Extracts from IslandCA Learning Policy (updated March 2016)

Criterion 9: Assessment that improves learning

Page 8 (within Curriculum Policy)

Teacher Creativity/ Flexibility

The curricula set out above are used as frameworks for planning and allocating subjects and as a basis
for assessment.
Teachers are also expected to regularly revisit and modify lesson & unit plans, based on the
evidence/feedback they receive from on-going assessment, with the goal of moving students on in
order to improve their learning.
Page 9 (within Curriculum Policy)

Teacher Planning/ Coordination

Teachers have scheduled time to work together as teams to build and develop plans for each subject
area and for integrated learning across subject areas. .. Plans must include learning intentions,
drawn from the Schools curriculum documents (Teacher Companions), and assessment opportunities
for subject, personal and international mindedness goals to ensure breadth of coverage, purposeful
learning and authentic assessment. Detailed expectations are outlined in the Staff Handbook.
Pages 22-23 (within Looking for Learning Policy)

Student Responsibility for Their Learning

Students at IslandCA will be active participants in, and take responsibility for, their own learning
because this leads to deeper, more meaningful learning over time. To be confident that learning is
taking place, we will expect that students :

>>>>>>
can describe the goals or performance requirements of what they are doing
can describe the criteria by which their work will be assessed
>>>>>>>>
are involved in self and peer assessments based on established criteria and use these criteria to guide
and revise their learning
set relevant goals based on feedback.

Teacher Facilitation of Student Learning

We expect our teachers to be teachers for learning which means they :

plan for learning and revise plans based on evidence of learning that has/is taking place
base their teaching on learning outcomes rather than teaching activities
have high expectations of students
use a differentiated learning approach to respond to students needs, strengths and ways of learning
>>>>>>>>>>>>

We will provide training, resources and encouragement to enable teachers to fulfill this role.

School-wide Support/ Systems for Student Learning

School leadership recognises that the following systems and structures indirectly, but importantly,
affect student learning. These are provided/ developed to maximise learning at IslandCA:

Develop curriculum documentation with clearly articulated learning goals that is reviewed/updated
regularly
Develop scope and sequences for developmentally appropriate, continuous learning in each subject
area
>>>>>>>>>>
Require beginning, mid- and end-of year data on student achievement to continuously assess
improvement in learning to date and plan for future improvement
Prioritise, and set clear targets for, improvements in learning in our annual School Improvement Plans
>>>>>
Hire teaching staff that share our passion for learning, articulate expectations, and focus performance
management on their impact on students learning.
>>>>>>

Pages 37 (within Assessment Policy)

In the implementation of Assessment FOR Learning.

Teachers will:
Distinguish between three types of learning ; knowledge (know about), skills (be able to) and
understanding (K,S,U)
Assess as appropriate the three types of learning e,g, knowledge through tests & quizzes and skills
through observation and rubrics, and understanding through time, space and reflection to
demonstrate understanding.
Use specific learning advice and oral and written feedback which identifies strengths and next steps
for improvement in learning
Promote student involvement in self-assessment
Act on insights gained to inform curricular targets
Analyse achievement data at the individual and classroom level.

Make standards and objectives explicit to students

Promote inclusion by attending to all students learning needs, particularly for students who are at risk
of underachievement
Engage students in rich questioning allowing wait time (time to think)
Build in time for focused observation of teacher-directed and child-initiated activity

Students will:
Know what to do to improve
Know what standards are required
Know what has been achieved against known success criteria and what to do next
Gain confidence, motivation and self-esteem as a learner
Increase their awareness and understanding of their own learning style(s) and of how they learn best
Improve their own self-evaluation skills
Make progress

Leaders will:
Monitor the quality of teacher assessment
Make arrangements to monitor the progress of individual students and diverse student groups
Analyse achievement data in most subjects across the whole school
Keep parents/caregivers informed and involved
Share assessment procedures with the community
Use assessment information to inform the schools improvement, action and development plans and
identify professional learning needs.

Pages 38 (within Assessment Policy)

IPC AfL Programme
At IslandCA, we use the IPC Assessment for learning programme that supports teachers in assessing
and students in self-assessing, their progress with key skills from the IPC Learning Goals. This
programme includes three key components which help define next steps and improve learning:
Teacher rubrics : essentially success criteria. They help teachers observe and record the level at which
children are learning in terms of Beginning, Developing and Mastering.
Student rubrics : child-friendly versions of the teachers, in age appropriate language, for children to
use when actively engaged in self and peer-assessing.
Learning advice : specific learning activities and advice, which can be used in the class and shared
with parents, that help children to move to the next stage with their learning.
This programme, of corresponding teacher and student rubrics and related learning advice to move a
student on in their learning, is being developed for, and/or already used in, other subject areas and is
an area for continued improvement.

Pages 39 (within Assessment Policy)

In the implementation of Assessment OF Learning.

Teachers will:
Identify gaps in students knowledge, skills and understanding
Identify weaknesses in the taught curriculum and in specific areas of learning through analysis of
performance which guide future planning
Implement strategies to accelerate progress to meet expectations (narrowing the gap)
Mark and measure against scores and levels

Students will:
Be able to self assess their learning (especially compared to his/her previous performance)
Be able to measure own learning against externally agreed criteria and standards
Have a measure of learning at specific milestones in life
Know what standards and expectations are required

Leaders will:
Ensure that there is consistency across year levels,
Monitor the delivered curricula
Provide, use and analyse data to enable external accountability and raise attainment
Keep parents/caregivers informed and involved
Use assessment information to inform the schools improvement, action and development plans and
identify professional learning needs
Monitor impact of the planned curriculum and compare performance across different subjects
Analyse data to identify groups at risk and to focus intervention on underachieving groups
Be accountable to the Board and community
Share assessment procedures with the community.

Pages 40 (within Assessment Policy)

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding (K,S,U)

We differentiate between three kinds of learning: knowledge, skills and understanding. All three need
to be assessed in order to get a full picture of students learning, but each one is assessed differently,
and students are taught to differentiate between these three kinds of assessment.
Knowledge
Knowledge is assessed through tests, quizzes and interviews. These are teacher-created assessments
based on learning in individual classrooms or across year bands. These are to be recorded and
reported on.
For consistency,, the knowledge assessment data collected will be cumulative and described by the
following standards.

Beginning

Working Towards
Meeting Expectations
Exceeding

Skills
Unlike knowledge, which can be right or wrong, skills development is a process and therefore need
a different manner of describing achievement. Skills have to be observed in context to be effectively
assessed. Skills are assessed through provided rubrics (teacher & student), and results are to be
recorded and reported on. For skills we use:

Beginning: The first recognizable performance of a given learning outcome.

Developing: A mid-point performance of a given learning outcome.
Mastering: The largely successful performance of a given learning outcome.

An assessed skill level (by teacher and/or student) is against specific developmentally-appropriate
targeted skills, so. if a student at the end Year 2 is assessed as Mastering in a skill (e.g. related to
researching) that is appropriate for Year 2 (or Milepost 1), then we would expect him/her to start the
following year as Beginning for a Year 3 (or Milepost 2) skill related to researching.
Understanding
Understanding is developed, and can be evaluated by a judgement of observations carried out over
time. Activities are planned, and time given for students to reflect on their understanding. An
understanding comment will be reported on in each report card.

Pages 41-42 (within Assessment Policy)

Assessment Record Keeping

Students:
When available (e.g. IPC, and other subjects as being developed) rubrics should be used in some
displayed form, allowing students to rate themselves and then get feedback from teachers. It is
strongly suggested that these rubrics also be sent home so parents and child can spend some time
discussing them as well. Year groups are encouraged to come up with age appropriate methods of
display for students to engage with their assessment progress. As assessments are conducted
(knowledge, skills or understanding reflections) they are to be kept with the student work leading up
to the assessments in order to chronicle the learning journey in a systematic fashion. Folders of work
can be used to share with parents at conferences, and should be kept at school until the end of the
year.
Teachers:

It is expected that all teachers will keep assessment records based on solid evidence. The IPC
provides a template which includes rubrics, class lists and details of unit and task. With other subjects,
teachers use may use other versions appropriate for storing knowledge and skills assessments.

Student Involvement/Reflection
To ensure quality learning is taking place, teachers work in close partnership with the students to
ensure that they understand the expectations and learning goals prior to undertaking work. Students
should become increasingly skilled at assessing themselves and their learning. Through assessment
tasks, students are then presented with the opportunity to reflect on their own learning, in relation to
the expectations and goals, and to accept responsibility for it. In this way, students awareness as to
the effectiveness of their own learning is heightened. Assessments are designed to allow students to
demonstrate their personal progress and achievement and to clearly identify individual strengths and
weaknesses.
Opportunities for student involvement in their own assessment will include:

At the beginning of a unit, they should be given the opportunity to reflect on what they know.
Before working on a particular skill, students should be given time to place themselves on a childspeak rubric.
Students should regularly reassess themselves before and after activities. The Looking for Learning
questions are excellent tools for this activity.
An end of unit, student reflection provides both teachers and students with valuable information.

Reports and Conferences

Formal Reports
At IslandCA , formal written reports, compiled by a students teachers, are sent out twice a year, at
mid-year and end-of-year. They are designed to provide an accurate snapshot for parents (and
students themselves) of where each child is at a particular point in time in terms of achievement,
attitude and potential. They will cover all subjects, as well as personal goals and international
mindedness, and will highlight different types of learning/assessment (KSU), as well as provide
commentary to help students improve.
Conferences
While IslandCA has an open door policy, and we welcome regular informal contact between teachers
and parents, formal conferences are an important aspect of school-home cooperation, designed to
help students achieve their full potential. At IslandCA, in addition to Parent-Teacher Conferences, we
have Student-led Conferences, which provide an excellent opportunity for students to celebrate and
share their learning and development with their parents/caregivers.

Pages 42-43 (within Assessment Policy)

Standards and Targets

(see Policy 6.152)
The Board has set standards for year-end achievement levels for each of our year levels in primary for
English and maths. Monitoring achievement against standards and setting targets for improvement is
important for accountability and for giving teachers guidelines and goals. Setting clear standards is in
keeping with the Schools stated values and mission of academic excellence and its definition of
learning.
Leadership, in collaboration with subject and year group coordinators, will set targets annually, in July,
based on the then current year results, both for year-end expectations and to ensure continual
pursuit of improving learning.

Cautionary points:
No student should be rushed just to meet a year-end target, if it is not developmentally appropriate
for the individual.
Students achievement should not be used for competition or comparison purposes within the
classroom context.
Teachers should not be evaluated based on students achievement of year-end targets.

In the academic subjects of the English, maths and Chinese, students will have assessments
(authentic, based on actual learning in classroom, against agreed outcomes) conducted termly,
including a start-of-school baseline, and in time for report cards in Term 2 and 3. IPC is assessed in
time for Term 2 and 3 report cards. The assessment information gathered and analysed by teachers,
coordinators and the Principal will be used to inform teaching and learning needs at each juncture
throughout the year.

Externally-Moderated Standardised Tests

IslandCA students in upper primary sit the International Schools Assessments (ISAs) to assess
individual and collective achievement in reading, writing and mathematical literacy.
The ISA Assessment data will be used to improve learning by:

measuring individual students' achievement in order to address strengths and weaknesses

monitoring an individual's or group's progress over time
evaluating instructional programs against objective evidence of student performance
providing normative data in relation to other similar schools to benchmark our instructional
programme.