Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

5.1-Assess student learning

Develop, select and use informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative assessment strategies to assess student learning

The type of assessment I used depends on the activity at hand and what the assessment is used for. There are many activities that students take part in where assessment s informal and I simply need to check for understanding. This style of informal assessment normally takes place during and at the completion of an activity and is often in the form of basic observation and anecdotal notes. This helps me to understand how students are going and plan further activities (3.6).

Sometimes, I will create a more formal assessment table to use while I mark students work. The picture below shows an assessment table that I have used after students have written a weekend recount. I am able to fill in the table as I mark student work and it has been created to assess the goals I have set for students. The table below assessed whether students were using capital letters and punctuation in the right places and what information they had included. On this occasion, I had set more capable students an extra task (3.1) of needing to start using evaluative language in their writing. As this was a table I had created I was able to create an extra column to assess if they had used evaluative language or not. Using this table does not only help me to see where individual students writing skills are, but I can use it to view the class overall and pinpoint any areas that I can see the group as a whole needs more instruction and time to work on. For example, on this occasion most students have told me the 'who, what, when are where' of their weekend but only a few have begun explaining their 'why'.

At my current site, we assess students reading using the PM Benchmark Kits from Cengage Learning. These kits have leveled readers that are used to test student's reading level and their comprehension skills through completing a running record. Student's are required to sit a minimum of two running record assessments during each term, or more as needed. Each teacher completes their running record assessments slightly differently in an effort to save photocopying and paper. This year, I have chosen to complete running records on sheets of paper that are filed under students names. Students read the appropriate leveled reader and answer literal and inferred questions at the books completion. I am then able to talk with a students about reading strategies that they need to work on (5.2) and determine what level they should be reading. Below is a photo of running records I have done with one of my students (name blacked out for privacy).

5.2-Provide feedback to students on their learning

Provide timely, effective and appropriate feedback to students about their achievement relative to their learning goals.

As I work with younger children, I find that I mostly need to give them immediate feedback for it to have meaning. For example, each week students write a Weekend Recount. As they write, I move around the room to help and assist as needed but also to mark their work. Doing this in front of them allows me to give them feedback that they can use straight away. I can go over to help a student and as I mark their work if I see they've forgotten their full stops, I can give them a quick reminder and they can fix it on their own. After giving them this feedback, they tend to be able to remember their full stops in the rest of their writing.

When I listen to students read I often give them a reading strategy that i'd like them to work on. If they're struggling remembering something they've just read I might ask them to work on their comprehension using the 'Go back and reread' strategy. This means that I can give each student their own goals to improve their reading. The next week I check if they've been using the strategy and if it has worked for them and if they have been able to achieve their goal.

5.3-Make consistent and comparable judgements

Understand and participate in assessment moderation activities to support consistent and comparable judgments of student learning.

Keeping clear and easily accessible records of my data helps me to make consistent and comparable judgments of student learning. I keep a copy of students' tests in data folders filed under students names so I can easily find and refer back to a past test to use the information it gathered for further planning. For example, at the beginning of the year, all the students in my class completed a maths 'readiness' test that I can use to see what areas students understand well and where they may need extra background information before starting a new topic. I also make sure that I keep clear and accurate records of data such as weekly spelling results, reading levels, etc. together in one folder for easy access.

This year, I have been trying to work closely with the other year one teachers to make sure that our teaching is consistent. As part of this, some of us have also been discussing our planning and assessment and trying to use the same assessments or similar so that we can make comparable judgments across the year level, not just our own class.

Recently, I used the Language and Literacy scales to assess a sample of each students' writing. The scales give us a number and allow us to measure distance traveled, 'Joe Bloggs was writing at level 4 last year and this year he's moved up to level 5'. The L&L scales' levels are set out on a rubric and assess areas such as text cohesion, grammar knowledge and word groupings. Not only do the scales give me a number but a quick look at the rubric can tell me that while Joe Bloggs has moved up to level 5, his punctuation is still at a level 3. As all students are marked on the same rubric I am able to make consistent and comparable judgments about areas that need extra work using the assessment.

5.4-Interpret student data

Use student assessment data to analyse and evaluate student understanding of subject/content, identifying interventions and modifying teaching practice.

Recently at my school, we were given the opportunity to have some pupil free day time to analyse our data from our reading, writing and maths programs. As well as looking at our own classes data, we were able to look at year level data. I worked alongside one of my mentor teachers and we discussed positives, negatives and interesting points we found by looking at students data. We then looked at what actions we needed to take for our low, mid and high achieving students and ensure that we made sure to plan differentiation in our programs to suit each student (links to 1.5). By discussing this data and creating plans for students, I have been able to think about what i should keep doing in class, what I need to improve and what professional development I would like to undertake to help improve my practice in these areas (links to 6.1). Finally, I looked at what information I felt that I would need to pass on to my students' teachers for next year.

Below, I have attached my data analysis for my students reading data. I have cut off the section that includes what information I need to pass on next year as it discusses individual students. Some of the points I have raised in this section include students' personalities and extra support they have received at school (i.e. working with an SSO in a phonological awareness program)

5.5-Report on student achievement

Report clearly, accurately and respectfully to students and parents/carers about student achievement, making use of accurate and reliable records.

As I have mentioned in 3.5, I find the relationship between teacher and parents very important for student learning. Through the positive relationships I have built with parents, I feel confident to discuss any issues, concerns or matters related to student learning. I often talk with several parents after school about what we have been doing in class and how their child is going.

Throughout the year, some of the more formal ways that I report on student achievement include having parent/teacher conferences and sending reports home in terms 2 and 4.

This year at my site, Junior Primary staff held parent teacher conferences in week 6 of term . I have attached a copy of the letter that was sent home to parents informing them of the conference sessions. I was able to make a conference time (15 minutes) with all parents in my class and report back about how their child had settled back in at school and the progress they were making.

In terms 2 and 4, teachers write and send home reports to parents. We assign grades to each subject area as well as an assessment of their effort. We were able to write comments in the English and Maths sections as well as a general comment at the end of the report. The ability to do this meant that I could give more in depth information to parents about their child's work, skills and progress in these areas. I was able to do this form using the data I had collected though out the year. Below I have attached a copy of two students comments form their reports (names blacked out for privacy).

At the end of the school year, I collected all the valuable data and records I had for my students and filed them into students permanent files. This ensured that their following teacher would have an accurate understanding of their students skills and abilities.