ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING 

Purpose

The assessment guidelines outline principles, identify practices, and define terms that provide a foundation for consistency and clarity around assessment and reporting practices at the American International School-Riyadh. 

Definition of Assessment

Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering and analyzing a range of learning evidence to inform teaching and improve student learning. 

Philosophy of Assessment

Assessment, teaching, and learning are inextricably linked. Assessment is ongoing and includes evidence from a variety of sources that provides information to all stakeholders about learning progress against learning goals. It informs students as they set goals for future growth and guides instruction for teachers. Assessment is the measure of student success against agreed upon standards.  The focus is always on student learning. 

Assessment Principles

• Assessments serve teaching and enhance learning

• Assessments align with learning goals

• Assessments are accessible for all

Assessment Agreements and Timelines 

MS Grade Levels will communicate the following to coordinate assessment schedules and to prevent students from having too many assessments on the same day.

• Teachers will update Grade Level Calendars when classes are assigned an assessment. The naming convention will be as follows: Example: Class, Grade, Section, Teacher Last Name ( Math 7.1 Whitney)  

• Students will have at least two weeks notice for an upcoming Summative Assessment and one week notice for an upcoming Formative Assessment that is graded and recorded in PowerSchool. *Note: not all formative assessments are graded and entered into PowerSchool 

• Students will have no more than two Summative Assessments (ex: unit tests, projects ) due on any given day in their core classes. 

• Students are expected to inform teachers as soon as they realize too many assessments have been scheduled for the same day. Students may also reach out to their Advisor or Grade Leader for additional support. 

• Students can expect to receive feedback on their completed assessments within two weeks of the due date so they can apply teacher feedback to future learning opportunities in a timely manner.

• Summative assessments will not be assigned the first week after a long holiday break from school, including Week Without Walls. Teachers will plan accordingly to ensure students and families are able to enjoy a proper break from school.

Missing Deadlines for Summative Assessments  

• Summative assessments will be extended at the discretion of the teacher, and in consultation with the student if there is communication from parents about a family emergency or prolonged illness that prevents the student from meeting the deadline. 

• The consequence of not doing the work is doing the work. This means that students who do not complete formative or summative assignments by the expected date and time that has been shared in Google Classroom will be required to attend the next Break Reflection and/or After School Learning session to work on the missing assignment. The student will submit what is completed at the end of the Break Reflection or ASL session to PowerSchool for the teacher to mark even if the assignment is not fully completed as the window for completing that assignment in its entirety will have closed. 

Communicating Student Progress  

In the MS, students will receive ongoing feedback from their teachers regarding their academic achievement levels and transdisciplinary transfer goals. Each subject area has subject specific Reporting Strands and uses leveled descriptors for their marking scheme (Deep -DEP, Developed - DEV, Emerging -EMG, Limited - LM). Instead of a percentile-based system, teachers assess and grade student performance against subject standards using four levels of proficiency. Descriptions for each level can be found below: 

Transdisciplinary Transfer Goals 

In the MS, cultivating strong learner habits is essential for intellectual and personal development. These highly valued attributes enable our students to grow and to succeed. Furthermore, such learning and innovation skills are increasingly being recognized as those that separate students who are prepared for the future, and those who are not. At AISR, all classroom subjects use the same Transdisciplinary Transfer Goals to communicate learner habits across content areas. 

PowerSchool and Keeping Track of Academic Progress 

PowerSchool is AIS-R’s Student Information System, which is for students and families to keep track of students’ academic progress. The gradebook functions as a “live” gradebook, which means that students and parents can monitor student performance at any point in a semester. This allows students to develop greater independence and take responsibility for missing assignments. Students are also encouraged to explain their learning to their parents and advocate for themselves with increasing confidence as they grow in Middle School.

If students have questions or concerns about their progress, they are requested to respectfully meet with their teacher to gain a better understanding of what was assessed. Since PowerSchool only represents a brief snapshot in time of a student’s learning progression, it is important that lines of communication are open, and students seek to understand how they can continue to grow and learn. A student’s final level of achievement may change throughout the semester and is not considered final until the end of the grading period. 

Report Cards and Progress Reports 

Progress reports are issued at the mid-point of each academic semester. These reports communicate information regarding each student’s transdisciplinary transfer goals as well as their academic progress in each class. Academic progress is shared through the performance level attained in each of the Reporting Strands per subject (Deep -DEP, Developed-DEV, Emerging-EMG, Limited-LIM). Transdisciplinary Transfer Goals (Inquisitive, Independent, Resilient and Positive Changemaker) are reported using the following descriptors (Consistently Evident -CE, Usually Evident - UE, Sometimes Evident - SE and Rarely Evident - RE).

Report Cards are shared in PowerSchool at the end of the first semester and again at the end of the second semester. Report Cards will include an update on academic progress, transdisciplinary transfer goals, and include a narrative comment about the learner. If a student receives an Emerging or Limited for any of their Reporting Strands, their progress will be monitored more closely.