Assessment for PYP

Assessment Policy for PYP
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 1 June 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?

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 PYP teachers
- Working portfolio of student tasks with rubrics, annotations, and feedback
- Assessment register containing checklists, continuums, and data on ‘selected response’ tasks
- Anecdotal records in written and other forms (photos, video) organized student-wise and chronologically. Each student’s records must identify the units or tasks and the dates.

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 PYP occurs through the following four means:

Performance reports

Performance Reports are issued twice each year, after Unit 3 (Unit 2 for PP) and after Unit 6 (Unit 4 for PP).
In the reports, teachers determine attainment levels in various curricular strands (including knowledge, concepts, skills) according to the following descriptors.


Beginning	Developing	Competent	Advanced
The student needs more experiences, opportunities, and support to demonstrate knowledge and skills.	The student uses knowledge and skills in familiar contexts but often needs support and guidance.	The student consistently uses knowledge and skills in familiar contexts.	The student uses knowledge and skills independently and thoughtfully in a variety of contexts.

Feedback on attitudes, action, and learner profile traits is also included in teacher’s written comments.

Conferences
1. Parent-Teacher-Student meeting is held soon after the end of Unit 1
2. Parent-Teacher-Student meeting is held with the distribution of the first performance report
3. Student Led Conference (SLC) is held after Unit 6 (Unit 4 for PP) and before distribution of the second performance reports. Some further guidelines are given below:
  - The importance of the SLC is explained at the curriculum orientation at the start of the year
  - Notices informing parents are distributed at least 2 weeks before the conference takes place
  - Classroom teachers and specialists meet together to plan what is to be shared
  - All year levels should be consistent in their approach to the SLC
  - Students are involved in choosing what is shared with parents
  - Students report to parents addressing all five of the essential elements (knowledge, skills, concepts, attitudes and action)
Portfolio of student’s work
1. Purpose:
  - empowers students to be active participants in their own learning
  - provides opportunities to show growth in different subject areas over time
  - develops a sense of pride in each student’s work and builds self esteem
  - provides evidence and celebration of achievement during the student led conference
  - provides a tool for students’ self-assessment and reflection
  - enables students to see learning as a continuous process
2. Expectations:
  - Selection of work samples should be ongoing by providing regular opportunities to add samples
  - Portfolios should be managed mainly by students with guidance from the teacher
  - Portfolios should include work from all subject areas, including specialist subjects
3. Contents:
  - Cover page
  - Goal Sheet
  - Learner profile reflection
  - Student chosen elements: 1 selection per curriculum overview (2 units) in English, Math, UOI and Urdu/Hindi (annotated by students – total 12 pieces); 1 single subject selection per year – Music, Art, PE, Telugu (C3-C5), ICT (annotated by students- total 4/5 pieces)
  - Teacher chosen elements: 1 selection per curriculum overview (2 units) in Language (English), Math and UOI (annotated by teacher – total 12 pieces); 1 single subject selection per year – Music, Art, PE, Telugu (C3-C5, ICT (annotated by teacher- total 4/5)
Exhibition
1. Students in the final year of the PYP carry out an extended piece of work/research based upon collaborative inquiry – the PYP Exhibition. This takes place towards the end of C5.
2. One of the purposes of the PYP Exhibition is to provide a forum for student-driven reporting.
3. Other key purposes include the following:
  - For students to engage and report on an in-depth, collaborative inquiry
  - To provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate independence in and responsibility for their own learning
  - To provide students with an opportunity to experience research into a particular topic over an extended period of time as a precursor to more advanced research later
  - To provide students with an opportunity to explore multiple perspectives
  - For students to synthesize and apply their learning from previous years, and to reflect on their journey through the PYP
  - To provide an authentic process of assessing student understanding
  - To demonstrate how students can take action as a result of their learning
  - To unite students, teachers, parents and other members of the school community in a collaborative experience that incorporates the essential elements of the PYP
  - To celebrate the transition of learners from primary to middle/secondary education

Related Policies

Review process

Communication of the policy

References