Achievement and SLP

Measures of Student Achievement and Success

Our school follows the guidelines set out by the OCDSB Policy and Procedures for Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting. Student achievement is measured in many ways at our school. The assessment and evaluation process is ongoing and varied. First, student work is assessed, using a variety of methods, based on expectation criteria, which stem from the curriculum documents prescribed by the Ontario Ministry of Education. In general terms, students are evaluated by how well they achieve set expectations on a four level standard with level one being “well below the standard,” level two “approaching the standard,” level three “meeting the standard,” and level four “beyond the standard.” A body of student work is collected over the year. This “portfolio of work” attests to each child’s progress. Students are evaluated on how well they reason or solve problems with their work, understand concepts presented in the work, apply the concepts learned and communicate their understanding of the work.

Classroom teachers use a variety of assessment methods to measure student achievement, including daily observation, pencil/paper tasks, projects, presentations, response journals, learning logs, quizzes and end of unit tests. Other methods of student achievement include the following:

• Primary teachers assess the reading abilities of their students during the year, using the PM Benchmarks and La trousse d’evaluation en lecture de GB plus.

• Teachers in the Junior Division have been trained in the use of CASI and Évaluation Rapide, reading assessment tools which allow staff to plan learning experiences. As a team, we work collaboratively to consistently review assessments and to share strategies to move students forward in their learning.

• In keeping with Ministry directives, grade 3 and grade 6 students take part in the provincial assessment of Primary and Junior reading, writing and mathematics in the spring (EQAO). Our primary students are approaching the standard in reading, writing and mathematics (69%). Continued improvement is noted above 75% in reading, writing and mathematics at the junior level.

School Improvement Plans and Initiatives

Increasing Student Achievement in Mathematics

Working with a variety of student achievement data, a School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement is developed annually. This year our school improvement planning efforts relate primarily to Mathematical problem solving. In the first cycle of our plan, we are focusing on further developing skills to create and follow a plan to solve problems and critically assess and communicate solutions. The implementation of consistent instructional practices such as Three Part Problem Solving and the consistent use of manipulatives to support mathematical understanding, students are learning to represent and model their thinking in a variety of ways. Students will regularly respond to the problem solving plans of others to develop greater proficiency at solving problems.

Teachers are also helping students to develop creative and innovative critical thinking skills. Teachers will use open ended learning tasks that reflect authentic and relevant learning opportunities.

Increasing Student Achievement in Literacy

We follow a Balanced Literacy approach to literacy instruction in all primary, junior and intermediate classrooms. A particular emphasis is on the explicit teaching of reading and writing strategies. A secondary focus is in the area of Assessment for Learning. Staff members are exploring many tools for ongoing assessment in the classroom in order to help guide their instruction to meet individual student needs. In a continuing effort to increase student achievement, we will continue to respond to identified needs from our EQAO results and other data collected at a school level. This year, English as a Second Language and Special Education support is offered to all students within the regular classroom setting as we work towards implementing the Ministry’s Learning for All model.

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