•  

     

                                                                                     Beecher Hills Elementary School

                                                                                                   Assessment Policy

     

    Philosophy

    At Beecher Hills, we believe that assessment is an integral part of planning, teaching and learning and that there are multiple ways to assess all students.  Assessments are tools that help us collect, analyze and report data that assists in determining the needs of students. These tools drive instruction and help monitor and improve pedagogical practices. We, at Beecher Hills, use a variety of assessment tools and strategies in order to target the needs of all learners and provide constant feedback to students and parents.  They serve as a means of effective communication to our stakeholders (students, parents, and community members). Teachers are constantly gathering evidence about students’ performance and using that information to drive their instruction in the classroom. 

     

    Purpose

    The purpose of assessment is to evaluate students’ progress and inform the process of planning for and delivering instruction.  “Assessment involves the gathering and analysis of information about student performance and is designed to inform practice.  It identifies what students know, understand, can do, and feel at different stages in the learning process”. (Making the PYP Happen, 2009).   Assessment provides students, teachers and parents with multiple and varied opportunities:

    • To identify students’ strengths and weaknesses and to monitor progress for all learners
    • To see and show evidence of mastery of content and concepts  
    • To collect evidence of student’s understanding and thinking  
    • To document the learning processes 
    • To engage students to reflect on what students have learned 
    • To drive the focus of our Professional Learning Communities  

    At Beecher Hills Elementary, assessments are carefully and constantly modified during collaborative planning using the Program of Inquiry, which ensures that they address the needs of our students. All stakeholders, including parents, students, staff, administrators, and district administrators are contributors to the assessment process. Stakeholders receive and analyze ongoing feedback from data collected. Data from these assessments help to drive instruction and provide information to stakeholders.  

     

    Principles of Effective Assessment 

    While understanding the content and skills taught from our Georgia Standards of Excellence, Beecher Hills seeks to assess students based on the following principles:

     

    • data driven: through use of state/district wide summative assessments
    • free from any cultural, racial or gender bias
    • multiple and varied methods to address individual student need
    • connections to the profiles of the IB program 
    • meaningful, consistent, ongoing and relevant curriculum 
    • diverse and varied to meet different learning styles including, but not limited to:
    1. Gifted and Talented
    2. Students with Early Intervention Plan (EIP)
    3. Students with Response to Intervention Plan (RTI)
    4. Students with Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
    5. English Language Learners (ELL)

     

    Assessments

    Beecher Hills uses varied and meaningful assessments that strive to demonstrate a range of knowledge, conceptual understanding, and skills as stated by the International Baccalaureate Program. We believe assessments inform every stage of the teaching and learning process.

     

    Assessment Types:

    • Pre and post assessments  
    • Summative assessments  
    • Standardized Criterion and Norm Referenced assessments 
    • Formative assessments 
    • Performance based assessments 
    • Exhibition

     

    Assessment Strategies:

    • Performance tasks
    • Oral presentations
    • Individual and/or group projects
    • Selected response
    • Observations
    • Exhibition
    • Progress Monitoring 

     

    Assessment Tools:

    • Reflections: representation of the progress students achieve over their stages of learning
    • Rubrics: an established set criteria for rating students in different areas
    • Checklists: lists information that should be present in students’ work or performance
    • Anecdotal records/notes: written notes on the observations of student work

     

    Collecting Data and Assessment Reporting 

    At Beecher Hills, we believe that data collection and reporting should be a comprehensive and accurate description of a student’s progress.  Assessment reporting is frequent and consistent. Assessment data is collected on a biweekly basis. The School Leadership Team meets monthly with the IB Coordinator to analyze current data and make instructional decisions.  

    Students are given this data and are asked to reflect on the things they are doing well, as well as what they need to improve upon through conferences with their teachers. Parents receive a standards-based monthly progress report to guide them in understanding and interpreting their child’s data. Parents also receive updates regarding student progress and academic standing on report cards.

     

    STAR assessments are given three times a year as a Universal Screener.  Homeroom and Special Education teachers also use STAR throughout the year as a Progress Monitoring tool.  Teachers have regular parent meetings where this data is shared. These meetings are a part of our Academic Parent Teacher Teams (APTT). During these meetings, parents are given strategies based on the data to help their children at home.  

    Benchmark assessments are administered each quarter.  These assessments are used to help gauge student understanding of previously taught material.  Grade levels meet regularly, with the Instructional Coaching Team, to discuss and analyze trends and grade level data.  Data is used to develop strategies for intervention and monitor effectiveness through the Response to Intervention (RTI) process.  Using this data, the curriculum is differentiated as needed. 

    The entire staff meets regularly to analyze and discuss school data and trends with the instructional leaders.  Assessment data and trends are used by the instructional leaders to plan and implement professional development. The professional development opportunities are continuously scheduled to address the areas of need and concern for teachers in an effort to increase student achievement. 

     

    Documentation

    Student Classroom Portfolio:

    Student portfolios provide samples of the growth and learning of each student.  Teachers are responsible for developing a portfolio for each child.  This portfolio contains evidence of the Georgia Standards of Excellence that have been taught to students.  Each teacher keeps a working portfolio for students in their classroom.  These portfolios provide data and documentation for parent meetings and for the Student Support Team (SST) and Response to Intervention (RTI) process.   

     

    IB SeeSaw Portfolio:

    Student IB unit portfolios contain evidence of student learning and growth over the year. Our students choose a collection of work that demonstrates their learning in each of their IB units. Beecher Hills host student led IB portfolio conferences in the Spring of each year to celebrate and reflect on their progress using their IB SeeSaw portfolio.  These discussions are student led and are meant for students to share their experiences with their parents and to reflect on their progress. During these conferences, students share their personal reflections on the Units of Inquiry, learner profile traits, and the Approaches to Learning Skills (ATL). 

     

    5th Grade Exhibition:

    5th grade students are required to carry out a collaborative extended inquiry project, under the guidance of their teacher and mentor.  The inquiry project allows them to demonstrate synthesis and understanding of the Essential Elements of the Primary Years Program (knowledge, concepts, skills, and action) while sharing it with the school community.  Exhibition provides our students with an opportunity to exhibit the Learner Profile attributes that have been developing throughout their engagement with the PYP.  In the Exhibition work, students will be able to choose a real-life issue or problem that will be explored and investigated

     

     

    District and State Requirements

    • Benchmark Assessments
    • Standardized Test (Georgia)
    • Fountas and Pinell
    • Early Literacy Star Reading and Mathematics
    • Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS)

     

    Reports

    Reports serve as communication between teachers and parents on whether students are mastering state standards and content in the Units of Study.  Each report is followed by opportunities for discussion between teachers, students and parents. 

    • IB Progress reports (every four and a half weeks)
    • Report cards (every nine weeks)
    • STAR reports (three times a year)
    • Standardized test results

     

    Conferences

    • Student/Techer Conferences – during the day (as needed)
    • Parent-Teacher: scheduled by teacher/parent (as needed)
    • Student-Teacher-Parent: once a year (Spring)

     

    Assessment Review

    We believe that the reporting of overall student and school performance is vital to carrying out all aspects of educating children; therefore it is essential that all stakeholders of Beecher Hills Elementary School be informed. We feel that working together and helping each other as informed stakeholders ensures the success of our students.  The Leadership Team, Team IBelieve, parents and staff will work to review this Assessment Policy annually. Upon revision, the IB Coordinator and Administrators will make the revised policy available to all stakeholders.  

    Resources 

    • IBO, 2020, Program Standards and Practices 
    • Warren T. Jackson Assessment Policy, 2019
    • Bolton Academy Assessment Policy, 2018
    • Fair Street School, 2014, Fair Street Assessment Policy
    • International Studies Elementary Charter Assessment Policy, 2014
    • IBO, 2009, Making The PYP Happen