In the Growing
Success (2010) document, it highlights a list of policies pertaining to
assessment, evaluation, and reporting. Before starting this class, I think I
was more focused and concerned about developing my teaching skills. Teaching
and assessing go hand in hand, and I have learned how to integrate various
assessment methods into teaching. One major idea that I have taken away is how
assessment can play a role in the improvement as student learning. I think back
to my years as a student, and remember thinking about report cards and
assessment as a way to document where you stood as a student in terms of
success. As a student, I don’t remember thinking about assessment as a means of
a benchmark and the potential that there could still be.
Education directly influences students’ life chances
– and life outcomes. Today’s global, knowledge-based economy makes the on-going
work in our schools critical to our students’ success in life and to Ontario’s
economic future. As an agent of change and social cohesion, our education
system supports and reflects the democratic values of fairness, equity, and
respect for all. The schools we create today will shape the society that we and
our children share tomorrow.
- (Ontario Ministry
of Education, 2009, p. 6)
Part of Growing success looks at the
learning skills and work habits, and how this is an integral part of a students
learning. Although these learning skills are not combined with student’s
grades, they are evaluated separately as Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Good,
and Excellent. As a teacher, I think the learning skills are just as important,
if not more than curriculum, to develop with students. It is the teacher’s
role, to create opportunities for students to display and improve these skills
while incorporating them into curriculum expectations. The 6 learning goals
are: Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative,
Self-Regulation. These areas are designed to help students develop a positive
sense of self, management skills, monitor their progress and success, develop
positive relationships in the school community, and use critical thinking skills
to create goals, make decisions, and solve problems. Having these skills as a
student can help create a positive and inclusive classroom environment that can
foster learning of individuals and collectively. After reading the important of
having and teaching these learning skills are, shows how closely it is tied to
success in the curriculum.
Another core aspect of the curriculum and
Growing Success is the achievement chart. When teachers are assessing these
four components (Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and
Application) they look at both content standards and performance standards. The
achievement chart is useful to teachers because it allows them to made judgments
of student learning based on the framework of student achievement expectations
of each subject. Teachers can make these expectations accessible for students
for each assessment task, so that they know how they will be assessed and what
is required for each level. As a student, I always liked having a rubric or
grading scheme to refer to when doing assignments or tasks because it gave a
clear expectations of the requirements and what success looked like.
Growing
Success has helped me understand the benefits of assessment and the multitude
of types of assessment there is, specifically assessment as, for, and of
learning. This document helps teachers understand the different components of
the curriculum, as well as the different components that need to be assessed.
Understanding the components that need to be assessed help teachers develop a
curriculum most effective for their students.
