be reduced to 5 marks for recording.

· If A4 worksheets are used, paste them in the notebook.

Notebook 2

Participation & Response

(5 marks)

Language subjects – Reading storybooks, children literature, newspapers etc. and reflecting in terms of writing and presentation in the classroom.

Science – Doing the experiments and writing in the record.

Mathematics – Generating mathematical problems under various concepts – Writing and presentation in the classroom.

Social Studies – Reading the text and interpretation and reflections on contemporary social issues through writing and class room presentation

· NB2 must be covered in subject specific colours.

· Place label on cover; all pages must be numbered and the notebook must be indexed.

· NB2 must be pre-formatted in the following way:

· FA marks record sheet must be pasted on the page after the index

· NB2 shall be equally divided into 4 sections, each titled FA #

· In each section, reserve 8 pages for items in the following sequence:

· FA # Participation and Response – 1 title page with marking rubric + 7 pages

· FA # Written Work – 1 title page pasted with a copy of marking rubric from NB1 + 1 page blank

· FA # Project Work – 1 title page with marking rubric + 7 pages

· FA # Slip Test – 1 title page with marking rubric + 7 pages

· Rubrics must be pasted while formatting NB2 for students to be aware of the assessment criteria

· If A4 sheets are used, paste them in the notebook.

· NB2 will always be retained in the school. Students must not carry NB2 outside the school under any circumstances. (The subject teacher is solely liable for any damage/loss. In such a case the teacher must ensure that the student is called on a non-working day and helped to complete the work. No overtime is applicable in this case.)

Project

(5 marks)

Slip Test

(5 marks)

Projects suggested in the textbook and syllabus handbook

Periodic tests in each unit of study

Rubrics

Teachers must design rubrics in given formats based on criteria given in the SCERT’s subject syllabus handbooks. The tasks may be out of 20 marks, which will be reduced to 5 marks for recording.

	Written Work Rubric (NB1)				Name:
	Teacher’s sign: Date:				Roll no.
	FA1 FA2 FA3 FA4		Late submission		out of marks		/5
Completion		Organization		Independence		Handwriting
The student Completes classwork, homework & assignments Submits work on time		The student Writes name, date, heading, page number Indexes notebooks and files papers Keeps learning materials neat & clean Brings learning materials to classroom Uses the diary effectively		The student Works independently Takes responsibility for his work Demonstrates honesty and integrity Encourages classmates to act with honesty and integrity		The student Forms letters properly Slants letters consistently Maintains even space between letters Makes corrections neatly Maintains straight lines and margins
0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5

	Participation & Response Rubric (NB2)				Name:
	Teacher’s sign: Date:				Roll no.
	FA1 FA2 FA3 FA4		Late submission		out of marks		/5
Enter criterion here		Enter criterion here		Enter criterion here		Enter criterion here
The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here		The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here		The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here		The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here
0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5

	Project Rubric (NB2)				Name:
	Teacher’s sign: Date:				Roll no.
	FA1 FA2 FA3 FA4		Late submission		out of marks		/5
Enter criterion here		Enter criterion here		Enter criterion here		Enter criterion here
The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here		The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here		The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here		The student Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here Enter characteristics here
0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5		0 1 2 3 4 5

FA marks record

Paste the following table just after the index page in NB2. Record all FA marks (from NB1 and NB2) here. Teachers must correct every page of students’ work thoroughly, duly sign the marking rubric with the date and post the marks in FA marks record and marks registers without delay.

FA marks must always be rounded to 1 decimal place. ‘Zero’ or ‘Absent’ mark will NOT be recorded for any student, even if the student was late to submit or absent. Students who do not submit FA work on time must be sent to homework detention until the work is complete; half marks will be assigned (except for C10). If a student is absent and brings a leave letter, then he or she may earn full marks.

	Formative Assessment Marks Record			Name:
	Class Subject			Roll no.
Cycle	S.No.	Component	Marks (5)	Teacher’s sign	Student’s reflections
FA1	1	Written Work	/5
	2	Participation & Response	/5
	3	Project	/5
	4	Slip Test	/5
		TOTAL	/20
FA2	1	Written Work	/5
	2	Participation & Response	/5
	3	Project	/5
	4	Slip Test	/5
		TOTAL	/20
FA3	1	Written Work	/5
	2	Participation & Response	/5
	3	Project	/5
	4	Slip Test	/5
		TOTAL	/20
FA4	1	Written Work	/5
	2	Participation & Response	/5
	3	Project	/5
	4	Slip Test	/5
		TOTAL	/20
OVERALL AVERAGE			/20

Reporting: how do we communicate information about assessment?

Reporting on assessment involves communication about student learning. As such, it must be honest, comprehensive, and meaningful.
Reporting in the HS occurs through the following four means:
- Conferences
  a. Parent-Teacher-Student meeting is held with the distribution of both performance reports
  b. Student Led Conference (SLC) is held after FA1, FA3, and FA4. Please refer to the separate document about SLC procedures.
- Formative Assessment notebooks (NB1, NB2)
- Performance reports are issued twice each year, after Summative Assessment 1 (SA1) and 2 (SA2). Details about assessment reports are given below:

Calculation of cumulative grades

The average of internal assessments in each subject is accounted as 20% of marks under Formative Assessment (FA). Summative Assessment is conducted for 80% of marks. Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is the average of grade points of all subjects. Grade D and above is considered as passing.

FA1

FA2

SA1

1st Term Report

FA3

FA4

SA2

2^nd Term &

Annual Report

Marks

(FA1+FA2)/2+SA1

(FA1+FA2+FA3+FA4)/4+SA2

Grade range for curricular subjects

1^st, 3^rd language & non-language subjects	2^nd language	Grades	Grade points
91-100	90-100	A1	10
81-90	79-89	A2	9
71-80	68-78	B1	8
61-70	57-67	B2	7
51-60	46-56	C1	6
41-50	35-45	C2	5
35-40	20-34	D	4
0-34	0-19	E	3

Conditions for promotion

Co-curricular activities

There are 5 assessment objectives for each co-curricular activity. Teachers must conduct formative and summative assessments for each objective. Refer to the descriptors below to assign grades.

	Actual assessed objectives	Marks
1. Value Education & Life Skills	Class Teacher/Assembly	50
Discriminating wisdom, good behaviour	Integrity and honesty	10
Following constitutional values	Cooperation	10
Patience, kindness, empathy, personal values	Commitment and self-discipline	10
Life skills, communicative, social, emotional and thinking skills	Empathy	10
Having positive attitude towards teachers, co-students, society, school assets	Respect	10
2. Art & Cultural Education	Arts	50
Drawing pictures, colouring, decorating, making models and statues	Drawing & Sculpture	10
Origami & tangram, sewing & lacing	Crafts	10
Acting in playlets & one act play, choreography, dramatization, mono action	Communication	10
Singing songs, using of musical instruments	Care for materials and equipment	10
Dancing, performing local arts	Cooperation	10
3. Information & Communication Technology (ICT)	ICT	50
Using tools, making things	Care for equipment	10
Participating in programmes, discharging duties across curricular areas	Communication	10
Social service/shramadanam	Cooperation	10
Computer based learning	Research & internet skills	10
Computer applications	MS Office skills	10
4. Health & Physical Education	Physical education	50
Participating in games, sportive spirit	Participation and sportive spirit	10
Yoga, meditation, scouts & guides, NCC (Performance)	Understanding of games & rules	10
Personal & surroundings, hygiene, health habits	Grooming and sports dress	10
Family relations, safety, first aid	Safety and care for equipment	10
Health, nutritious food, good food habits	Health and stamina	10
4. Work Education (C6-C8)	Clubs	50
	Participation	10
	Cooperation	10
	Respect for workers, artisans	10
	Care for materials and equipment	10
	Taking action or doing social service	10

Grade Range for Co-curricular Activities

Descriptor	50 max	100 max	Grades
The student uses knowledge and skills independently, thoughtfully, and creatively in a variety of contexts. The student consistently demonstrates most of the IB Learner Profile traits, such as, principled, caring, open-minded, courageous, balanced and reflective.	43-50	85-100	A+
The student uses knowledge and skills independently and thoughtfully in a variety of contexts. The student often demonstrates many of the IB Learner Profile traits, such as, principled, caring, open-minded, courageous, balanced and reflective.	36-42	71-84	A
The student consistently uses knowledge and skills in familiar contexts. The student demonstrates some of the IB Learner Profile traits, such as, principled, caring, open-minded, courageous, balanced and reflective.	28-35	56-70	B
The student uses knowledge and skills in familiar contexts but often needs support and guidance. The student is beginning to develop some IB Learner Profile traits, such as, principled, caring, open-minded, courageous, balanced and reflective.	21-27	41-55	C
The student needs more experiences, opportunities, and support to demonstrate knowledge and skills. The student needs guidance to develop the IB Learner Profile traits, such as, principled, caring, open-minded, courageous, balanced and reflective.	0-20	0-40	D

Related policies

Review process

Communication of the policy

References

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Assessment for HS

HS Assessment Policy 2016-17

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HS Assessment Policy
2016-17