Assessment, evaluating, and reporting policy

Policy Number: 7-2 #9

Approved By: Board

Approval Date: May 13, 2018


Purpose: 
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the assessment, evaluation, and reporting procedures of Nimbus Christian Education match the expectations of the Ontario Ministry of Education. Specifically the requirements of the document Growing Success 2010.

Scope: 

This policy applies to all assessment, evaluation, and reporting done during courses offered by Nimbus Christian Education.



Policy:

The main purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Information gathered through ongoing, varied assessment in our classes helps teachers identify students' strengths and those areas needing improvement. Assessment is the process of gathering information from a variety of sources, including assignments, demonstrations, projects, performances, observations, and discussions. This information should demonstrate how well students are achieving curriculum expectations. As part of assessment, teachers, peers, and individual students provide descriptive feedback that guides efforts for improvement. Assessment is fair, transparent, ongoing and supportive.

Evaluation is the process of judging the quality of a student's work on the basis of established performance standards and assigning a value to represent that quality. It reflects a student's level of achievement of the overall curriculum expectations at a given time. In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable and that they lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers will use practices and procedures that:
  • are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
  • support all students, including those with special needs and those who are learning the language of instruction, and those who are First Nations, Metis, or Inuit
  • are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals, and as much as possible to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;
  • are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year or course and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or course;
  • are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
  • provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement;
  • develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.
Please note that all final exams for Nimbus Christian Education must be proctored. Please review our proctoring policy here.


Achievement Levels
Levels of achievement of the curriculum expectations are presented in achievement charts in each of the Ministry of Education's policy documents. These charts are organized into four broad categories of knowledge and skills:
  • knowledge/understanding;
  • thinking/inquiry;
  • communication;
  • application/making connections.
The names of the categories may vary slightly to reflect the differences in the specific nature of each subject. The charts contain descriptions of each level of achievement in each category; these are broad in scope and general in nature, but they provide a framework for all assessment and evaluation practices. The achievement levels will enable teachers to make consistent judgements about the quality of students' work and to give clear and specific information about their achievement to their parents. The achievement levels are associated with percentage grades and defined as follows:
  • 80 - 100% (Level 4)--A very high to outstanding level of achievement above the provincial standard.
  • 70 - 79% (Level 3)--A high level of achievement, at the provincial standard.
  • 60 - 69% (Level 2)--A moderate level of achievement, but approaching the provincial standard.
  • 50 - 59% (Level 1)--A passable level of achievement, below the provincial standard.
  • Below 50%-- Insufficient achievement of the curriculum expectations, no credit granted.