Parkland Magnet High School IB Diploma/Career Related ProgrammesAssessment Policy

Philosophy

Core principles of learning:

  • Courses will prepare students for the next level of study in each content area.
  • Courses will develop the world lens and perspective for all students
  • Courses will develop trans-disciplinary skills such as writing, reading, reasoning, communicating, and collaborating.
  • Courses will be content driven with a focus on inquiry based learning and student mastery.

With these core principles in mind, assessments should:

  • Monitor the progress of both student learning and achievement
  • Be both formative (to assist students in building understanding, skills, and knowledge) and summative (to assess students’ acquired knowledge, skills, and understanding) in nature.
  • Reflect the attributes of the IB Learner Profile.
  • Measure what students understand, what they can do, and what they know.
  • Align with the final assessments given in all courses.
  • Include a wide range of instructional strategies.
  • Provide feedback for students.
  • Provide data to facilitate instruction.
  • Be adapted for individual learning styles and account for individual student needs.
  • Provide opportunities for self–reflection among learners.

Why do we assess our students?

We feel that assessment of students is two-fold :

  1. To assess our teaching and the students’ comprehension of the curriculum;
  2. To give students tools to self-evaluate and reflect upon their own learning and understanding of the material.

The first type of assessment takes place to determine student growth, learning, and preparation for final exams in all courses, not just the IB exams. The second type of assessment is used to provide feedback to students so that they might know what topics they have mastered and what topics that they need to work on to achieve mastery of the curriculum.

Internal Moderation & Use of DP/CP Practice Assessments

Teachers will frequently provide opportunities for students to participate in Mock Internal Assessments( IAs) or Mock IB assessments as a means of ensuring that the final IAs and IB exams will be a true reflection of the student’s marks, according to the standard set by the IB. This continual use of assessment criteria will also provide the student and teacher with feedback, as well as determine levels of achievement throughout the two years of the programme.

How do we assess our students?

To assess our students, teachers must participate in formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment can be both informal and formal, but, most importantly, it facilitates instruction. Teachers can then adjust lessons to the needs of the students' understanding, based on the information gathered through the assessments.

Because teachers are experts in their subject area and the art of delivery, their judgment of student knowledge is continuous and instinctive. Formative assessment may also be done with the use of technology where students are given feedback immediately. Teachers use the data to inform them whether to move the lesson forward, or they need re-teach material.

Summative assessment is necessary to provide feedback to students to demonstrate mastery of topics studied. Summative assessments should occur periodically throughout units and then as a culmination to a given unit. Summative assessment is not the only measure. However, students should be provided the opportunity to prove that they have mastered a concept even though the assessment has passed. Learning of a concept is the expectation for all students, recognizing that some students’ learning curve is less steep than others. Teachers must be willing to differentiate instruction and re-assess a student if mastery of a concept has occurred after a summative assessment has already taken place.

  • How do we create effective assessments that accurately measure achievement?
  • Assessments are created through professional learning communities.
  • Summative assessments outcomes match information gathered from formative assessments.
  • Summative assessments are aligned with the course standards.
  • Assessments focus on transcendental skills across disciplines.
  • Formative Assessment focuses on development of student learning
  • How do we know the assessment is/was a good indicator of student learning?
  • Assessment provides adequate feedback for the teacher to adjust instruction
  • Significant growth in academic potential is evident based on a standardized curriculum-based measurement
  • Direct observation of an increase in student engagement in both the academic and affective behavior
  • Overall progress towards grade level goals.

Grading/Marking

  • Grading/marking of assessments is determined by each individual teacher’s professional knowledge and judgment but is standardized for weighting. IB rubrics are used in each discipline, and Parkland administration strongly encourages the philosophy of holistic grading, and teaching the whole child when applying final grades in each IB course. The use of rubrics for assessment provides a more objective mark, while also providing a means to standardize assessment. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools use a ten point percentage scale to determine quarter averages which are published to parents as numerical grades on quarterly reports:

90-100 A
79-89 B
68-78 C
57-67 D
0-56 F

The assessments recorded for each student throughout the year counts as 75% of their final grade and the final exam in the course is worth 25%. The final grade is determined by weighting an A as a 4; B as a 3; C as a 2; D as a 1; and F as a 0. Final grades reported on transcripts are determined using a weighted four point scale with IB courses earning 1 extra quality point per grade.

Recording/Reporting of assessments:

Teachers are expected to maintain current assessment grades through an electronic grade book entitled PowerSchool. Parents have access to this grade book on a web portal, and may periodically check students’ grades. Teachers may also use Haiku, a teacher social networking site with gradebook capabilities, to communicate with students and parents formative assessment feedback.

In addition, teachers and students use Managebac to communicate with one another, and submit assignments for feedback. The calendar feature allows everyone to see current and future assessments, to plan more effectively in order to not overburden one group of students or teachers.

Homework

The philosophy of homework assignment at Parkland High School is to extend skills learned in class and to prepare for upcoming class participations/discussions. It is not intended to be busy work; nor, is it always collected for accuracy. It is to be an extension for students to master learned skills in the classroom. It is also used as a tool to extend further research for students.

Through Managebac, the entire IB faculty can monitor the amount of homework assigned, and can adjust timelines as necessary, so as not to overburden the teacher or student.

Language

At Parkland Magnet High School, students will be assessed in the English language, with the exception of Group 2 World Language courses. We acknowledge that all our students are not native English speakers. We value all student backgrounds and cultures; it is important to us that students learn in ways that are authentic and specific to whom they are as individuals. As outlined in PHS's Language Policy, our school "recognizes that support of the mother-tongue language is fundamental to the acquisition of knowledge across the curriculum.” English learners are provided support through periodic formal surveying of their language skills and appropriately designed modifications that are used by all teachers. Teachers are encouraged to help students develop their English language skills, while providing assessment for growth specific to the content area. When formatively assessing content knowledge, teachers will mark students taking into consideration their growing language skills.

Roles/Responsibilities for Implementing, Evaluating, and Reviewing

The assessment policy will be shared with the faculty and staff at Parkland Magnet High School at the beginning of each year by the IB committee and the IB/CP coordinator. New staff will attend a new teacher meeting with the principal to continue discussion of our assessment policy. Subject areas will meet and review the policy each year and provide feedback for improvements or changes necessary to ensure assessment practices meet the core principles of learning as outlined in this document. The School Improvement Team (SIT) team will review the assessment policy to determine if any changes need to be made before presenting it to the entire faculty.

The process for addendums or changes to the assessment policy will be to add comments on the Google doc, or to send comments in writing to the DP/CP Coordinator. That information will then be shared with the IB Committee.

This policy was designed by a team of IB teachers in 2012. The IB Staff approved the policy, and the Principal and the IB Coordinator approved and authorized the final policy.

Bibliography:

DP Assessment from Principles into Practice, IBO, revised November 2010