Assessment and Reporting

The practice of assessing student work has changed significantly over the past number of years. This is particularly true at the elementary level. Long gone are the days where teachers will work through a unit and administer a test at the end to see how the students did once everything is over.

Formative Assessments occur during the period of instruction. They are meant to gauge how the instruction is going so far relative to the lesson objectives as well as the longer term targeted outcomes. These methods of assessment can happen through students' work, responses to questions, informal surveys as well as peer and self-assessment techniques. At the elementary level, teachers are formatively assessing one way or another most of the time.

Summative Assessments are used at or near the end of a unit of study. They can take the form of a project, test, assignment, quiz or even a discussion with a student. As long as what is being assessed is clear to both the teacher and the student, students are able to demonstrate their understanding in many different ways.

Body of Evidence is the accumulation of assessments from a student throughout a term or semester. Prior to writing report cards, teachers will examine and review a body of evidence to determine if the student meant the learner outcome or not, and to what degree. 

Questions around assignments, student achievement and growth can occur at any point during the school year and are not limited to reporting periods. Connect with your child’s teacher if you ever have questions about anything they are doing in school.

CBE Family Literacy Week

January 26th - February 2nd is CBE Family Literacy Week. As an elementary school, we know that early literacy skills are crucial to our student’s growth and development in all curricular areas. Check out the CBE Family Literacy Page for lots of great ideas and activities for the whole family.

Can Writing Taste Good?

Once students have internalized the structure of writing to communicate effectively, they then work to improve the interest level of their writing by learning different ways to engage the reader. We sometimes forget that this process is one they will continue to work on throughout their school career till the end of high school and possibly beyond. 

One small step in this process is learning how to include more interesting words along the way. Ms. Pflug’s grade 3 class recently explored word selection in their writing by creating “Synonym Rolls”. By learning how to replace more common “boring” words with more interesting “juicy” words, they hope to increase the level of engagement with their readers. Their results look tasty!

Have a Great Week!