Assessment in the MYP

At ISH we believe that assessment is not an aim in itself but a way to better understand and respond to teaching and learning. Thus assessment is an ongoing process of collecting and analyzing information about each students’ achievements, identifying learning needs and providing feedback on progress.

MYP assessment model

Assessment in the MYP emphasises gathering and analysing information about student learning and provides timely feedback to students on their progress. MYP assessment is best described as internal and continuous: internal, because the assessment tasks, strategies and tools are designed, developed and applied by teachers working with students in the school; and continuous because the MYP requires teachers to organize assessment consistently and regularly over the course of the programme, not just at the end of semester or at the end of year.

The IB provides objectives for each subject group in the MYP. Assessment is based upon published criteria, which are directly related to the objectives of each subject group. Teachers are responsible for developing authentic assessment according to the published subject objectives. A wide variety of assessment tasks are used, such as projects, oral presentations and performances, investigations, written papers and essays. Assessment strategies used by teachers combine teacher-led assessments, group and/or peer evaluations and student self-assessments.

All common assessment in the MYP, in courses taught by more than one teacher, is subject to internal standardization. This is organized by the subject group departments and carried out regularly throughout the year to ensure validity and reliability of our assessment.

Core Components of Assessment Practices at ISH

In alingment with the MYP assessment model described above, at ISH we implement a set of assessment practices, which connect and support all learners:

• Continuous Improvement Opportunities: Assessment is not linear nor sequential. Assessment is an ongoing process, it is not detached from learning but is a natural and essential part of it.

• Variety of Methods: Learning needs to be consistently supported by a variety of authentic and balanced tasks, which allow for quality feedback and consequently quality learning

• Student Involvement: Students are actively engaged in monitoring their own learning through self regulation.

• Design: Basing everything we do on inquiry cycle and design cycle helps us to ensure that we approach learning as a process and aim at improving step by step (importance of formative tasks)

• Authentic Experiences: Careful consideration must be given to the number of tasks and their timing → assessment is not something that happens only at the end of a unit

• Clear Learning Intentions: Importance of being totally transparent about the type of assessment that each unit has and making it clear to the student → “here are the skills that you will be developing in this unit in order to be able to do this”

• Validity of assessment: Is the task valid = does it measure what it is supposed to measure? Does it allow all students to access all levels of achievement?

• Reliability of assessment: internal moderation within departments