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Professional Practice
Standard 5 - Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
Standard 5 - Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
I am aware of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (2014) Principles and Practices of Assessments and use them as part of my teaching practice. These principles state that assessment needs to be an integral part of teaching and learning, fair, educative, purposeful, informs reporting and leads to a school-wide evaluation process. Assessment should provide more than one opportunity to allow students to show what they know and can do in relation to the curriculum outcomes that have been taught. It should facilitate and guide student learning and cater inclusively for all learning styles.
By using diagnostic assessments teachers are able to make judgments on a students prior knowledge and skills in order to ability group, provide guidance on the direction student learning, develop individual education plans and develop the classroom teaching and learning program. Formative assessment enables teachers to track student learning as they develop new understandings allowing for student feedback (celebrating achievements and correcting any misconceptions), it presents an opportunity for parent/carer feedback and provides an chance to assess the planned classroom program in relation to student learning and make adjustments. While summative assessments provide results for what the students now know and can do in relation to what has been taught, once again it provides student and parent/carer feedback opportunities as well as knowledge and data for the teacher to reflect on, assess and improve the units of work that have been taught.
At my place of employment I been a participant of in-service development opportunities such as making consistent judgments in regard to assessing student writing ,developing rubrics for assessment and using MTS online to track student achievement (a whole school approach).
By using diagnostic assessments teachers are able to make judgments on a students prior knowledge and skills in order to ability group, provide guidance on the direction student learning, develop individual education plans and develop the classroom teaching and learning program. Formative assessment enables teachers to track student learning as they develop new understandings allowing for student feedback (celebrating achievements and correcting any misconceptions), it presents an opportunity for parent/carer feedback and provides an chance to assess the planned classroom program in relation to student learning and make adjustments. While summative assessments provide results for what the students now know and can do in relation to what has been taught, once again it provides student and parent/carer feedback opportunities as well as knowledge and data for the teacher to reflect on, assess and improve the units of work that have been taught.
At my place of employment I been a participant of in-service development opportunities such as making consistent judgments in regard to assessing student writing ,developing rubrics for assessment and using MTS online to track student achievement (a whole school approach).
5.1 Assess student learning. Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
Situation
While on my final school experience, in a pre-primary classroom, I was given the opportunity to be actively involved a variety of assessment tasks. Beginning with diagnostic tasks at the start of term, formative part way through and summative at the end. Although there is not a formal report that goes home to parents/carers, student achievement is recorded via annotated work samples and assessment check lists are displayed in a student portfolio. At the host school summative assessments are undertaken at the end of each term to show student gains. Formative assessments are done half way through each term to determine whether students are reaching the educational targets. The classroom teacher also explained that these assessments provide a reflection tool for the planning, teaching and learning cycle in the classroom and guides future teaching in the room. By noting groups and individuals who may not be achieving targets and by extending the learning of those who have.
Action
During this process I used a variety of strategies including individual interviews to test student abilities in relation to the schools targets (literacy checklists and testing resources) which are directly liked to the Australian curriculum. I also used the set pre-primary assessment worksheets that are completed individually (E.g. word problem worksheet). Once assessments are finalised they are annotated with target descriptors and parents are provided with evidence of their child's learning (sample annotated portfolio page).
Outcome
From the formative and summative assessment processes I was able to provide feedback to students regarding their learning and engage with some of the parents/carers to celebrate achievements and discuss any difficulties their child is having achieving the school targets. This included discussing and updating Individual Education Plans (IEP's), providing information on what was happening in the school to support students and also to suggest ways in which the children can be supported at home.
Importantly from the testing process the student data is analysed and results are used to begin planning for the future teaching and learning in the classroom.
While on my final school experience, in a pre-primary classroom, I was given the opportunity to be actively involved a variety of assessment tasks. Beginning with diagnostic tasks at the start of term, formative part way through and summative at the end. Although there is not a formal report that goes home to parents/carers, student achievement is recorded via annotated work samples and assessment check lists are displayed in a student portfolio. At the host school summative assessments are undertaken at the end of each term to show student gains. Formative assessments are done half way through each term to determine whether students are reaching the educational targets. The classroom teacher also explained that these assessments provide a reflection tool for the planning, teaching and learning cycle in the classroom and guides future teaching in the room. By noting groups and individuals who may not be achieving targets and by extending the learning of those who have.
Action
During this process I used a variety of strategies including individual interviews to test student abilities in relation to the schools targets (literacy checklists and testing resources) which are directly liked to the Australian curriculum. I also used the set pre-primary assessment worksheets that are completed individually (E.g. word problem worksheet). Once assessments are finalised they are annotated with target descriptors and parents are provided with evidence of their child's learning (sample annotated portfolio page).
Outcome
From the formative and summative assessment processes I was able to provide feedback to students regarding their learning and engage with some of the parents/carers to celebrate achievements and discuss any difficulties their child is having achieving the school targets. This included discussing and updating Individual Education Plans (IEP's), providing information on what was happening in the school to support students and also to suggest ways in which the children can be supported at home.
Importantly from the testing process the student data is analysed and results are used to begin planning for the future teaching and learning in the classroom.