Oak Forest Elementary Assessment Policy

Assessment Philosophy
Assessments enable us to know whether we are achieving our mission. We want our students to be lifelong learners who solve real world problems, collaborate with peers, respect diversity, and inspire others. Therefore, we use assessment feedback to identify students strengths and weaknesses, differentiate instruction, improve instructional practices, monitor and adjust PYP implementation, and determine the efficacy of our operational procedures. Our assessments are deliberately planned to be fair, consistent, developmentally appropriate, and rigorous. To ensure that assessments will yield meaningful data, students and parents are informed of all assessment objectives and processes.

Assessment Belief Statements

Oak Forest believes that using multiple forms of assessment enables us to measure our students attainment of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Oak Forest believes that planning, teaching, and assessing are interrelated. Oak Forest believes that we must assess students prior knowledge before we begin new learning. Oak Forest believes that we must use assessment to inform teaching and learning. Oak Forest believes that self reflection engenders insight and self-involvement. Oak Forest believes that providing constructive, meaningful, and immediate feedback enables students to achieve high levels of learning. Oak Forest believes that students should be actively involved in developing learning goals. Oak Forest believes that parents should be regularly informed of student progress in order to enable parents to actively and effectively support their childs educational goals. Oak Forest believes that all stakeholders need to reflect on their roles and responsibilities in order to assess their effectiveness and commitment to our mission.

Revised 6/27/12

Types of Assessment
Pre-assessments are used to determine students prior knowledge, generate interest and motivation, and help teachers plan effective, engaging instruction. Teachers use a variety of verbal and written strategies to help students synthesize their prior knowledge. Formative assessments are integrated into lessons daily in order to monitor student understanding. As teachers collect formative assessment data, they differentiate lessons to ensure all students achieve high levels of learning. In addition, district level formative assessments are given three times per year to measure students progress towards mastering state-assessed skills. These assessments include AIMSweb benchmark tests in kindergarten through fifth grade and Discovery Education assessments in grades three through five. Summative assessments are given at the end of each learning engagement in order to measure students understanding of the central idea. The following statements outline our summative assessment practices. Evaluation methods to measure proficiency may be through performance based assessments, student initiated action, or through selected response items. Those involved in evaluating student responses, products, or performances may include teachers, students, parents/community members, or expert judges. Feedback methods may include numerical scores, letter grades, narrative reports, checklists, verbal reports, conferences, or rubrics.

In reference to mandatory standardized testing, the Tennessee Comprehensive Achievement Program (TCAP) test is a summative assessment administered at the end of each school year to students in grades three-five. This test measures students understanding of state standards. Self-assessments are used daily to enable students to reflect on and assess their learning. Students also use a Learner Profile Reflection document to assess their development and understanding of Learner Profile attributes. Portfolio assessment is used is to help students reflect on their learning and document student knowledge and growth within the PYP. As students progress through learning engagements, their artifacts document their learning styles, interests, and understanding of concept and skills. Student portfolios are one-inch binders divided into six sections that represent the PYP transdisciplinary themes. At the end of each unit, students select one artifact to place in their portfolio. Students are able to explain why they have chosen a particular artifact and explain how the artifact relates to the central idea. Portfolios follow students as they progress through the grades and are given to students as they exit fifth grade.

Revised 6/27/12

Exhibition assesses fifth grade students understanding of the Primary Years Programme. As students move through the PYP Exhibition guidelines, they synthesize their knowledge and demonstrate Learner Profile attributes. This collaborative inquiry engagement results in an authentic assessment process. Needs assessments are used to determine stakeholder needs and develop strategies to meet these needs. This perceptual data helps us identify the strengths and weaknesses of our overall program and eliminate barriers that prevent us from providing a high quality education to all students. We recognize the importance of listening and responding to our stakeholders opinions, ideas, suggestions, and concerns. Needs assessments are given to all stakeholder groups at the beginning of each school year.

Assessment Strategies
Observations are used regularly to assess students progress towards goals. They may be conducted by teachers, administrators, or other school personnel. In addition to observing to determine students mastery of content knowledge, teachers also observe students to gather information on students development of Learner Profile attributes. The results of observations are communicated through written notes/reports, spotlighting during announcements, bulletin boards, and assemblies. Performance assessments are used to give students the opportunity to demonstrate learning through multiple intelligences. As students work through assessment tasks, they build and enhance higher order thinking skills, develop and practice social skills, and acquire and strengthen content knowledge. Selected response assessment is a strategy used to determine whether students can select the correct answer to a quiz or test question. Open-ended tasks enable students to construct original responses to a stimulus. As students work through open-ended assessments they have the opportunity to use higher order thinking skills, writing skills, drawing skills, or technology skills to demonstrate knowledge. Open ended assessments enrich learning.

Assessment Tools
Rubrics are used by all teachers to assess student performance according to set criteria. Teachers develop rubrics with student input and use student-friendly language to ensure that all students have the opportunity to meet the highest rubric expectation. Parents and students fully understand the expectations prior to the beginning of the learning engagement.

Revised 6/27/12

Checklists are used to identify all the information, characteristics, attributes, elements, or data that must be represented in a particular project or assignment. Teachers ensure that parents and students fully understand the expectations prior to the beginning of the learning engagement. Anecdotal records are brief written notes kept by teachers and other school personnel, as needed, to document student observations.

Reporting Assessment Results

Conferences are conducted to establish, encourage, and maintain communication between the home and school, the child and parent/guardian, and the learner and teacher. During conferences, participants can review progress, expectations, responsibilities, and goals. District scheduled parent/teacher conferences are offered in the fall and spring. Other conferences are scheduled as needed. Conference may be structured in a variety of ways depending on the purpose and need. Parent/Teacher Conferences or Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences Participants share evidence of student growth. Participants share progress towards goals, as well as concerns and accomplishments. Participants revise goals, as needed. Participants review responsibilities outlines in the school Title I Compact. Participants review student development of Learner Profile attributes. Student Led Conferences Students reflect on their own growth, development of Learner Profile attributes, and take ownership for their own learning. Students set and share goals with parents to ensure that parents can support students in attaining goals. Teacher/Student Conferences Teachers and students discuss student progress. Teachers offer students feedback in order to help them achieve high levels of learning. Teachers use student feedback to inform/differentiate instruction. Students reflect on their progress and revise goals, as needed.

Revised 6/27/12

Written reports are used to communicate progress towards our goals. We use a variety of written reports to communicate assessment results to our stakeholders. Ways we report progress to parents are listed below. All homeroom teachers send home weekly progress reports. At the middle point of each nine-week grading period, we send home progress reports. At the end of each nine-week period, we send home the MCS Report to Families, which includes a Learner Profile insert. We send home reports after each district formative assessment event. We send home reports individual performance reports for state mandated testing.

Additional strategies to communicate assessment results to stakeholders include: phone calls meetings website weekly newsletters school bulletin boards learning showcases (ThinkShow! and Fifth Grade Exhibition) and Portfolio Night.

Revised 6/27/12