Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Standard 5.5

Report on student achievement

Teachers must rigorously collect, collate and analyse student assessment data and provide accurate and timely reporting of results to students and parent/carers. By providing these timely, accurate reports engages both students and parents/carers in the students learning program.

Edmodo is an excellent resource used to communicate with parents/carers about student achievement. This enhances the ordinary reporting periods that take place throughout the school year. In a year 9 Civics and Citizenship Unit student feedback for their oral assessment task was uploaded to Moodle for parents to be able to access:

Oral task feedback

Electronic diaries are also a way for teachers to be able to communicate with parents, along with the standard use of email. Again, for successful students, parents and schools need to be in partnership with one another for students to achieve their personal best, and any opportunity to communicate between the two is a positive step towards achieving the standard in 5.5.

Whilst on my second  practicum I assisted in writing year 9 reports for SOSE. I undertook this task in collaboration with my mentor teacher and was able to effectively contribute to providing both students and parents/caregivers with formal feedback.

Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Standard 5.4

Interpret student data

Many schools have their own system for recording and reporting student assessment. Being competent in the system used is imperative and ensuring that appropriate training has taken place. Having worked at a University I have had training in Student Two, a system for student management, including assessment and grade management (this system automatically calculates percentages for example). A similar system may be used in schools.

Using rubrics is also a way to interpret assessment results for the purpose of modifying assessment tasks depending on how students perform on a given task. I actively sought advice from my mentor teacher in order to interpret student performance in a Stage 1 Psychology class. I place great importance on developing my ability in assessment and reporting. My mentor teacher noted in my report:

” Ruth discussed with me the use of Performance Standards to holistically assess student work. She designed a suitable task to assess student understanding and application of the concepts covered in the Social Behaviour topic. Through her previous teaching work she was familiar with using performance standards and was able to use the standards to effectively assess the Hairspray task”.

I have used diagnostic tools to assess students’ prior knowledge of a subject area. In a year 9 Civics and Citizenship unit of word I used think.pair.share and brainstorming activities to elicit student responses about their current knowledge of the Australian system of government. After lessons about the three arms of government I had students complete a Venn diagram in pairs and this was highly useful as a diagnostic tool to interpret what students had learnt in the first week of learning in the topic area.

3 Tiers of Government

Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Standard 5.3

Make consistent and comparable judgements

Having designed a unit based on year 9 history using ACARA has helped immensely in my understanding of how to fulfill the requirements of standard 5.3. ACARA has explicit objectives to meet when designing a unit of work and provides examples of portfolio exemplars. From this I was able to design assessment tasks and their associated rubrics that would reflect consistent and comparable judgments across student work. From an ICT perspective Edmodo was used to upload task assessment sheets and rubrics. I was also able to give consistent feedback as it was delivered to all students equally.

In Stage 1 Psychology I used the SACE performance standards to make consistent and comparable judgements of students assessment tasks. I was able to assess students work holistically and provide students with clear feedback about their work. It was also immensely helpful to engage in peer assessment tasks, collaborating professionally with colleagues to have open dialogue about consistent marking. I used the SACE website to access exemplar work to deepen my understanding of assessment feedback in Stage 1 and 2 Psychology.

Performance Standards Intro Task

Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Standard 5.2

Provide feedback to students on their learning

Feedback is important to be given in ‘real time’. That is, in class as lessons progress. Having students aware of how they are performing and areas needed for improvement enhances the communication and connection between teaching and learning. I have witnessed where a school used icloud and students are given feedback throughout lessons in real time – from how well they worked in the lesson, to praise for risk-taking to challenge themselves, to praise for indicating their need for assistance. What I observed in these lessons were students that felt a connection between themselves and the teacher and were confident in the knowledge that feedback would be given in a timely and efficient manner.

From my Psychology Stage 1 mentor:

“By using terms/responses such as “excellent” and “absolutely, that’s a really good point”, in responding to student answers to teacher questions posed, this showed her approachability and receptiveness to student ideas and understandings and encouraged student engagement.”

The purpose of providing students with feedback in assessment is also to enhance their learning and encourage development. I always give feedback to students in a positive and constructive manner and encourage respectful relationships amongst students with a focus on collaborative learning. When completing group activities I have seen great work from students who have adopted the organisation, respect, caring and listening skills I consistently model in and out of the classroom.

An example of feedback given on a year 9 Civics and Citizenship Quiz:

Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Standard 5.1

Assess student learning

Standard 5.1 refers to the importance of providing students with a range of assessments (including diagnostic, formative and summative) while incorporating digital resources to facilitate these forms of assessments. Using a variety of assessment is to ensure that all students have an opportunity to succeed. For example, some students perform well with creative assessment pieces whilst others will excel in basic written assessments. With the use of technology, these two can be integrated to create the most effective learning experience for all the students in the class.

I have attended professional development training in ACARA and have designed a year 9 history depth study of WW1 based on the national curriculum. Here I was able to address the Australian Curriculum scope and scales for year 9 History in my unit of work, and translate these into meaningful interactive learning experiences for the students. I have demonstrated my ability in providing thorough preparation for formative activities through to summative tasks. The criteria for the assessment I designed were clearly outlined for the students and I developed assessment rubrics for students so that they knew what Australian Curriculum outcomes their work was being assessed against, with clear deadlines.

Summative assessments do not only take the form of tests and exams. In a WW1 depth study for example in year 9 history, the summative assessment task was a portfolio of work that included a choice between recording a podcast, designing a propaganda poster or constructing a ‘trench in a box’. This assessment approached assessment from a range of approaches, accounting for students different capabilities and skills.