Assessment
In order to accurately assess learning gains over the course of a year, each student will undergo initial baseline testing at the start of each year in core content areas. At the end of the year, students will be retested again to quantify how much they have grown.
As a public school, students will also have to take the TAKS test every spring. We do not, however, plan on solely "teaching to the test" - rather, we expect our students to perform well as a result of what they have been learning throughout the year.
Within the IB PYP, the principal purposes of assessing what has been learned are to:
(a) determine what the student knows and understands about the world
(b) inform and differentiate teaching and learning
(c) monitor student progress in terms of the IB learner profile
(c) provide feedback to teachers, students, and parents
(d) monitor the effectiveness of the programme
(e) inform the professional development of teachers.
Essentially, assessment in this programme is of two types, each of which has a specific function.
Formative assessment is interwoven with daily learning and helps teachers and students find out what the students already know in order to plan the next stage of learning. Formative assessment and learning activities are directly linked; neither can function effectively or purposefully without the other.
Summative assessment occurs at the end of the teaching and learning process and provides students with opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned. It aims to give teachers and students a clear insight into students' understanding.
Assessing the process of inquiry as well as the result of inquiry is recognized as an important objective of the programme. Teachers therefore record the detail of the inquiry initiated by the students in order to seek an increase in substance and depth.
In particular, teachers consider whether:
- the nature of the students’ inquiry develops over time i.e whether they are, in fact, asking questions of more depth, which are likely to enhance their learning substantially
- the children are becoming aware that real problems require solutions based on the integration of knowledge that spans and connects several subject areas
- the children are mastering skills and accumulating a comprehensive knowledge base in order to conduct their inquiries successfully and find solutions to problems
- the children are demonstrating both independence and an ability to work collaboratively
Consideration of these points allows teachers to plan for effective teaching and learning opportunities that give students a chance to develop their inquiries further.
Strategies and feedback
Teachers use a range and balance of school-based assessment strategies and feedback techniques, including writing samples, benchmarks and continuums, structured observations, anecdotal records, performance tasks, rubrics or guiding descriptors, portfolios of work, and student/teacher/parent conferences.
Portfolios provide one method of documenting student achievement and progress through the curriculum. Both students and teachers select material for inclusion in an individual portfolio, which may include samples of the student’s work showing development over time, information about any extracurricular achievements undertaken by the student, and self-assessments carried out by the student.
Where possible, these strategies provide an effective means of recording students’ responses and performances in real-life situations where there are genuine problems to solve. These authentic assessment strategies are used in conjunction with other forms of assessment, such as standardized tests, in order to assess both student performance and the effectiveness of the programme.
