THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI
Tips on how to support your Child’s Learning
THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI
Why Assessment? COMMUNICATION IS KEY! Education is shared between the home and the School. Good communication is important as we work together to
Assessment is essential not only to guide the development of individual students but also to monitor and continuously improve the quality of educational programs by providing feedback to students, educators, parents, policy makers, and the public about the effectiveness of the program. Assessment also seeks to determine how well students are learning and help to gauge the student's academic strengths and weaknesses. There are several different assessment available to track academic progress.
At TWS you will hear of 3 types of assessment;
support student learning. If you have questions about
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
an activity or assignment, we encourage you to talk to your child’s teacher.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
BENCHMARKING ASSESSMENT
“ When your child struggles, avoid giving them the “right” answer. Encourage them to explore different ways to solve the problem. This helps your child become a more independent learner.”
This resource is intended to help you understand how assessment is conducted at TWS and the impact they have on your child’s learning.
THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT Formative assessment are a range of formal / informal assessment employed by the teacher in the classrooms every day
Summative assessment are assessment
during the learning process. They are;
employed by the teacher at the conclusion of
assessment FOR learning. administered to determine whether short
a defined instructional period—typically at the end of a project, unit, semester, or school year. They are;
term learning goals have been met. helpful to the teacher to modify teaching
assessment OF learning
and learning activities to improve
administered to determine whether long
student learning while the lessons are
term learning goals have been met.
still happening or in making decisions
given at the conclusion of a specific
about future instruction too.
instructional period, and therefore they are generally evaluative, rather than
Examples of Formative Assessment
Writing assignment Mini Tests Quizzes Oral Questioning Exit slips Observations Group discussions
diagnostic. They talk about academic achievement. recorded as grades and are entered into a student’s permanent academic record.
Examples of Summative Assessment
A Survey A final project A midterm paper A midterm exam An interview
THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI
BENCHMARKING ASSESSMENT
Benchmarking assessment have been designed to: Support schools in understanding pupils’ developed abilities and likely academic potential. give valuable feedback on the learners’ strengths and weaknesses before they progress to the next stage of education. assess learning at a certain key stage / year level.
give feedback which enables teachers to: Tailor individual learning programmes, monitor group and individual performance, compare the performance of all learners, manage learning programmes within schools and as learners move between schools, predict performance in learners’ formal examinations. generate data that helps to make strategic decisions, drawing upon a pool of information and specialist reporting tools that are built into the tests. The tests are marked by the body that administers the assessment and provides the school with an external international benchmark for learner performance, which in turn help us to evaluate ourselves as a school against international standards.
The International Benchmarking assessment conducted at TWS supported by the GEMS network are; YEAR LEVEL
INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT WINDOW
YEARS 1 to 6
INCAS
YEAR 6
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY CHECKPOINT
Month OF SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER Month OF APRIL / MAY
YEAR 7
CAT 4
YEAR 8
CAMBRIDGE SECONDARY CHECKPOINT
Month OF SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER Month OF APRIL / MAY
Please note:
You need to register your child separately for the above International Assessment.
Contact your child’s Learning Bay coordinator or the Accounts department for details on the payment for these assessment as soon as possible.
THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI
How we conduct Assessment at TWS:
CLASS ASSESSMENT Are informal assessment that are conducted by teachers’ everyday as they go through the lesson, to gauge student learning.
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT Formal / Informal assessment that are conducted by teachers as and when she completes a unit / a set of objectives or a concept, to gauge student learning.
They help the teacher to understand if everyday lesson objectives are being met and this in turn helps them to track student progress through the APP.
They may be oral or written. It may not be recorded in the note books.
The feedback that help teachers change their teaching / learning activities through the lesson.
The feedback from these assessment help teachers change their teaching / learning activities in future instruction.
THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI
COMMON ASSESSMENT
Formal assessment that are conducted for the entire Year level every 4-6 weeks to evaluate learning, skill acquisition and academic achievement across a set of Objectives. The average grade from these assessment will be recorded and reflect in the Report card, which will be shared with parents at the end of the Term. These assessment are conducted over a period of a week in all subject. Parents will be informed about the ‘Assessment Week’ much prior to when these assessment are conducted. Your child may have more than one assessment on a particular day. (Please note: Only information of the week when it will be conducted is shared, not specific dates). The results / feedback from these assessment give us information about the performance of the Student / Class or Year level.
MARK DISTRIBUTION / GRADING The grades from the continuous assessment will help teachers to track students’ progress through the APP.
There will be 2 rounds of Common Assessment in Term I and 3 rounds in Term II Term I - October / November December Term II - February April / May June
The end of Term Reports will reflect the grade from: COMMON ASSESSMENT + INDIVIDUAL PROJECT + INTERNAL ASSESSMENT (class participation, attitude to learning, quality of work). It
will also reflect the Current Level and the Target
Level of the student.
KEY: A* = 95% - 100%
A = 90% - 94%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%
E = 50% - 59%
F = 40% - 49%
U = Below 40%
THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI