Assessment Policy

Assessment is a key part of teaching and learning that forms the basis from which teachers and students make decisions about academic and personal development. It gives direction for setting instructional goals and also provides information about the overall growth of students.

Omololu International School has established a program of student assessment with the goal of improving student learning and performance. Assessment, record-keeping, and reporting to parents is a meaningful process. The aim of student assessment is to facilitate the learning of each student by providing information which supports student success. Parents are key players in their children’s’ educational development and accurate, informative reports (both written and oral) facilitate their active involvement. Teachers use a variety of assessments which are both formative and summative. Qualitative assessment provides an in-depth understanding of students’ experiences, perspectives in the context of their personal circumstances or setting. It focuses on the student’s work, reasoning capacity, and measures skills acquired. It is a process of knowledge-building through ideas, connections and extensions. Assessment is also differentiated to students’ level of ability and learning styles. Accurate teacher assessment is crucial to inform future planning as well as to chart students’ progress.

• Measure students’ personal & academic growth
• Provide cumulative information on personal & academic growth PK – 6
• Reflect upon & evaluate teaching & learning
• Engage students in their own learning & monitor their progress
• Provide a variety of assessments to encourage student learning
• Provide a record & acknowledge students’ achievements
• Inform parents, administration & outside agencies of assessment outcomes

Effective assessments:

• Show what students know, understand, and can do
• Have criteria that are known and understood in advance
• Are both summative and formative
• Are valid, relevant, and reliable
• Demonstrate mastery and expertise
• May be open-ended
• Are fair, objective, and significant
• May be differentiated

Teachers ensure that a range of learning experiences and teaching strategies are:

• embedded in the curriculum
• built upon prior learning
• age-appropriate, thought-provoking and engaging
• based on the differing needs of all students, including those who are learning in a language other than their mother tongue, and students with learning support requirements
• open-ended and involves teaching problem-solving skills.

Teachers choose strategies that provide for learning through disciplined inquiry and research; involve communication of ideas and personal reflection; and give students the opportunity to practice and apply their new understandings and skills

Different types of assessment are used to track student progress and improve student learning

Pre-Assessment is the assessment that gives information about students’ prior knowledge.

 Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning) is the on-going assessment of how students are learning, undertaken by the teacher and the student during the course of the learning process. It provides feedback on students’ understanding and application of knowledge, concepts and skills. The process of using formative assessment allows adjustments to be made in teaching and student practice to better assure students achieve targeted learning outcomes within a set time frame.

Formative assessment is interwoven into the daily learning which:

• Provides timely feedback and shares learning goals with students
• Encourages students to  reflect on performance and set goals for learning
• Guides teacher planning and instruction to meet student learning needs.

Teachers develop ways of understanding students’ prior learning so that they can plan appropriate learning experiences and teaching strategies. Teachers also monitor and support learning as students engage with the unit. Formative assessment provides teachers and students with insights into the ongoing development of knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes. Effective formative assessment also provides teachers and students with a way to explore personal learning styles as well as individual student strengths, challenges and preferences that can inform meaningful differentiation of learning. Formative assessment can also provide important opportunities for students to rehearse or refine performances of understanding as they prepare to complete summative assessment tasks. Peer and self-assessment are often valuable formative assessment strategies.

Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning) is the assessment of learning that takes place at the end of a unit or course of study in order to measure how students have met curriculum standards. This assessment allows students to synthesize, apply, and present information in a variety of forms.

Summative assessment:

• Compares the student’s learning with the benchmarks for a grade level
• Informs students, parents and others of progress
• Measures students’ understanding of the central idea of the unit

Assessment is the collection and analysis of data about student learning. It identifies what students know, understand, value, and what they can do at various stages of the learning process.