Assessment at Ambrit

How will I know how my child is doing?
At Ambrit, assessment is an integral part of all teaching and learning. Although teachers are responsible for assessing students, the students are also expected to take an active role in this important aspect of their education.

Assessment is divided into the following areas:
Assessing: Discovering what the students have learned
Recording: Collecting and analyzing this data
Reporting: Communicating this data

Assessing and Recording:

At Ambrit we use various strategies and tools to assess our students’ progress.

Some of these strategies are:
• Observations
• Performance: oral presentations, experiment, skill, model, debate, role-play, drama
• Process-focused: conversations, conference, interviews, learning logs
• Selected response: Tests and quizzes
• Open-ended tasks: brief written answers, illustrations, charts, diagrams, solutions
• Self Assessment

These are some of the assessment tools:
• Rubrics: student and/or teacher-designed criteria
• Benchmarks: school-wide standards and benchmarks
• Checklists: marking schemes
• Anecdotal records: brief written notes based on observations of students
• Continuums: which show a progression of achievement or identify where a student is in a process.

Reporting

Calendar of Reporting for Early Childhood and Primary

What is Target Setting?
The week before target setting day, students will reflect on their learning with teacher support to identify three or four long-range goals that the child will work on throughout the school year.
 
Your child’s goals may fall into three categories:
Social – behavior in class, relationships with peers, role in group work, sense of social responsibility, participation, leadership, etc.
Academic – learning in specific subject areas, basic facts, becoming a self-directed learner, attitudes towards learning, willingness to take risks and make mistakes, etc.
Organizational – turning homework in on time, completing assignments, organizing materials, etc.
 
During the Target-setting conference, teacher and parents will meet to discuss these targets and come to an agreement on how these goals can be met in school and at home. This is also an opportunity for dialogue about any other issues that may need discussing.

What are Student Portfolios?
A portfolio is a collection of student work that is designed to demonstrate successes, growth, creativity and reflection. Teacher and student will select work for the portfolio throughout the year, giving them the opportunity to reflect on their learning and select work based on different criteria.
 The age of students will determine how portfolios are developed and used. The portfolio provides evidence of academic growth and the PYP in practice.
 
What are Student-led Conferences?
Student-led Conference day is when parents are invited by the teacher to participate in a conference led by their own child. The student is in charge of the conference and shares work that he/she has selected from his/her portfolio.
Student-led conferences are school wide, from Nursery to Grade 8 and show growth and development in all subject areas. The teacher’s role is to guide and prepare the students for this important role.  The emphasis is on the discussion between a child and his/her parent.
 
Why will we have Student-led Conferences?
The three main purposes for implementing student-led conferences are to celebrate a child’s learning, show growth over time, and provide parents with a better understanding of their child’s learning process.
As students create portfolios and participate in student-led conferences, they learn to organize and self-evaluate their work on an on-going basis. It is also an opportunity to refer back to the targets set in October.
 
How can I support my child during Student-led Conferences?
While your child will be “leading” the conference, they may be nervous or excited about having you in class and sharing their work with you. In order to create a meaningful dialogue with your child about his/her work, we will provide you with guiding questions and prompts a few days before the conference to ensure a positive conference experience. Teachers will also be there to facilitate the conference.

Reporting in Middle School

• Short mid-term progress reports - November and April
• Written report - January and June
• Student-led Conferences - January
• Regular correspondence (email, notes, class unit newsletter) from class teacher