The Aga Khan Academy, Maputo Assessment Policy January 2014

Assessment Statements of Philosophy and Defining our Terms In Making The PYP Happen, the International Baccalaureates principal publication for the Primary Years Programme (PYP), it states that, assessment is integral to all teaching and learning. It is central to the PYP goal of thoughtfully and effectively guiding students through the five essential elements of learning: the acquisition of knowledge, the understanding of concepts, the mastering of skills, the development of attitudes and the decision to take action.
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To assess comes from the Latin verb assidere, which means to sit beside. Therefore, when we at the Academy assess learning, we sit with the student in order to determine their level of understanding and provide a basis for future learning. It enables us to identify what a student knows, understands, can do, and feels at different stages in the learning process, implying that it is something we do with and for our students rather than to them. A useful definition of assessment, therefore, is as follows: Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. (Huba, M. E. and Freed, J. E. (2000).2

Making The PYP Happen - A Curriculum Framework For International Primary Education page 44, 2009. 2 Learner-Centered Assessment - Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning. Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

A number of principles help guide our approach to assessment in the Academy. These include: Assessment serves different purposes at different times: it may be used to find out what students already know, understand and can do; it may be used to help students improve their learning; or it may be used to let students, their parents and teachers know how much they have learned within a certain period of time. Assessment must be planned, purposeful and made explicit in the written curriculum. A balanced approach to assessment must be taken in the classroom, including using oral, performance, and written tasks, and it must be flexible in order to improve learning for all students. Assessment and teaching are inseparable because effective assessment informs learning. For assessment to be helpful to students, it must inform them in language they understand (not just numerical scores or letter grades). It must highlight what they have done well, what they have not done so well, and what they need to do next in order to improve. Assessment is a collaborative process that is most effective when it involves self, peer, and teacher assessment. Standards and benchmarking are an important component of effective assessment. Grading and reporting student achievement is a caring, sensitive process that requires teachers professional judgement.3 For assessment to be effective in the Academy, it must allow: Students to be an active part of the learning process through demonstration of their understanding and reflection; Teachers to set the direction for ongoing learning, to analyse the effectiveness of their teaching and make appropriate adjustments, and to communicate progress with students, families and the wider school community; Parents to see evidence of their childs learning and development, and enable them to support and celebrate what they have achieved; School leadership to evaluate school curricular programmes and to communicate the Academys progress.

Formative and Summative Assessment

Adapted from Talk about Assessment: Strategies and Tools to Improve Learning. Cooper, Damian, 2007

Formative and summative assessment are labels that describe how various assessments tools and strategies are used. There are three distinct but inter-related purposes for classroom assessment, namely: assessment for learning; assessment as learning; and assessment of learning. Summative assessment (assessment of learning) is aimed at determining a students achievement level generally at the end of a course of study or unit of work. It tells us what students know and can do, provides evidence of student progress and demonstrates whether they have achieved the intended curriculum outcomes. Please also see the section on the PYP Exhibition below. Formative assessment (assessment for learning): refers to all those assessment activities that provide information to be used as feedback to modify teaching and learning, instead of merely monitoring learning outcomes. It enhances learning by giving specific and timely feedback, keeping students confident and focused on their progress, even in the face of occasional setbacks. Critically it is formative assessment that has the greatest impact on student learning and achievement. Whilst the above categories of assessment are usually teacher-directed, assessment as learning, by contrast, is student-directed. It involves students setting criteria, setting goals, and assessing their own and their peers work. In this type of assessment, students focus on both process and outcome, gaining insight into their own learning.

Strategies and Tools in Effective Assessment Strategies are the methods or approaches that teachers use when gathering information about a students progress and learning. Teachers record this information using tools. Some examples of Assessment Strategies: Observations: all students are observed often and regularly, with the teacher taking a focus varying from wide angle (for example, focusing on the whole class) to close up (for example, focusing on one student or one activity), and from non-participant (observing from without) to participant (observing from within). Performance assessments: the assessment of goal-directed tasks with established criteria. They provide authentic and significant challenges and problems. In these tasks, there are numerous approaches to the problem and rarely only one correct response. They are usually

multimodal and require the use of many skills. Audio, video and narrative records are often useful for this kind of assessment. Process-focused assessments: students are observed often and regularly, and the observations are recorded by noting the typical as well as non-typical behaviours, collecting multiple observations to enhance reliability, and synthesising evidence from different contexts to increase validity. A system of note-taking and record-keeping is created that minimises writing and recording time. Checklists, inventories and narrative descriptions, such as learning logs, are common methods of collecting observations. Selected responses: single occasion, one-dimensional exercises. Tests and quizzes are the most familiar examples of this form of assessment. Open-ended tasks: situations in which students are presented with a stimulus and asked to communicate an original response. The answer might be a brief written answer, a drawing, a diagram or a solution. The work, with the assessment criteria attached, could be included in a portfolio. Some examples of Effective Tools The assessment strategies listed above may be put into practice using the assessment tools included below: Rubrics: an established set of criteria for rating students in all areas. The descriptors tell the assessor what characteristics or signs to look for in student work and then how to rate that work on a predetermined scale. Importantly, rubrics can be developed by students as well as by teachers. Exemplars: samples of student work that serve as concrete standards against which other samples are judged. Generally there is one benchmark for each achievement level in a scoring rubric. Checklists: these are lists of information, data, attributes or elements that should be present. A mark-scheme is a type of checklist. Anecdotal records: these are brief written notes based on observations of students. Learning stories are focused, extended observations that can be analysed later. These records need to be systematically compiled and organized. Continua: these are visual representations of developmental stages of learning. They show a progression of achievement or identify where a student is in a process.

Assessment and Differentiation Differentiation is an integral part of the planning, teaching, learning and assessment process. On a daily basis, lessons and activities are differentiated to support the needs of the students.

Differentiation is when activities are planned to suit the needs of the student to support their learning, whether it is to consolidate or extend their conceptual understanding. There are a variety of ways to differentiate and appropriate forms of differentiation can be used to support the student. There are four main ways in which to differentiate: by task, outcome, support or learning style. Differentiation by Task. When differentiating by task, specific activities are planned that suit the learning abilities within the class. Activities can be planned to support or challenge the students learning. For instance, in a maths lesson on addition, one group could be adding two digit numbers, another three digit numbers and a third group could be completing addition word problems. In a language lesson on non-chronological report writing, a lower attaining group may be given the information to order, a middle attain group may be given a template with the title and subheadings and expected to complete this, while a higher attaining group may be expected to write a report thinking of their own title and subheadings. Assessment will be differentiated to assess the specific learning objectives of the different activities planned. Differentiation by Outcome. When differentiating by outcome, all students will complete the same task, yet the expectations of the completed piece of work will be different. For instance, when writing a story, all students will be expected to write a story, but some will have included adjectives, others will be expected to use speech and others may be expected to use complex sentences. The assessment criteria will differ for the students depending on their ability levels. Differentiation by Support. Work can also be differentiated by support from the teacher or teaching assistant. They will have an adult with them guiding and supporting them as they complete the activity. The support can be done in a group, paired work or 1:1 support. Differentiation by Learning Style There are a variety of learning styles, but they mainly come under three specific headings: visual, auditory and kinaesethic. People often have a preferred learning style and although younger children tend to be more kinaesethic learners, a childs preferred learning style does not fully develop until they are older. Due to this it is important to plan different activities that will expose the student to different learning styles, thus supporting their learning.

The PYP Exhibition A key component of the summative assessment we use in the Academy is The Primary Years Programme Exhibition. It is the culmination of the five to eight years a child spends in the PYP and is an opportunity for students to showcase the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout their time in the primary school. It also provides them with an ideal platform to put their learning into practice and take meaningful action. Students are asked to work in groups to research either a local or global issue of their choice. They then produce an action plan of how they can make a meaningful contribution to this area and then finally, as a group, carry out their proposed action. Through the Exhibition process, we are able to assess a students ability to work collaboratively; the different skills, knowledge and understandings they have developed over the course of their time in the PYP; as well as their ability to take meaningful action in their school, local, or even global community. It also serves as an ideal opportunity for students to develop and enhance their public speaking and presentation skills, as well as to reflect upon, and engage with, the attributes of the Aga Khan Learner Profile. At the end of the Exhibition process, students will have matured both emotionally as well as academically, and they will become equipped with the required skills, knowledge and understandings to face the challenges of the Middle Years Programme the next stage of the IB continuum of learning. Reporting on Assessment The school uses various means of reporting on assessment to keep parents informed of the progress their children are making. We send home two written reports a year, in December and June. These cover the major curriculum areas learned in school and serve as an official document and record of student achievement. These reports are produced in both English and Portuguese. In addition to the reports, we run one parent/teacher conference in the first half of the year and one student-led conference in the second half of the year.

The parent/teacher conference is an opportunity for parents to sit with the English and Portuguese teachers and discuss the progress of their child. These meetings are normally held before the October half-term break. As the children move through the school into the upper grades, these will become three-way conferences to include the students in the conversations as well. Our student-led conferences are held before the autumn break and are an opportunity for students to lead their parents through an explanation of their learning. These are an integral part of the reporting and learning process because they develop the students' ability to reflect on their work, set targets and take responsibility for their learning. In addition to these formal conferences, teachers may request meetings with parents if they have any concerns or issues they would like to raise. These meetings take place at any time of the year and are scheduled at a mutually convenient time. Likewise, parents can also schedule a meeting with their childs teachers(s) to discuss any concerns they may have. Finally, each year group is expected to run two unit presentations per academic year. These presentations are an opportunity for parents to visit the school and to join the students in celebrating their learning and achievements.