APPROACH: POLICY
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
STUDENT ASSESSMENT POLICY
Forms of Evaluation
A number of evaluative measures may be used for assessment depending on the specific difficulties presented by each student. Generally, evaluation will cover the areas of:
- The diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses
- Academic achievement
- Social/emotional and behavioural progress.
Broad Outcomes To Be Evaluated
Broadly, the intellectual or cognitive outcomes of a child’s experiences within the school can be summarised under headings:
- Knowledge
To have knowledge of specifics
To have knowledge of ways and means of dealing with specifics - Comprehension
To be able to translate, interpret, or extrapolate knowledge - Application
To apply knowledge in different situations - Analysis
To analyse elements, relationships and organisational principles in a situation - Synthesis
To produce a unique communication, a plan or derive a set of abstract
relations - Evaluation
To make judgements in terms of internal evidence or external criteria
(taken from Bloom’s taxonomy)
Basic Principles in Selecting Evaluation Techniques
- Firstly, it is important that the selected evaluation technique in measuring the desired student behaviour is relevant to the individual.
- A second characteristic to be considered is reliability or consistency
- Ease of construction, administration and correction are other aspects that must be studied.
Testing Schedule
(A) Formal (Subject level)
Because of differences in the amount of content in subjects at each level and the diversity of the disabilities of these students, it is difficult to devise a standard format for testing throughout the school. The formal testing at Kamaruka Education Centre may include:
- Teacher prepared tests
- Learning assessment projects
- Written tests
- Oral tests
- Practical tests
(B) Informal Assessment
Assessment of students’ academic and behavioural performances is ongoing in the classroom. This may be by:
- Teacher observation
- Teacher questioning
- Student recording
- Parent feedback
- Feedback and/or testing by health professionals
- Work sheets
- Oral reporting
- Preparing displays
- Group discussions
- Displaying general knowledge
Staff will decide on the most effective way of doing this in the various subjects. It is advisable that teachers maintain records for future reference when communicating to parents.
Reporting To Parents
(A) Formal Process
The formal process of reporting to parents is as follows:
Early Term One – Information Night
These are conducted early in the school year and are designed to give parents an overview of such matters as learning outcomes, teaching methodologies and parent roles in the educational process. It is not an evening to discuss specific children’s needs – an alternative time should be arranged for an interview to discuss these matters.
End Term Two – Written Report
End Term Four – Written Report
This report will be an assessment of the student’s performance over the year and an indication of the year level achieved. A percentage score will be reported for academic subjects assessed by formal testing.
(B) Informal Process
Teachers are encouraged, after consulting with the principal, to make contact with parents and discuss matters related to the child’s work and/or behaviour.
This includes:
- Discussion before and after school
- Discussions over the telephone
- Class visits
- Diary communication
Evaluation
This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s three-year review cycle.
All policy documents are accessible on the Kamaruka website and are available for staff to view in each staff room. Copies are provided for parents with enrolment forms.
This policy was last ratified by School Advisory Committee on 3 August 2017
