LETTER FROM SCHOOL TO PARENT– PRIMARY SCHOOL (SUGGESTED COPY)

Dear [Parents/Guardians],

In our rapidly changing world, it is becoming more and more important for our children to develop strong skills as they progress through their education. Whilst our curriculum tests a student’s ability to recall what they have learned in a variety of subject/domain areas, we think it’s important to do more than that, particularly in the foundation years of learning.

For these reason,[school] will be implementing ICAS, a comprehensive skills-based assessment program that assesses higher order thinking and problem-solvingskills of students. We believe ICAS will give us deep insight into our students’ true capabilities and help us plan more effectively for their future years at school.

HOW ICAS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER ASSESSMENTSYOUR CHILD WILL TAKE:

  1. ICAS can tell us whether students really understand what they are being taught, or whether they have just been rote-learning curriculum content.
  2. ICAS can help us discover student talent and student weaknessesthat don’t always get picked up by the curriculum testing framework.
  3. ICAS won’t add extra workload to a student’s study or homework regime because ICAS is a test you can’t study for. It evaluates thinking and problem-solving ability,not memory.
  4. ICAS’s diagnostic reports will give all of us (teachers and parents) far more insight into your child’s strengths and weaknesses. At school, we can act on that by tailoring our teaching and learning programs; at home, you will know where to direct more encouragement.
  5. ICAS will also give us an external benchmark we can rely on to ensure our school is keeping pace with national and international high standardsICAS is the most comprehensive and reputable assessment, with schools in over 20 countries participating every year.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

If you would like your child to participate, please complete the permission slip and return it, with payment to the school no later than [date and time]. PLEASE NOTE LATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

You can also find out more about ICAS at [school website].

Kind regards

[Insert appropriate sign-off]

2018 ICAS Permission Form

Please return this form with your payment, to your school no later than[date]

of

I give permission for my child, Child’sname Class

to participate in the following 2018ICAS assessments.

Please select the subjects you would like your child to participate in:

Subject/Paper / School Year / Official Sitting Date / Participation Fee(incl. GST)
Please insert the fee here (see schedule at / Fee Enclosed
Digital Technologies / Std 3 – Std 6 / 10April 2018
Science / Std 2 – Std 6 / 24 April 2018
Writing / Std 3 – Std 6 / 27 June2018
English / Std 2 – Std 6 / 17 July2018
Mathematics / Std 2 – Std 6 / 31 July2018
TOTAL

Students must sit on the official sitting date for each subject to be eligible for UNSW medals.

Please find enclosedfor payment of the total fee.

Amount

Name of Parent/Guardian Date

Signature of Parent/Guardian