High School Diploma Program Grade 9-12

CWS Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting

Every course offered by CWS World Schools has clear and detailed Canadian curriculum expectations which will be available to the CWS student in every course.

CWS Canada will use assessment and evaluation strategies that:

• address both what CWS students learn and how well they learn;
• establish where the learners are going in their learning; where they are in their learning; and what needs to be done to get them to where they are going;
• identifying and clarifying CWS learning goals and success criteria at the beginning of the course and at other appropriate points throughout the course;
• engineering effective classroom discussions and other learning tasks that elicit information about CWS student learning;
• providing continuous feedback that gives learners a chance for improvement;
• promote CWS students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals, to enable them to take ownership of their learning and empowering them to do so;
• engaging CWS students as resources for each other through targeted instruction and guidance;
• examining samples of CWS students work with the students to form a basis for understanding and co-constructing the criteria for success;
• are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level descriptions given in the achievement chart that appears in the curriculum policy document for each discipline;
• 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 CWS students;
• are fair to all CWS students;
• accommodate the needs of exceptional CWS students, consistent with the strategies outlined in their Individual Education Plan;
• are communicated clearly to CWS students and parents at the beginning of the course and at other appropriate points throughout the course.

CWS Assessment and Evaluation Strategies

The final grade is determined as follows:

• 70% of the grade is 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.
• 30% of the grade is 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 and comprehensive in nature.
• Examinations are compulsory and only in exceptional circumstances such as illness or death in the family, and after consultation with CWS World Schools staff and principal, may alternative arrangements be made.

CWS Assessment FOR Learning, AS Learning, and OF Learning

CWS Assessment is the process of gathering information that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the Canadian curriculum expectations in a subject or course. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. Assessment for the purpose of improving student learning is seen as both “assessment for learning” and “assessment as learning”. As part of the assessment for learning, CWS teachers provide students and their parents with descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement.

CWS Teachers engage in assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor
their own progress, determine next steps and reflect on their thinking and learning.

As essential steps in assessment for learning and as learning, CWS World Schools teachers will:

• plan assessment concurrently and integrate it seamlessly with instruction;
• share learning goals and success criteria with CWS students at the outset of learning to ensure that CWS students and teachers have a common and shared understanding of these goals and criteria as learning progresses;
• gather information about student learning before, during, and at or near the end of a period of instruction, using a variety of CWS assessment strategies and tools;
• use CWS assessment to inform instruction, guide next steps, and help CWS students monitor their progress towards achieving their learning goals;
• analyze and interpret evidence of learning;
• give and receive specific and timely descriptive feedback about student learning;
• help students to develop skills of peer and self-assessment.

Teachers will also ensure that they assess students’ development of learning skills and work habits in Grades 9 to 12 using the CWS assessment approaches described above to gather information and provide feedback to students.

The table below summarizes the purposes of CWS assessment, the nature of assessment, and the different used of assessment information

Purpose of Classroom Assessment	Nature of Assessment	Use of Information
Assessment FOR Learning “Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there”	Diagnostic Assessment Occurs before instruction begins so teachers can determine students’ readiness to learn new knowledge and skills, as well as obtain information about their interests and learning preferences. Formative Assessment Occurs frequently and in an ongoing manner during instruction, while students are still gaining knowledge and practicing skills	The Information gathered: Is used by teachers and students to determine what students already know and can do with respect to the knowledge and skills identified in the overall and specific expectations, so teachers can plan instruction and assessment that are differentiated and personalized and work with students to set appropriate learning goals.  The Information gathered: Is used by teachers to monitor students’ progress towards achieving the overall and specific expectations so that the teachers can provide timely and specific descriptive feedback to students, scaffold next steps, and differentiate instruction and assessment in response to student needs.
Assessment AS Learning Assessment as learning focuses on the explicit fostering of students capacity over time to be their own best assessors, but teachers need to start by presenting and modeling external, structured opportunities for students to assess themselves” (Western and Northern Canada Protocol, p 42)	Formative Assessment Occurs frequently and in an ongoing manner during instruction with support, modeling, and guidance from the teacher	The information gathered: Is used by students to provide feedback to other students (peer assessment), monitor their own progress towards achieving their learning goals (self-assessment), make adjustments in their learning approaches, reflect on their learning, and set individual goals for learning
Assessment OF Learning Assessment of learning is the assessment that becomes public and results in statements or symbols about how well students are learning. It often contributes to pivotal decisions that will affect students futures” (Western and Northern Canada Protocol, p 55)	Summative Assessment Occurs at or near the end of a period of learning, and may be used to inform further instruction.	The information gathered: Is used by the teacher to summarize learning at a given point in time. This summary is used to make judgments about the quality of student learning on the basis of established criteria, to assign a value to represent that quality, and to support the communication of information about achievement to students, parents, teachers and others.

The CWS Achievement Chart

The CWS achievement chart for each discipline is included in the curriculum document for that discipline. The chart provides a reference point for all assessment practices and a framework within which to assess and evaluate student achievement.

• The CWS chart is organized into four broad categories; Knowledge/Understanding, Thinking/Inquiry, Communication, and Application/Making Connections. The Names of the CWS categories differ slightly from one discipline to another, reflecting differences in the disciplines.

The CWS categories of knowledge and skills are as follows:

• Knowledge and Understanding: Subject-specific content acquired in each grade/course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding)
• Thinking: The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes
• Communication: The conveying of meaning through various forms
• Application: The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts.
• In all CWS subjects and courses, students should be given numerous and varied opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of their achievement of the curriculum expectations (content standards) across all four categories of knowledge and skills. CWS Teachers will ensure that CWS student learning is assessed and evaluated in a balanced manner with respect to the four categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories. However, for different subjects and courses, the relative importance of each of the categories may vary.
• The CWS achievement chart describes the levels of achievement of the curriculum expectations within each category. The descriptions associated with each level serve; as a guide for gathering assessment information; enables CWS teachers to make consistent judgments about the quality of student work; and provides clear feedback to CWS students.
• The CWS achievement chart allows CWS teachers to use it in assessing and evaluating their students’ achievement. A variety of materials are to be made available to assist CWS teachers in improving their assessment methods and strategies and, hence, their assessment of student achievement.

The following table provides a summary description of CWS achievement in each percentage grade range and corresponding level of achievement:

CWS Achievement Chart
CWS Percentage Grade Range	CWS Achievement Level	Summary Description
80–100%	Level 4	A very high to the outstanding level of achievement. Achievement is above the provincial standard.
70–79%	Level 3	A high level of achievement. Achievement is at the provincial standard.
60–69%	Level 2	A moderate level of achievement. Achievement is below, but approaching, the provincial standard.
50–59%	Level 1	A passable level of achievement. Achievement is below the provincial standard
below 50%	Level R/ Code’R’	Insufficient achievement of curriculum expectations. A credit will not be granted.
Code ‘I’	Insufficient Achievement	use “I” when evidence of a student’s achievement is insufficient because the student has enrolled in the school very recently or because there were issues or extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as protracted illness, that affected his or her attendance and/or ability to provide sufficient evidence of achievement of the overall expectations. In Grades 9 and 10, a student who receives an “I” on the final report card to indicate insufficient evidence will not receive a credit for the course. However, there may be instances where students in Grades 9 and 10 who receive an “I” on their final report card may be considered for credit recovery.

Reporting Student Achievement

Student achievement is communicated formally to students and parents by means of The CWS Report Card, Grades 9–12.  The report card provides a record of the student’s achievement of the curriculum expectations in every course, at particular points in the school year or semester, in the form of a percentage grade. The percentage grade represents the quality of the student’s overall achievement of the expectations for the course and reflects the corresponding level of achievement as described in the achievement chart for the discipline.

Evidence of CWS student achievement for evaluation is collected over time from three different sources,

• observations,
• conversations,
• and student products

Using multiple sources of evidence increases the reliability and validity of the evaluation of student learning.

 “Student products” may be in the form of tests or exams and/or assignments for evaluation.

CWS Assignments for evaluation may include rich performance tasks, demonstrations, projects, and/or essays. To ensure equity for all CWS students, assignments for evaluation and tests or exams are to be completed, whenever possible, under the supervision of CWS World Schools teacher.

CWS Assignments for evaluation don’t include ongoing homework that CWS students do in order to consolidate their knowledge and skills or to prepare for the next class.

CWS Assignments for evaluation may involve group projects as long as each student’s work within the group project is evaluated independently and assigned an individual mark, as opposed to a common group mark.

Reporting on Achievement of CWS Curriculum Expectations

A final grade will be recorded for every CWS course, and a credit will be granted and recorded for every CWS course in which the student’s grade is 50% or higher. The final grade for each CWS course in Grades 9–12 will be determined as follows:

• 70%   of the grade will be based on evaluations conducted throughout the course.
• 30%  of the grade will be based on a final evaluation in the form of an examination, performance, essay, and/or other methods of evaluation suitable to the course content and administered towards the end of the course.

In all CWS courses, students must be provided with numerous and varied opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of their achievement of the Canadian curriculum expectations, across all four categories of knowledge and skills.