Dover School IB Administrative Procedure

RE:  Assessment Practices

Date adopted: April 1, 2021

Last reviewed: April 1, 2021

Dover School Assessment Practices

 

Standards and Practices

A. PHILOSOPHY:   Dover School is dedicated to the development of the whole student 

through the Primary Years Program. We foster growth in the academic, social, cultural and the aesthetic for all students.   Assessment drives the instruction to support and enhance student learning of the PYP curriculum in all areas. Assessment communicates to parents and students the strengths and areas where growth is needed using fair and valid assessment tools.  At Dover School assessment is used to allow students to demonstrate their achievement of all five Essential Elements: mastering knowledge, acquiring skills, understanding of concepts, developing the Learner Profile and inspiring desire and skill to take action.  It is the driving force for planning the differentiated instruction for each student. Assessment is the responsibility of all members of our school community.  A variety of formal and informal assessment tools are used. 

 

B. IB PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAM ASSESSMENT DEFINITION Assessment is the gathering and analysis of information about student performance. It identifies what students know, understand, can do and feel at different stages in the learning process. It is the means by which we analyze student learning and the effectiveness of our teaching and acts as a foundation on which to base our future planning and practice. It is central to our goal of guiding the child, from novice to expert, through the learning process. (Primary Years Program Assessment Handbook, January 2000. © International Baccalaureate Organization) 

 

    C.  PRINCIPLES 

  1. Our use of multiple types of assessments gives teachers and students valid data that can be utilized to meet students' learning needs. 

    1. Assessing prior knowledge and experience 

    2. Differentiating instruction to meet individual needs 

    3. Engaging learners in reflection to determine strengths and weaknesses and to set goals 

    4. Providing feedback for students 

    5. Expanding student learning opportunities 

    6. Building a profile of children’s understanding 

 

  1.  Information about student learning is provided through: 

    1.  Examples of student work or performances 

    2. Statistics relating to benchmarks and/or rubrics or test scores 

    3. Test results 

  2. On-going 

  3. Regularly communicated to the students and parents. 

 

    D. PURPOSE OF PRE-ASSESSMENT Pre-assessment occurs before embarking on new learning to uncover prior knowledge and experiences.

  1. Practices and Tools:

  1. Pre-Assessment techniques include asking students what Approaches to Learning Skills will help them during this Unit of Inquiry as well as how they plan to demonstrate this knowledge. 

  1. Checklists 

  2. Benchmarks 

  3. Anecdotal records 

 

  1. Formative Assessment (ongoing), interwoven with learning, provides information as to a student's prior knowledge and experiences to plan the next stages of learning. 

    1. Pre Assessments

    2. checklists 

    3. anecdotal records 

    4. running records 

    5. observations 

    6. work samples 

    7. written tests 

    8. rubrics generated by teacher and students

    9. identifying exemplars of students work 

    10. AIMS Web Oral Reading Fluency

    11. Classroom teachers collaborate with the school counselor to assess social and interpersonal skills. 


 

  1. Standardized Assessment

  2. Opportunities are provided for peer and self-assessment in content area


 

E. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT  Summative assessment occurs at the end of a teaching and learning cycle that can be given at different intervals. It is a comprehensive, cumulative assessment of skills and a measure of the understanding of a central idea. Students are given the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned by applying their knowledge in new and authentic contexts and may prompt students toward action. Each Unit of Inquiry focuses on differing aspects of the Approaches to Learning and the Learner Profile for both student  self assessment , peer assessment and teacher  assessment of students.

 Types of summative assessments may include: 

  • student reflections at the end of a unit must include their reflection of how they used the Approaches to Learning skills and set goals regarding further development of those skills.

  • student self-assessments to include Learner Profile and Approaches to Learning Skills. 

  • peer assessments 

  • rubrics 

  • performance assessments 

  • Student portfolios are a collection of evidence of a student's understanding and thinking.These collections of student work follow students year to year for both student and teacher examination and goal setting. Prior to Exhibition the work is returned to the student so they may again chart their personal progress.

  • Diagnostic (subject specific analysis of strengths and weaknesses.) testing.

  • Periodically (At the end of a unit or twice a year) the students reflect on their own growth and use of their Learner Profile attributes  comparing their growth with the previous year.

  • Standardized / formal assessments- mandated by state and school district.

    • Smarter Balanced Assessments Consortium (SBAC) 

    • Primary and Elementary Spelling Inventory

    • PAR (Predictive Assessment of Reading (K-3) 

    • AIMS Web Plus

    • Grade 5 SBAC Science

“Formative assessment is the right bridge between teaching and learning. It’s only through assessment of some kind that you know whether what has been taught has been learned. That’s why I think this focus on the assessment process, minute by minute, and day by day, not at the end of a sequence of learning... allows teachers to reflect on their practice and make small steps in improving that practice in a more powerful way than anything we have seen before.” Dylan Williams (British educationalist and Emeritus professor of Educational Assessment at the UCL Institute of Education.) 

    F.  HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS  Homework is assigned at the discretion of the teachers. Homework is assigned to students for the purposes of reinforcing or reviewing a lesson, provoking interest in an upcoming topic and to develop habits of responsibility and organization.  Homework may be graded and used in class discussions. 

    G.  EXHIBITION  The sixth grade students develop and present their own collaborative unit of inquiry that showcases the five essential elements of the PYP (knowledge, skills, concepts, attitudes and action). The Transdisciplinary Theme may be chosen by the classroom teacher while Central Ideas, Lines of Inquiry and Key Concepts are chosen by students. Through this experience, the students have the opportunity to put the attributes of the learner profile into practice, which they have been developing throughout the Primary Years Programme. 

Additionally, the state of Vermont has issued procedures for Local Comprehensive Assessment Practices.

LCAS grade level document

    H.  PRACTICES FOR REPORTING ASSESSMENT DATA 

● Parent/Teacher Conferences - (fall and spring)

● Report Cards - end of semester in January and June 

● Progress Reports at mid semester

     ● End of Unit progress reports. Teachers use work samples to identify students’ levels of development and for further planning.       

● Student-led parent conferences where students set goals with the help of their parents or guardians. parents set goals and 

● Public Informational Meetings (School Board and school community) 

● Student Portfolios 

 

    I.  TEACHER RESOURCES TO AID IN ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAMMING

  • Multi-Tiered Support System

  • Special Education Services 

  • Speech and Language Services 

  • Essential Early Education Services 

  • Guidance Counseling Services 

 

Time is devoted during faculty meetings to review test data and for future planning. The testing processes both for standardized testing and classroom assessments are transparent and all test data is made available to parents and guardians.

 Reviewed 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020,2022