Secondary School Assessment Policy
Secondary School Assessment Policy
Secondary School Assessment Policy
Secondary School
Assessment Policy
2014-15
Contents
Assessment: Principles and Practice ......................................................................................................... 3
Guidelines for Assessment Practice ........................................................................................................... 3
Facilitating Assessment ............................................................................................................................ 4
Internal and External Assessment ............................................................................................................ 5
Awarding Semester Grades ...................................................................................................................... 5
Submission of Student Work .................................................................................................................... 6
ISP School Examinations.......................................................................................................................... 7
ISP School Examinations: Specific Guidelines ............................................................................................ 8
Academic Honesty ................................................................................................................................... 9
Homework Policy (from the Secondary Handbook) .................................................................................... 9
Internal Standardization ....................................................................................................................... 10
4. Each assessment activity must allow students access to the full range of achievement descriptors.
This may be achieved by assessing students against all strands within a descriptor, or by formulating
assessment tasks that evaluate a limited number of strands.
5. IB Diploma Teachers should scaffold assessment tasks through the program, or adapt examination
(end-of-course) criteria, so that students in the first year of study have access to the full range of
assessment grades.
6. For the MYP, students and parents must be provided with their own copy of MYP criteria for each
subject. Students must be forewarned which criteria will be used by the teacher to evaluate any
work turned in for assessment. Teachers should help students understand what is required of them
to fulfill the criteria for a particular piece of assessed work. Teachers will clarify to the students how
the criteria apply to the task. Assessment rubrics should be developed and applied to all summative
assessment tasks. These rubrics should link the subject criterias level of achievement descriptors
with task-specific clarifications. A well-constructed rubric should
7. For the Diploma, assessed work may vary in its purpose and teachers are expected to use the full
range of assessment activities. Teachers must inform students which criteria will be used to evaluate
their work, both for internal assessment (IA) and external examination. Teachers must explain what
is required for students to fulfill the criteria for any particular piece of assessed work.
8. Feedback to students should be prompt (within 10 working days of work being submitted) and
supportive.
9. Teachers must keep a clear and accurate record of all assessment activities. For the MYP, evidence
of formative assessment in preparation for summative assessment should also relate to subject
criteria. Both formative and summative assessment will occur within a single grading period.
10. Within the Secondary School, grading is undertaken positively and consistently in relation to clear
subject criteria. Teachers look for evidence of what students know and understand. Teachers always
reward alternative but equally valid answers that contain coherent ideas which are relevant to the
question. Any mark scheme used should not be considered exhaustive.
11. When using criterion-related assessment, student answers are placed where the majority of
descriptors correspond to the students work. If the descriptors include many strands of an objective
and student performance is at a high level on most of the strands but not all them, teachers adopt a
best-fit model. If most of the performance was, for example, at the 56 level, and yet student
work on a particular strand was missing, teachers might consider reducing the overall performance
to a lower band. If a piece of work seems to fall between two level descriptors, only partially
fulfilling the requirements of the higher descriptor, teachers will re-read both of the descriptors in
question and choose the descriptor which is a best fit description of the candidate's work.
12. If a teacher suspects that a student is guilty of malpractice, he/she should not award a level of
achievement and refer to the schools Academic Honesty Policy for further guidance. If a teacher, or
another member of staff, suspects that a MYP student may have breached the schools standards of
academic honesty, he or she will inform the relevant IB Coordinator. The latter will investigate the
matter and will inform the student of the concerns of the teacher, giving the student the chance to
reply to the accusations. If it can be shown that inappropriate work has been submitted, the IB
Coordinator will determine whether or not the case is one of academic dishonesty, or of an academic
infringement. Again in line with the IBs policy and practice, the determining difference between
these two possibilities will be one of intent. In serious or contested circumstances, the Principal will
decide the outcome of the case.
Facilitating Assessment
IB MYP teachers should refer to the Assessment section in IB MYP from Principles to Practice.
When using an IB Diploma mark scheme, ideally grading will follow the published mark scheme. However, it
may be necessary to make a change to ensure that this is in line with the schools internal grading policy.
Teachers will consult subject guides, mark schemes and Examiners Reports on the OCC for current grade
boundaries and criteria.
Be on-time to class and fully prepared with all the appropriate materials for class work and
assessment activities;
Respect others right to learn and to collaborate constructively with peers;
Submit any required work homework, class work, assignments and projects, etc. on time and
with due diligence;
Present work neatly and appropriately, i.e. general written work should be completed in blue or
black ink, and diagrams should be in pencil and/or colored pencils.
Clearly identify the requirements for each piece of work, providing students with task specific
clarification of relevant assessment criteria/rubrics;
Provide adequate time for students to complete any given each assessment task;
Provide adequate access to any materials necessary for the successful completion of any assessment
task;
Assess all work appropriately and return it to students in good time. For more detailed work,
especially at IB Diploma level or in the completion of MYP projects, teachers may take more than
one week to return work.
A student be provided with a quiet space at home and adequate time to complete their school work;
A student have access to a computer;
A student have Internet access and/or access to books/a library*.
*Internet and library access is available on campus, both during and immediately after school hours.
Ideally, at the beginning of each teaching unit the final summative assessment should be posted as a task
on the ManageBac calendar. At a minimum, the summative task should be on the ManageBac calendar at
least 14 days before the submission date.
Formative assessment, or non-summative assessment tasks to check for student understanding, may be
notified as an event on ManageBac, but are more usually expected to be notified via written task-sheets
and/or via electronic forums (such as Google Apps, ISP wikispaces). Notification of all formative tasks should
include information about the teachers expectations (a-d above) and students should record due dates in
their HW diary.
Teachers are encouraged to liaise with Heads of Department and/or the MYP Coordinator if they have
concerns over late/non-submission of student work.
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Parents will be notified in writing when assessment is not submitted on the due date.
In serious instances/re-occurrences, the MYP Coordinator and Head of Grade will meet with students and
parents.
Work not submitted on time (without adequate explanation or being unreasonably late**) may be marked
but with no credit recorded at the discretion of the teacher. The task may still be required to be completed
in order to demonstrate an ability to meet the criteria for the task and course requirements
Incomplete work should be submitted on time despite not being finished.
The following consequences for the late submission of tasks (without an acceptable excuse*) apply to
Grades 6-10.
Days late
1-3 or first
occurrence in a
school year
4-9 or second
occurrence in a
school year
10+
Consequence
Responsibility reminder issued and parents contacted by classroom teacher. Parents
will be informed of the expectation that the work is still to be submitted by the new
deadline. If the task is submitted by the new date students will receive feedback and
grades will count towards their final MYP subject grade. This task will also be
recorded as a late submission and will impact Approaches to Learning judgment on
MYP reports.
Parents are to be informed of this consequence by the MYP Coordinator. In the case
of persistent lateness (i.e. more than one occasion) parents may be requested to
come to school for a meeting with the MYP Coordinator and the subject teacher(s)
involved.
A non-submission will also be recorded for this task after 10 days; a zero will be
recorded as the student has not shown evidence of reaching a level 1-2. Students
may be placed on an individualized plan or contract to prevent future occurrences.
Student transcripts will also reflect the non-submission of work.
If a student is absent on the day work is due, he/she must submit the assessment item the following school
day to the teacher. The task is still to be completed in order to demonstrate an ability to meet the criteria for
the task and to meet the requirements of the course.
In-class task
If a student is absent from school on the day an assessment task is to be completed in, he/she must see
their teacher on their first day back, before attending any classes, to organize a time to catch-up on the
missed task. Failure to follow this procedure could result in the student receiving no credit for the missed
task (students will still need to complete the task in order to meet the learning outcomes for the course).
Extensions
A student may apply for an extension through their classroom teacher prior to the due date. Students must
have a valid reason for application and, if approved, a new date will be set for submission.
* The MYP philosophy is that teachers are best placed to assess the work of their MYP students, as well as the contexts
for the submission of work. Teachers are also best placed to make a judgment on their approaches to learning,
including organization skills, as well as the consequences for poor study habits.
** Work submitted unreasonably late is deemed to have been submitted more than 10 working days after deadline.
Grade 11 IB DP end-of-year examinations will include questions on material completed over the entire
course of study. When material is drawn from work undertaken during the second semester, these scores
can be a component of a students semester grade. Grade 11 end-of-year examinations will be reported
separately.
Grade 10 IB MYP students have end-of-year formal examinations for some subjects. When material is drawn
from work undertaken during the second semester, these scores can be a component of a students
semester grade. Results of Grade 10 end-of-year examinations may also be recorded within the body of the
second semester report.
Please note: Teachers should give students clear guidelines concerning the material to be included in any
summative examination and provide a clear explanation of the relationship between the examination and the
semester grade.
Reporting Assessment
Full, written academic reports are issued for all students at the end of each semester. However, students in
Grade 12 who have external examinations in May and, consequently, complete their studies early, will
receive their second semester report prior to graduation.
Additionally, all students receive interim-semester reports (AtL-only for IB MYP; grade only for IB DP) in all
subjects except ToK and excluding homeroom reports.
General stationery (for example, pens, pencils, colored pencils, an eraser, geometry instruments
and a ruler). Pencil cases must be clear (transparent).
Other materials specified by the school as required for a particular examination (for example, an
electronic calculator).
4. The examination supervisor will decide where each student will sit during an examination.
5. Students must remain seated until permission is given to leave the examination room.
6. The instructions of the examination supervisor must be obeyed. The examination supervisor has the
right to expel from the examination room any student whose behavior is interfering with the proper
conduct of the examinations.
Late arrival
7. No additional time will be allowed for students arriving late for the examination.
Temporary absence
8. During a temporary absence, a student must not take any material out of the examination room,
have access to material during the absence, or return with any material.
Malpractice
9. During the examination, and at other times specified by the examination supervisor, a student must
not communicate with any other candidate. Failure to observe this regulation may constitute
malpractice, resulting in no grade being awarded for the examination.
10. If a student finds that he or she has accidentally taken unauthorized material (papers, books, notes
of any kind) into an examination, this material must be given to the examination supervisor
immediately. Failure to do so may lead to no grade being awarded for the examination.
Early departures
11. Students will not be allowed to leave the examination room during the first hour or during the last
15 minutes of any examination. If the duration of the examination is less than one hour 15 minutes,
students will not be allowed to leave during the examination.
12. If a student leaves the examination before the scheduled finishing time, the student will not be
allowed to return.
Academic Honesty
If a teacher suspects malpractice, he/she will refer to the school's Academic Honesty Policy for guidance.
Submission of student work via ManageBac allows staff to pass all students assignments through
Turnitin.com, to check for plagiarism.
Internal Standardization
Internal standardization
Allows us to make consistent, reliable and valid decisions across different points in time.
Prevents assessment creep, whereby assessment judgments change over time due to variables that
challenge the consistency of practice (staff changes, changes in student numbers or changing
education demands).
Always applies the same standardized criteria, ensuring consistency over time.
Utilizes exemplars to reference criteria judgments. These exemplars would be used within the
practice phase of the moderation process.
Engages teachers and students with the principles of assessment for learning. Recognizing where
assessment for learning is interwoven through the moderation process is important so we can value
and emphasize this practice.
Systemic and individual teacher decisions are made with increased confidence.
Reliability, validity and fairness within the process are enhanced, so achievement decisions are
defensible.
Dependable information is recorded and used for variety of teaching, learning and reporting
purposes.
It provides us with more reliable and valid information when comparing cohort data with historical
information.
Teachers and students discuss their interpretations of achievement criteria using evidence.
Teachers and students compare samples of work with exemplars.
Teachers and students clarify current skills, knowledge and understanding, past improvements and
future learning goals.
Students receive dependable achievement information to act on.
b) Teaching conversations:
Teachers learn from each other so curriculum and pedagogical content knowledge improves.
Professional learning needs can be identified when analyzing the achievement data or through the
moderation.
Classroom teaching and learning programmes can be adjusted to meet student learning needs.
Individual and collective student achievement trends become clearer.
c) Community conversations:
The role of a leader to oversee the standardization process. This person could also be responsible
for gathering samples of student work and guiding the group through discussions.
Begin the standardization process at the planning stage of the teaching unit, with all teachers
involved.
Before teaching and learning, provide opportunity for all teachers to share their understandings,
expectations and interpretations of criteria and how the criteria have been clarified for the task.
Teachers should also reflect on the quality of the task and whether students were able to access all
criteria level descriptors. These discussions provide opportunities for biases and prejudices to be
aired and discussed, and shared expectations to be developed about how to arrive at final grades.
Internal Standardization has been adapted from the New Zealand Government publication Why Moderate?
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Teachers could gather several sets of evidence on which to base final criteria levels, focusing on
difficult sets such as those they consider near the border between judgments, or with a high level of
inconsistency between different sources of evidence.
It is a good idea for teachers to make judgments collaboratively about a sample of student work
before assessing their own classs work.
Moderators will change over time but the same criteria and associated references will remain and
continue to guide decisions.
It is pertinent to ask
Plan the standardization session to ensure that there is time for discussion in small groups as well as
across groups.
Determine how the samples of learning will be gathered and how many. This can be achieved in a
number of ways: e.g. every 5th or 7th piece, or samples teachers consider represent the top, middle
and bottom of their class.
Establish what annotation is expected (e.g. learning intention, details of the task, support given) and
make clear how/when/where the samples are to be collected prior to conducting the session.
Keep a record of the process and retain annotated samples with the judgment reached. These
should be kept on file for future reference.
Student role:
Participating in the standardization process benefits students by supporting teaching and learning
goals.
Students can actively participate in selecting evidence (e.g. samples of their work) that best
demonstrate the intended learning outcomes. The process develops students understanding of the
desired outcomes and success criteria, and is closely linked to developing and using the skills of self
and peer-assessment.
Teacher role:
Within the classroom setting, teachers should provide opportunities for students to participate in the
standardization process.
All teachers participate in the standardization process.
A standardization leader should be identified as this is a crucial role requiring particular skills,
knowledge and recognition.
Willingness to engage in critical debate and the ability to use evidence to challenge viewpoints
should be encouraged and valued.
The process of standardization can build teachers content knowledge through these professional
exchanges.
Teachers share their expectations and interpretations in order to clarify their understandings about
what students have achieved and where their next learning steps are situated.
School role:
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The school should ensure their assessment practices and standardization processes are recorded in
sufficient detail.
The school should develop consistent and cohesive policies and procedures for standardization, and
ensure sustainability of practice.
Ongoing assessment aimed at providing information to guide teaching and improve student performance.
The culminating assessment for a unit, term or course of study, designed to provide information on the students
achievement level against specific objectives.
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