Philosophy and Purpose:

Childs Elementary School is committed to developing internationally minded lifelong learners who collaborate in order to understand, celebrate and impact our interconnected global community. An enriched environment is created through challenging curriculum, intercultural lines of inquiry and authentic assessment focused on the whole child. To that end, we believe that assessment is vital to teaching and learning.  Assessment guides instruction while providing valuable feedback. It is central to the PYP’s goal of "thoughtfully and effectively guiding children through the five essential elements of learning:  the understanding of concepts, the acquisition of knowledge, the mastery of skills, the development of attitudes and the decision to take responsible action." 

Practices:

Qualitative and quantitative assessment guides planning and instruction in order to support and enhance student learning. Assessment is frequent, ongoing, varied and continuous.

Teachers use assessment to discover what students know prior to instruction.

Teachers assess using a variety of strategies to discover student skills, abilities and knowledge in order to differentiate instruction.

Students reflect on their learning to demonstrate what and how they have learned and also how they are growing as life-long learners. Through active engagement in ongoing assessment, students become self-regulated learners who act on constructive feedback.

Diagnostic assessments determine student strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, skills and learning styles and are used to meet student needs.

Formative assessments provide continuous feedback to find gaps in learning, identify specific needs and determine next steps.

Summative assessments are used to measure acquisition of information, basic skills as well as transfer of learning to new situations.

Authentic assessments allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the central idea in the IB Units of Study, apply what they have learned to new situations as well as to demonstrate and reflect on the key concepts, learner profile attributes, approaches to learning, and action taken.

Teachers collaboratively use assessment to evaluate and strengthen their learning processes and practices.

Multiple and creative forms of assessment are used and valued for students to demonstrate their agency and understanding.

Reflection and goal setting helps students and teachers understand their own needs, how to improve and reach expectations.

Assessment is used to communicate student progress to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community.

Assessment helps parents to observe and understand learning goals and progress, provide support outside of school and celebrate learning.

Types of Assessment:

Diagnostic assessment: is used prior to instruction in order to determine the student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, skills and learning styles. The information obtained is used to adjust instruction to meet specific student needs.

Formative assessment: is used frequently throughout the learning process to find gaps in learning, identify specific struggles and to determine next steps. These structured and unstructured assessments provide continuous feedback on the learning process and to plan the next stage in learning.

Summative assessment: is used to measure the acquisition of information and basic skills as well as the transfer of what is learned to new situations. Through these assessments, students are given varied opportunities to demonstrate their learning.

Assessments required by the district and state: 

Documentation and Reporting:

Communication is established, encouraged and maintained to report progress to students and families.

Learning is assessed, reported and recorded through the Units of Inquiry, Learner Profile attributes, student portfolios, conferencing and the district/state assessments.

A collection of student artifacts chosen by the students, teachers and parents are placed in portfolios. These portfolios are designed to highlight students’ success, growth over time, display students’ higher order thinking skills, creativity, action, reflection and goal setting.

Standards based report cards with district identified essential learnings are available each nine-week grading period.

Students reflect and set goals for the Learner profile attributes which are included with either the district report card or the portfolio.

Parent/teacher conferences formally take place at least once a year, with some grade levels conducting student-led conferences. Teachers regularly keep parents informed of student progress through notes, email, phone calls and conferences.

Reports from required state and district assessments are sent home which include scores, explanations of those scores and suggestions for instruction.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) reports are sent to parents who then meet with staff to discuss and plan for instruction.

WIDA Individual Learning Plans (ILP) are sent to parents and teachers to discuss and plan for instruction.

Homework: as stated in our School Handbook

Parent/Guardian’s Role: Cooperation by parents/guardians is a necessary factor in meaningful homework experiences. Parents/Guardians can encourage their children by showing interest in and exhibiting helpful attitudes toward homework. They should:

-Provide a quiet, well-lighted place for study.

-Establish a regular “homework time” in the home. Help the student set aside adequate time for homework completion.

- Encourage and support the student’s efforts. Be available for questions, but remember that homework is the child’s, not the parent’s responsibility.

-Encourage the child to seek help and ask questions of the teacher when in doubt about an assignment.

-Communicate with the teacher whenever the child has consistent difficulty with homework assignments.

Student’s Role: In the early grades, the effectiveness of homework assignments depends largely on the concern each student’s parents and teachers show for his/her welfare. As the student matures, however, his/her success with homework becomes progressively more dependent on individual efforts. The student with guidance from teachers and parents should continue to develop responsibility for communication between home and school. Each student has the responsibility to develop good work and study habits. The student should:

-Clarify with the teacher any questions pertaining to homework instructions before leaving class or at other times when the teacher is available.

- Take home any materials and information needed to complete the assignment.

- Learn to budget his/her time. When study time is provided during the day, the student should take advantage of it. Long-term assignments should be planned so they do not have to be completed all at once.

With the aid of their parents:

-Set aside a special time in which to do the assignment.

-Find a place free from excessive noise and other distractions in which to work.

-Organize activities and work so assignments can be completed in a reasonable length of time.

-Check carefully the completed assignments.

-Return all work completed to the teacher by the date requested.

- Accept the responsibility to determine assignments and make up work missed during an illness or excused absence.

-Plan for anticipated leisure, extra-curricular and social activities so that school assignments will not suffer.

Exhibition:

Takes place in grade 6, the final year of the PYP at Childs Elementary

Provides an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the Learner Profile and to engage in a collaborative inquiry. It involves identifying, investigating, and offering solutions to real life issues or problems.

Provides an opportunity for students to exhibit the essential elements of the IB PYP and share them with the school community.

Provides students with a chance to demonstrate independence and responsibility for their own learning

Provides students with an opportunity to explore multiple perspectives as they investigate a topic.

Provides students with an opportunity to synthesize, apply, and reflect on their journey through the PYP at Childs Elementary.

Demonstrates how students take action as a result of their learning.

Celebrates the student’s transition from elementary to middle school.

Assessment and the Learner Profile:

Students and teachers:

● ask questions about ourselves as learners (inquirer)

● make real world connections as a result of our learning (knowledgeable)

● think about what and how we have learned (thinker)

● share our learning with others and give feedback (communicator)

● set realistic and honest goals (principled)

● acknowledge that not all learners learn in the same way or at the same pace (open-minded)

● celebrate the learning of everyone (caring)

● try new ways to show our learning (risk-taker)

● use a variety of methods to demonstrate learning (balanced)

● reflect on the ways that we learn (reflective)

Confidentiality:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as well as other state and federal laws, govern the confidentiality of a student’s educational records. Our school and staff protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information concerning all children during the collection, storage, and destruction of information. A school official is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of information and has received training in these procedures. The school provides training regarding confidentiality to anyone on the staff who collects or maintains this information, and must maintain a current list of the names and positions of school employees who have access to personally identifiable information in a child’s educational record. This list is available for public inspection. The school keeps a record of those persons, except parents and authorized employees of the school district, who obtain access to a student’s record, including names, dates, and purposes for the access.

Confidential information is used only as needed to perform specific job responsibilities or assigned activities. Staff agrees a) to only access confidential information for which one would have a need to know; b)not to disclose, copy, release, sell, loan, review, alter or destroy any confidential information except in the scope of regular job responsibilities or assigned activities; c) not to share or disclose specific student information with anyone other than those persons within or outside the school corporation authorized to see such information; d) not misuse or be careless with confidential information.

Policy Review:

This policy is a working document that will be reviewed each year by the Leadership team to make sure that it is in compliance with the IB organization as well as district and state guidelines. The grade level representatives on that team will share with their team members to get feedback. It will be posted in a shared drive with the ability to comment. The policy will also be available to stakeholders on the Childs website

• District Created Benchmark tests in Reading and Math
• SIPPS assessments (Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words)
• PAST assessments (Phonological Awareness Skills Test)
• District Reading Fluency Assessment (Rasinski)
• DRA2 Word Analysis
• Surveys (completed by students and parents)
• Visible Thinking Strategies
• Classroom Observations
• Teacher made pre-tests
• Kingore Observation Inventory for High Ability
• WIDA Access Placement Test for English Language Learners
• Standardized tests and observations by School Psychological Services, Speech/Hearing Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist
• SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory)
• Anecdotal and conference notes
• Student reflection and goal setting: notebooks, logs, daily exit slips
• Classroom observation
• Constructed responses
• Informal quizzes and tests
• Rubrics: student and teacher created
• Peer review
• Portfolios: reflecting on growth over time
• Progress Monitoring assessments
• Running Records
• Visible Thinking Strategies
• Student work
• Student reflection and goal setting: notebooks, logs, exit slips
• Student and teacher created exemplars and rubrics
• Tests and quizzes
• Reflection and Goal setting sheets for the attributes of the Learner Profile and the Transdiciplinary Skills
• IB Unit Planner Summative Assessments allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the central idea. Students are encouraged to express that understanding using a varying learning styles, multiples intelligences and abilities. The summative assessment task provides opportunities for the student to apply what is learned to a new situation and to demonstrate and reflect on the IB PYP Elements: knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action taken.
• District common formative and summative assessments in ELA and Math
• DESSA Student Strengths Assessment, once per year
• ILEARN (Indiana Learning Assessment Readiness Network) grades 3-6 once per year
• IREAD3 (Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination) grade 3 once per year
• Indiana Dyslexia screener grades K-2
• AIMSweb reading assessment grades K-2
• INVIEW Cognitive Abilities Aptitude Test grades 3 and 6
• CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) grade K one per year
• TOPS (Teacher's Observation of Potential in Students) grades K-6
• WIDA Access for English Language Learners
• Kingore Observation Inventory for High Ability
• NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) for High Ability Placement
• PAST assessments (Phonological Awareness Skills Test) grades K-2
• Standardized tests and observations by School Psychological Services, Speech/Hearing Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist to determine placement for Special Education Services