Underlying Pedagogical Beliefs: Growing Success As educators, we are called upon by the Ministry of Education to adhere to the policies identified in the 2010 publication entitled ‘Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools’. In short, the document follows up on a decade of research and practice pertaining to the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy through the Achievement Charts, the effective use of assessment for, as, and of learning, and a renewed focus on and refinement of ‘learning skills and work habits’. In addition to our adherence to the Ministry of Education’s Growing Success policy, we have also undertaken to develop best practices in assessment through our professional development endeavours. The following reflects our current thinking on how to motivate students to learn through assessment. The School uses the Achievement Charts and criterion-referenced feedback to move students along the continuum of learning. Departments develop the most appropriate approach to the Ministry’s Achievement Chart and grading expectations. In every case, students and parents should be able to identify the relationship between their grade and the Ministry expectations. The Learning Skills represent an equally important aspect of student achievement. St. Andrew’s College believes that strong work habits serve students best in the long term. The Ministry requires us to evaluate students in the areas of responsibility, organization, independent work, collaboration, initiative, and self-regulation. This is intentional in the sense that courses are designed in such a manner that these skills are practiced regularly and inform instructional choices. As a school, we are committed to providing fair, equitable, and transparent feedback practices and policies. Perhaps the most important aspect of this is our expectation that teachers provide ongoing and varied assessment that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely. Students are also required to reflect on their own work and the work of their peers. Self-advocacy becomes increasingly important as our students move through the senior grades. Online learning presents opportunities and challenges to assessment. To ensure a feedback loop was in place during asynchronous learning due to Covid-19, we implemented an ‘Exit Ticket’ strategy for all classes. This has evolved into a greater focus and commitment by teachers to record observations, conversations, and products to triangulate a grade for a given student. Additionally, teachers view planning through the lens of our professional development themes of critical thinking, the development of a growth mindset, and collaboration. Our classrooms must reflect our commitment to strategies that best serve the current culture of the school. For an exemplar of our Online Learning Protocol during the pandemic, see Appendix 1.
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