Act Justly, Love Tenderly, And walk humbly with our God
Micah 6:8
School Contact Information |
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Contact us: 28 Clewley Street, Phone: (07) 3379 6937 Fax: (07) 3379 9690 Email: |
A Brisbane Catholic Education School
ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING - Determining the Progress |
The overarching goal for learning according to Brisbane Catholic Education Learning Framework is to empower learners of all ages to shape and enrich our changing world, by living the gospel of Jesus Christ.St Joseph 's School is a supportive learning community, planning from the roles for life long learning consistently, explicitly and creatively for the benefit of every learner.ASSESSMENT Assessment and Reporting is an integral part of the learning cycle i.e. planning, teaching, learning, assessment, reporting. Assessment is the purposeful, systematic and ongoing collection of evidence supporting a child's achievements. At St Joseph's teachers plan learning opportunities and activities using an Outcomes approach. The process of assessment in an outcomes approach involves:• Students being provided opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do in relation to the outcomes. • Collection of evidence of students' demonstrations of the outcomes. • Teachers making decisions about students' demonstrations of outcomes. • Teachers reporting appropriately to all stakeholders – students, parents, teachers and school community. Written records of observations of students' performances made during the course of lessons or as a result of assigned activities or tasks, provide teachers with the evidence necessary to make decisions about students' demonstrations of learning outcomes. Judgments are not made by comparing students with each other. At St Joseph's our emphasis is not on tests with marks and percentages. This ritual has often resulted in unfortunate comparisons which tended to turn primary schooling into a race in which one child's success depended on whether or not he/she did better than another child. Teachers collect products from learning activities over a period of time, for example, annotated samples of a student's work, anecdotal records, checklists, video/audio tapes. This collection of student work provides a clearer, more complete picture of a student's accomplishments. Teachers can make judgments about students' demonstrations of learning outcomes when they are satisfied that they have sufficient evidence of such demonstrations. To make these judgments, teachers:• Analyses what it is that students are expected to know and be able to do • Consider the outcomes at the level below and the level above the focus core learning outcome(s) • Use information from the student products • Make a judgment about which core learning outcome(s) the student has demonstrated. The exercise of each teacher's professional judgment is fundamental to assessment and reporting processes. Decisions are based on criteria (which has been made known to the students), using a range of evidence to determine demonstrations of learning outcomes. Over an extended period of time the teachers at St Joseph's keep records that provide the substance on which decisions about overall development and emerging needs can be made. Such records assist the teacher to make a balanced overall assessment of each child's progress but it must be stressed that the teacher's observation of children's behaviour from day to day provides the most valuable insight into children's growth and needs in all areas of the curriculum.
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REPORTINGHow we report to parents: Reporting is the process of communicating information, obtained from the assessment process, about students' demonstrations of learning outcomes. Reporting may be formal or informal. Reporting provides information on:• Assessment opportunities • Evidence gathered • Judgments made about students' demonstrations of learning outcomes. Early in the year there are parent/teacher information nights. This provides a forum for both parents and teachers to express their hopes and expectations for the year ahead.At the end of first semester, a report, in the form of a discussion starter, is issued to parents. The report indicates . . . • Progress in key learning areas • Pupil achievement and effort • Interest level in cultural activities • Personal qualities • Attendance It is expected that this report will be expanded upon in a parent/teacher interview. This is an important time for parents and teachers to discuss and plan for the children's success during the remainder of the year. A more detailed report is forwarded to parents at the end of the second semester and interviews can be arranged at other times on a teacher or parent request basis. Parent/Teacher interviews can be arranged at a mutually agreeable time throughout the year by contacting the school secretary. Students in Years 3, 5 and 7 sit a State Government Test in August of each year and the school receives the results in November. Parents receive their child's individual results with the Second Semester's Report Card.The School's overall performance in Literacy & Numeracy are published on this web site early the following year. Progress of student in Years 1, 2 and 3 is maintained via the diagnostic Net which is a useful tool to identify students who need additional support in literacy and numeracy. It is important to note that good communication between parents and teachers is vital to successfully report on a child's school progress. Much can be done throughout the year to enhance good relations between teachers and parents and this makes the reporting session more relaxed and beneficial to all.
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