Applying assessment criteria

In the MYP teachers assess student progress using the assessment criteria for each subject group.  Teachers make decisions about student achievement using their professional judgment, guided by the subject criteria that are public, known in advance and precise, ensuring that assessment is transparent. Across a variety of assessment tasks , teachers use descriptors to identify students’ achievement levels against established assessment criteria.  Criterion-based assessment allows teachers to target both areas of student strength as well as opportunities for student growth. A student is not judged against the work of other students, but against assessment criteria which the teacher shows and explains to the student. This feedback process helps students to track her/his progress and to see where she/he needs to improve. 

Assessment process step-by-step:

1. For each MYP unit, teachers design a number of tasks. Tasks

• cover one or more criteria (A-D) depending of the learning objectives

• represent different types: written assignments, oral presentations, experiments, projects, role-plays, debates, exhibitions, essays, performances, tests, research papers, etc. As appropriate, students are involved in designing tasks and presented with different options to show their skills and understanding.

• include both formative and summative work, including peer and self-assessment. Teachers explain to students what formative and summative assessment mean.

2. The criteria and the learning objectives for each task are explained in class and published on ManageBac.

3. Results (= achievement level out of 8 on the criteria and individual feedback) are again explained by teachers and shared on ManageBac.

• Student achievement level is determined holistically using a “best-fit” approach.  This means that student is awarded the achievement level that overall best describes the quality of their work. 

4. Students are assessed on each criterion in each subject at least twice in a school year.