The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning.
Information gathered through assessment helps teachers to determine students’ strengths
and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations in each course. This
information also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional
approaches to students’ needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs
and classroom practices.
Assessment is the process of gathering information from a variety of sources (including
assignments, demonstrations, projects, performances, and tests) that accurately reflects
how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a course. As part of
assessment, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback that guides their efforts
towards improvement. Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student
work on the basis of established criteria, and assigning a value to represent that quality.
Assessment and evaluation will be based on the provincial curriculum expectations and
the achievement levels outlined in this document.
In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they
lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers must use assessment and evaluation
strategies that:
- address both what students learn and how well they learn;
- are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level descriptions
- are varied in nature, administered over a period of time, and designed to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
- are appropriate for the learning activities used, the purposes of instruction, and the needs and experiences of the students;
- are fair to all students;
- accommodate students with special education needs, consistent with the strategies outlined in their Individual Education Plan;
- accommodate the needs of students who are learning the language of instruction (English or French);
- ensure that each student is given clear directions for improvement;
- promote students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals;
- include the use of samples that provide evidence of their achievement;
- are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the course or the school term and at other appropriate points throughout the school year.
on students’ achievement of the overall expectations. A student’s achievement of the
overall expectations is evaluated on the basis of his or her achievement of related specific
expectations (including the process expectations). The overall expectations are broad in
nature, and the specific expectations define the particular content or scope of the knowledge
and skills referred to in the overall expectations. Teachers will use their professional
judgement to determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement
of the overall expectations, and which ones will be covered in instruction and
assessment (e.g., through direct observation) but not necessarily evaluated.
The characteristics given in the achievement chart (pages 28–29) for level 3 represent the
“provincial standard” for achievement of the expectations in a course. A complete picture
of overall achievement at level 3 in a course in mathematics can be constructed by reading
from top to bottom in the shaded column of the achievement chart, headed “70–79%
(Level 3)”. Parents of students achieving at level 3 can be confident that their children will
be prepared for work in subsequent courses.
Level 1 identifies achievement that falls much below the provincial standard, while still
reflecting a passing grade. Level 2 identifies achievement that approaches the standard.
Level 4 identifies achievement that surpasses the standard. It should be noted that
achievement at level 4 does not mean that the student has achieved expectations beyond
those specified for a particular course. It indicates that the student has achieved all or
almost all of the expectations for that course, and that he or she demonstrates the ability
to use the specified knowledge and skills in more sophisticated ways than a student
achieving at level 3.
CATEGORIES OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:
The categories, defined by clear criteria, represent four broad areas of knowledge and
skills within which the expectations for any given mathematics course are organized. The
four categories should be considered as interrelated, reflecting the wholeness and interconnectedness
of learning.
The categories of knowledge and skills are described as follows:
Knowledge and Understanding. Subject-specific content acquired in each course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding).
Thinking. The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes,5 as follows: planning skills (e.g., understanding the problem, making a plan for solving the problem) processing skills (e.g., carrying out a plan, looking back at the solution) critical/creative thinking processes (e.g., inquiry, problem solving)
Communication. The conveying of meaning through various oral, written, and visual forms (e.g., providing explanations of reasoning or justification of results orally or in writing; communicating mathematical ideas and solutions in writing, using numbers and algebraic symbols, and visually, using pictures, diagrams, charts, tables, graphs, and concrete materials).
Application. The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between
various contexts.
Teachers will ensure that student work is assessed and/or evaluated in a balanced manner
with respect to the four categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is
considered within the appropriate categories.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
course and reflects the corresponding level of achievement as described in the achievement chart for the discipline.
A final grade is recorded for every course, and a credit is granted and recorded for every course in which the student’s grade is 50% or higher. The final grade for each course in Grades 9–12 will be determined as follows:
Seventy per cent of the grade will be based on evaluations conducted throughout the course. This portion of the grade should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
Thirty per cent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation in the form of an examination, performance, essay, and/or other method of evaluation suitable to the course content and administered towards the end of the course.
REPORTING ON DEMONSTRATED LEARNING SKILLS
The report card provides a record of the learning skills demonstrated by the student in every course, in the following five categories: Works Independently, Teamwork, Organization, Work Habits, and Initiative. The learning skills are evaluated using a four-point scale (E-Excellent, G-Good, S-Satisfactory, N-Needs Improvement). The separate evaluation and reporting of the learning skills in these five areas reflect their critical role in students’ achievement of the curriculum expectations. To the extent possible, the evaluation of
learning skills, apart from any that may be included as part of a curriculum expectation in a course, should not be considered in the determination of percentage grades.
