*This comprehensive policy contains aspects which apply to the Edgewood Middle Years program as well as to the Edgewood Diploma program. Please note commonalities as well as relevant distinctions.

 

Mission Statement:

 

Edgewood Schools is committed to building a globally aware community of lifelong learners who achieve high academic standards.

Edgewood provides a diverse, challenging curriculum that is student-centered and develops inquisitive, knowledgeable, and empathetic students who actively engage in and contribute to their family, community, and the world around them.
 

Rationale for Assessment: The MYP assessment standards are consistent around the world. In order to maintain the rigor for which the IB is known, the MYP assessment model is criterion-related. Teachers structure varied and valid assessment tasks so that students can demonstrate achievement according to objectives defined by the IB. Tasks are assessed against established criteria, not against the work of other students.

 

In each subject, the International Baccalaureate Organization recognizes four main criteria to provide students with progress monitoring information. Assessments are created using the IB criteria to assess what a learner understands and can do in relation to skills, concepts, and content of the subject area.  Students are given authentic tasks based on the IB criteria that foster critical and creative thinking skills. Teachers assess students using a variety of tasks to identify student needs and to inform teacher planning and practice.

Assessments are created using the following IB guidelines:

1. Assessments are necessary to the learning process

2. Assessment is formative and summative.

3. Assessment is aligned with MYP and subject-group objectives.

4. Assessment is based on evidence of student work.

5. Assessment offers informative feedback.

6. Assessments are age appropriate and reflect the development of the student within the subject.

What is Assessment?

Why do we assess?

• To check for student understanding of concepts and skills

• To measure progress

• To drive instruction and strengthen teaching practice

• To differentiate instruction

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the program

• To determine areas of student strength, growth, development, and nee

• To dvise placement for intervention

• To allow for student reflection on their learning

• To inform stakeholders to maintain accountability
   

 

What do we assess?

• Student progress and performance in all subject areas: language and literature; mathematics; language acquisition; sciences; visual and performing arts; design and technology; individuals and societies; and physical education

• Demonstration of the attributes of the IB learner profile

• Prior knowledge, key concepts, related concepts, essential skills, approaches to learning, listening, and speaking

When does assessment take place in a MYP school?

Assessment is a continuous process that allows teachers, parents, and students to identify areas of strength and areas that need improvement, as well as, the effectiveness of the program.

Types of Assessments:

Definition of Assessment: Assessment is an opportunity for students to demonstrate to their teachers the knowledge they have attained, as well as their growth towards concept mastery.

Pre-Assessments are given at the beginning of a unit to assess prior knowledge and experiences. Results of pre-assessment are used during lesson design and planning so that teachers can capitalize on students’ prior knowledge and be responsive to their previous experiences. Pre-assessments may be formal, such as pre-quizzes on content, or informal, such as KWL charts, pre-writes or brainstorming discussions.

Formative Assessments are interwoven with daily learning in order to help teachers and students find out how the students are progressing in order to plan the next stage in learning. The goal of formative assessments is to provide a genuine reflection on how each student is progressing so that a teacher may make critical choices in the direction of the class or differentiate for individuals prior to the summative assessment.

Summative Assessments occur at the end of each unit in which students are given an opportunity to display what it is that they have experienced and learned. The Middle Years Program promotes the use of a range and balance of school-based assessment and feedback techniques including student/teacher/parent conferences, writing samples, structured observations, and performance tasks assessed by teachers and by the students themselves.   The format of this assessment may be a test, project, essay or some other assignment that allows students to show the maximum extent of their achievement. Many summative assessments are designed to allow a student to apply what they have learned in unfamiliar and authentic situations, conveying not only their mastery of content knowledge, but also their ability to apply it.

What are the characteristics of effective assessments in the MYP?

• Meaningful

• Promote reflection

• Targeted

• Immediate

• Use rubrics or criteria

• Able to measure progress over time

• Provide feedback

• rovde evidence of student growth

• Authentic

• Provide multiple opportunities to show and apply understanding (Pre, Formative, and Summative)

• Differentiated assessments based on student need

• Offer a variety of tools and strategies 

• Specific and aligned to an objective

• Formal and informal

• Allowfor creativity 

How do we collect and record data* 

Checklists

• Benchmarks

• Anecdotal records (in student file)

• Reflections

• Student work/writing samples

• Illuminate (district benchmark)

• DIBELS (measures literacy skills)

• CAASPP (state testing)

• ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessment for California)

• Oral presentations

• Unit tests

• Mastery tracker/gradebook

• Progress reports and report cards

• Open-ended responses

• Presentations

• Portfolios (Grade Level Portfolio and Multi-year Portfolio)

• Community Project in 8th grade

• Personal Project in 10th grade

• Teacher observation form

• Rubrics (student and teacher created)

• Google suite

When do we analyze and share data?

• Department meetings

• Grade level meetings

• Collaboration meetings

• Staff professional development meetings

• Parent-teacher conferences

• Professional learning community meetings

• MYP meetings

• School Loop

Communicating IB MYP Grades with Families

In enacting the MYP fundamental concept of communication, it will not only be important to communicate changes in grading practices to students, but also to their families.  At family events, there will be presentations that give an overview of the MYP and explain how assessment will be changing for students. Information is also available on the website, in newsletters that are sent home, and through School Loop.

Relationship of MYP assessment principles and practices with required systems for grading and reporting:

Teachers at Edgewood Middle School generally use a traditional grading system aligning with our feeder high school and report grades through School Loop on a quarterly basis. We will be using School Loop to export the data as an Excel/Google Sheets file to organize the reporting of MYP scores to students and parents.  Teachers will rate summative assessments using the MYP Assessment Criteria. These ratings will be transferred into the traditional grade book using the following scale:

MYP Objective Scores

Obective A	Objective B	Objective C	Objective D	Final Achievement Level
5	6	6	5	5

 

Final Grade	Boundary Guidelines	Descriptor
1	1-5	Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys many significant misunderstandings or lacks understanding of most concepts and contexts. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.
2	6-9	Produces work of limited quality. Expresses misunderstandings or significant gaps in understanding for many concepts and contexts. Infrequently demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, infrequently applying knowledge and skills.
3	10-14	Produces work of an acceptable quality. Communicates basic understanding of many concepts and contexts, with occasionally significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical and creative thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, requiring support even in familiar classroom situations.
4	15-18	Produces good-quality work. Communicates basic understanding of most concepts and contexts with few misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often demonstrates basic critical and creative thinking. Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in familiar classroom   situations, but requires support in unfamiliar situations.
5	19-23	Produces generally high-quality work. Communicates secure understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar classroom and real-world situations and, with support, some unfamiliar real-world situations.
6	24-27	Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative work. Communicates extensive understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, frequently with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world situations, often with independence.
7	28-32	Produces high-quality, frequently innovative work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of concepts and contexts. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical and creative thinking. Frequently transfers knowledge and skills with independence and expertise in a variety of complex classroom and real-world situations.

 

 

When reporting MYP Achievement, teachers will look at the ratings from the course holistically, using a “best fit” approach (Strands are not graded separately then averaged. The work is graded as a whole).

 

Students with learning support needs will receive accommodations and modifications as needed through Individual Education Plan (IEP), 504 Plan, or EL Services. Please see Edgewood Middle/High School’s Inclusion Policy for more information.

 

 

Philosophy of assessment that supports student understanding:

 

The Assessment Policy is a working document developed by Edgewood Middle/High School staff. Consistent with the standards and practices of International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP), California Common Core State Standards, and the West Covina Unified School District, this document provides an overview of Edgewood’s beliefs and practices regarding the purpose and use of assessment. The goal is to make assessment practices and guidelines clear to students, parents/guardians and staff.

 

Review of Principles and Protocols

 

Each year, the school’s leadership team will review this document and provide input into the revision of the protocols and practices.

 

Modified on May 8th, 2017

 

Modified on October 16th, 2017

 

Modified on October 29, 2018

 

Modified on November 7, 2018

 

References

 

Making the MYP Happen: A curriculum framework for international middle education; IBO (2012)

 

Cameron Elementary PYP Assessment Policy; (2016)

 

Orangewood Elementary PYP Assessment Policy; (2016)