At
St Anthony's School, assessment and reporting about student progress and
achievement occurs regularly throughout the school year. Assessment and
reporting processes play a strategic role in moving student learning forward.
Assessing Learning
Why do we assess learning?
Assessing student learning is an integral part of the school classroom. It
improves learning and informs teaching. It is the process through which
teachers identify, gather and interpret information about student
achievement and learning in order to improve, enhance and plan for further
learning. (BCE Kweb)'
What
learning do we assess?
The Australian Curriculum defines the knowledge,
understanding and skills that students are entitled to learn each academic year
in the achievement standard for each learning area. The achievement standard
determines the learning intentions and the success criteria that teachers plan
for their students. Teachers monitor student progress for both formative and
summative assessment purposes and look for opportunities to provide and receive
feedback to move learning forward.
Formative
assessment (Assessment for learning)
Formative assessment allows students and teachers
regular opportunities to monitor learning. Students engage in a variety of
embedded formative assessment tasks so teachers can ‘check in’ on student
progress regularly throughout a lesson or series of lessons.
Teachers
use formative assessment information to provide clear and specific feedback to
each student to assist them to understand what they need to do to move their
learning forward.
Summative
assessment (Assessment of learning)
Teachers must also make judgements about student
learning against the achievement standard for summative reporting purposes. The
purpose of summative assessment, or assessment of learning, is to judge the
extent and quality of student learning at a point in time. Teachers use a range
of assessment tools to make summative judgements about student learning
including student/teacher consultation, focused analysis of work samples and
teacher observation.
Reporting Learning
Consistency
of Teacher Judgment in Reporting
The use of Australian Curriculum achievement
standards as a common reference point for reporting to parents should
contribute to national consistency in reporting. To support consistency of
teacher judgement, teachers engage in moderation discussions with colleagues at
St Anthonys and from other BCE schools over the year in order to confirm their
judgements about students’ achievements against the achievement standard.
Twice
Yearly Reporting – the written report
The purpose of twice yearly reporting is to provide
parents/caregivers and students with a summary overview of achievement and
progress for the current reporting period. This report summarises evidence of
student learning about how the student is achieving, provides feedback about
the quality of this achievement and provides direction about where to next.
Reporting
involves a professional judgement made on a body of evidence about a student’s
progress and achievement against the curriculum. These judgements are made
against the achievement standards of the Australian Curriculum when reporting
on those learning areas that have been published.
This
report uses a Commonwealth Government mandated A-E reporting framework. Student
achievement at St Anthony’s School is described using this 5 point scale:
*Well
below expected standard *Below expected standard
*Achieving at expected standard *Above expected standard *Well above expected
standard
Reporting Student Progress Throughout the Year
Reporting
is a process, not simply a report card. No single method, such as a twice
yearly written report, can be left to carry the whole burden of reporting
student progress each year. At St Anthony's School, we believe the most
effective reporting occurs when various approaches are used throughout the
year. Parents are also encouraged to
contact their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year to discuss their
child’s learning at a time convenient to teachers and parents.
The following is an overview of the reporting process that is currently used at St Anthony's School.
Term 1
- Years Prep - 6 Parent/Teacher Welcome Evening (early in term)
- Parent/Teacher interviewed offered - as required
- Class newsletters – May be sent home throughout the term.
- Work Samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
Term 2
- Class newsletters – May be sent home throughout the term.
- Work samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
- Parent/Teacher interview - offered through Parent Teacher Online
- Years P - 6 formal written report – End of term
3
- Class newsletters – May be sent home throughout the term.
- Work samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
- Year 3 / 5 NAPLAN student report to be forwarded home – Generally, end of term.
Term 4
- Class newsletters – May be sent home throughout the term.
- Work samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
- Parent/Teacher interview - offered through Parent Teacher Online
- Years P - 6 formal written report – End of term.