As a Professional Learning Community (PLC), St Thomas More Catholic Primary School is deeply committed to the process of identifying, gathering and analysing information about progress in students’ learning as part of the PLC Learning Cycle. Our staff mantra is:
‘I commit to doing whatever it takes to achieve high levels of learning for all.’
Guidelines for Assessment:
The Professional Learning Community Learning Cycle clearly describes the place of assessment and, as we are constantly guided by six critical questions,
- What do we want students to learn?
- How will we know if they have learned it?
- What will we do if they don’t learn?
- How will we enrich and extend learning for students who are already proficient?
- How will we increase our instructional competence?
- How will we co-ordinate our efforts at school?
Assessment is an ongoing part of learning and teaching: assessment of, as, and for learning. St Thomas More Catholic Primary School has a School Based Assessment Schedule, which guides the implementation of major assessment tasks for all levels, including for new students, over the course of the year.
Level based assessment schedules illustrate the core assessment tasks as well as the additional tasks and programs/options for students at risk or operating well above standard.
Methods used for assessment should measure student achievement appropriate to learning needs and the expectations described in the Victorian Curriculum.
Cumulative assessment information will be stored on STM Data Summary-Google sheets, year by year.
Assessment also includes self-assessment by students: setting and reflecting on personal goals and achievement.
Guidelines for Reporting:
At St Thomas More Catholic Primary School,
- Formal reporting to parents will involve both written and oral reports.
- Written student reports will be provided twice per year; once per semester, as described in the Reporting Student Progress and Achievement-2017 Revised Guidelines for Victorian Catholic Schools.
- Oral reporting to parents will occur twice yearly.
- All reports will make use of clear, parent-friendly, constructive language that reflects achievement of individual students and areas for future learning.
- Reports will be a confidential communication between a student, parent and teacher.
- Reports will be based on the Victorian Curriculum and the Religious Education Awakenings Curriculum (Ballarat).
- Reports will be concise, accurate and informative.
External assessment and a subsequent report will also be undertaken by students at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, in the form of NAPLAN (National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy). This will occur annually for students in Year 3 and 5 in Term 2, with reports sent home in Term 3.