The Government of Ontario sets the specific curriculum that is covered throughout the year in each grade and in each subject area. Please use this as a reference point as you ask questions about your child's learning and work with your child at home.
Collection of Data:
I gather evidence of student knowledge on a subject topic in three ways. The first form is oral (conferencing with students). The second is through observation (how are students participating in activities and discussions). The final assessment method is through written tasks. The form of assessment that students bring home are written tasks; however, your child's marks are the result of all forms of collecting data.
Stages of Assessment:
An expectation within our board is that teachers are assessing FOR, AS, and OF learning.
"Assessment for Learning" are any assessments given at the beginning of a unit or new learning to find out what students already know and areas of need so units can be tailored accordingly.
"Assessment as Learning" are assessments conducted throughout a unit. These type of assessments are "check ins" to evaluate how well students are understanding new concepts taught. They also highlight areas in which students need extra practice.
"Assessment of Learning" are assessments given when students have had time to practice new (or previously taught) concepts. These assessments evaluate how well a student understands and applies his/her learning. Assessment of learning can occur throughout a unit, however usually are given at the conclusion of a unit. They are a final evaluation of the concepts taught.
Forms of Assessment:
Three common forms of assessment that I use are co-created Success Criteria, rubrics and at times a numerical scale.
Checklists, such as "Success Criteria", identify a mark based on whether or not students have met or exceeded specific expectations from a list of expectations. Students either meet, exceed, or do not meet a given expectation. To view a sample of a checklist, click on the PDF file "Paragraph Success Criteria" at the bottom of this page.
Rubrics, or "Achievement Charts", are another common assessment method. A rubric highlights the 4 main areas of learning: Knowledge, Thinking, Communication, and Application. The Government of Ontario has published general rubrics for each subject area. To view a general rubric for each subject area, please refer to "The Achievement Chart" found in the introductory section of each curriculum document.
A numerical scale (a number out of something, e.g., 3/5) is used when I am only assessing for Knowledge. I assess for knowledge when it is a single skill I am looking to see if a student has mastered or not (using the algorithm to solve an addition problem).
The Government of Ontario has published a collection of student work from across the province which shows what a standard Level 1 (D), Level 2 (C), Level 3 (B), and Level 4 (A) in a specific grade looks like. These student examples are called "exemplars". They are a tool teachers use to help assess their students' levels in various strands across the curriculum. The exemplars are task-specific, which simply means they are a reference point and need to be adapted to whatever task/skill students are working on. The exemplars are organized according to grade and should give you a good idea of what each level looks like.
