Assessment Policy

I. Rationale

Assessment is an intrinsic part of any learning process, designed to support learners’ progress, reflection, growth and development. It is an ongoing, holistic, dynamic process of monitoring, gathering, and analysing information to support the learning journey of each student. Assessment, as an evolving journey, is influenced by the specific individual needs of learners and guided by the teachers’ clear understanding of students’ knowledge requirements within the context of the International Baccalaureate (IB) expectations. It recognizes the extent of students’ knowledge (what they know), comprehension (what they understand), and their practical abilities (what they can do) in various phases of the learning journey. At RIS, assessments consist of formative (assessment as learning, assessment for learning) and summative (assessment of learning) phases. Assessment of learning assists teachers in using evidence of student learning to assess achievement against outcomes and standards. It consists of formative assessments that lead to summative assessments, which are constant throughout the academic year. The effectiveness of assessments of learning for grading purposes depends on the validity, reliability, and weighting placed on any one task. Constant positive feedback will scaffold and determine the next steps students need to take in their learning journey. Assessment for learning involves teachers using evidence about students’ knowledge, understanding, and skills to inform their teaching. These formative assessments occur throughout the academic year and help clarify the teaching and learning process. Assessment as learning occurs when students are their own assessors. Students monitor their own learning, ask questions and use a range of strategies to decide what they know and can do, set new goals, and how to use assessment for new learning experiences and outcomes. This assessment policy is guided by various IB documents such as Programme Standards and Practices, MYP: From Principles into Practice, and Assessment Principles and Practices—Quality Assessments in a Digital Age, PYP: From Principles into Practice

II. Philosophy

At RIS, we believe that thoughtfully and authentically designed assessments will lead us in appraising our mission, core values, and pillars and the extent to which our students derive benefits from it, all while taking into consideration their unique interests and preferred learning approaches. As we support the aim of the IB mission statement in developing challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment, our approaches to assessment are:

● Use feedback to inform learning and teaching progress.

● Provide opportunities using appropriate assessment methods that accommodate and meet learning outcomes and objectives.

● Are purposeful, authentic, consistent, inclusive and transparent.

● Enable students to be confident in taking opportunities to reflect and consolidate their learning.

III. Purpose of this policy

This assessment policy holds significant importance in upholding the integrity and ensuring holistic educational experiences and assessment methods for both students and educators at RIS. The purpose of this policy is to:

1. Ensure fairness and consistency: An assessment policy ensures that all students are evaluated fairly and according to the same standards.

2. Clearly communicate assessment rules: It provides clear guidelines to teachers and students on how assessments will be conducted and evaluated.

3. Align with the IB’s educational philosophy: The policy should reflect the IB mission statement and learner profile attributes.

4. Improve teaching and learning: Assessments should contribute to students’ learning and help teachers tailor their instruction effectively.

5. Provide constructive feedback: The policy outlines how feedback will be given to students to help them understand their strengths and areas for improvement. 

6. Maintain high assessment standards: It ensures that assessments meet the rigorous standards set by the IB program.

7. Support diverse student needs: The policy should address how assessments will accommodate students with different learning needs.

8. Promote ethical behaviour: It emphasises the importance of academic integrity.

9. Manage assessment data responsibly: It addresses the collection, storage, and privacy of assessment records to protect students’ information.

IV. Assessment Practices in PYP

Assessment is central to the Primary Years Programme (PYP) goal of thoughtfully and effectively supporting students through the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge and skills, the understanding of concepts and the development of approaches to learning.

The development of knowledge, conceptual understandings and skills requires that both teachers and students demonstrate assessment capability (PYP-From Principles into Practice).

The PYP approach to assessment gives the students a vital role in the assessment process and engages the teachers in considering assessment as fit for purpose. Effective PYP assessment practice holistically integrates assessment for, of and as learning (Harlen, Johnson 2014) to support effective learning and teaching ( PYP-From Principles into Practice).

A. Assessment in the PYP

Why do we assess? – To inform learning and teaching.

How do we assess? – We use assessment tools and strategies to monitor, document and measure learning. The assessment tools and strategies that we use include:

● Online Toddle portfolios as a reflection tool for the children, class and specialist teachers, as well as parents

● Student self-assessment using ‘Two stars and a wish’

● Peer assessment using ‘Two stars and a wish’

● Assessment opportunities built into planning through the use of GRASP tasks and SOLO taxonomy rubrics

● Differentiated learning objectives are identified in Unit Planners

● Ongoing observation and individual goal setting

● Unit reflections to assess the lesson

● Semester reports that are issued at the end of each semester (reporting will take place digitally and be shared through Toddle)

● Meetings/parent-teacher conferences/unit celebrations

What do we assess? – We assess knowledge, skills and conceptual understandings

B. Vertical and Horizontal Articulation

Phases – The four language continuums in Language scope and sequence have been organised into five developmental phases with each phase building upon and complementing the previous one. These phases have not been named in order to avoid the value judgement implied in labelling a learner as “developing” or “proficient”, for example. The continuums make explicit the conceptual understandings that need to be developed at each phase. Evidence of these understandings is described in the behaviours or learning outcomes associated with each phase (Language Scope and Sequence-2018).

C. Using PYP Assessment Process to Determine Achievement

D. Formative and Summative Assessments in PYP

1. Formative assessment Assessment is an ongoing process where we reflect on student learning evidence to inform teaching. Some examples of these are the use of the anecdotal notes and teacher feedback and feedforward to students during lessons.

2. Summative assessment/ Assessment as Learning Assessment design is both backward and forward-looking. Learning goals and success criteria are co-constructed and clearly communicated at the beginning of the lesson. At RIS we use GRASP (Goal, Role, Audience, Success Criteria, Product) and the SOLO Taxonomy rubric to assess conceptual understanding.

3. PYP Exhibition At RIS, the students who are in their final year of the PYP inquire into real-life issues that are connected to the SGDs. This inquiry can be done individually or in small groups. Their learning is shared with the school community.

E. Recording and Reporting Student Achievement

RIS uses Toddle as the platform of formal recording and reporting systems and to generate the report cards. It is the teacher’s responsibility in collaboration with the students to record student achievements.

1. Recording

2. Reporting – Student reports are published on Toddle at the end of the semester.

F. Expectations from Students and Teachers

To ensure that assessment as, of, and for learning happens, teachers are expected to:

1. Share the learning goals and objectives with students at the beginning of the lesson and, where appropriate, during the lesson in a manner accessible for all students;

2. Help students know and recognise the standards (SOLO Taxonomy rubric) they are aiming for;

3. Involve students in peer- and self-assessment;

4. Provide feedback which leads to students recognizing their next steps and how to take them;

5. Have confidence that every student can improve; and

6. Involve students in creating, reviewing, and reflecting on assessment information, where possible.

To ensure that assessment as, of and for learning, students are expected to:

1. Seek clarification if the task is not clear

2. Complete the GRASP to the best of their ability

3. Submit work when required

V. Assessment Practices in MYP

A. Assessment in the MYP

Assessment in the MYP is criterion-related and directly linked to the aims and objectives of the subject groups. MYP criterion-related assessment leads to learning and teaching that is grounded in inquiry while maintaining disciplinary rigour (MYP Principles into Practice, p. 29).

MYP assessment gives teachers and students reliable and valid information on student learning (MYP Principles into Practice, p. 43).

In order to provide students with opportunities to achieve at the highest level, MYP teachers develop rigorous tasks that embrace a variety of assessment strategies (MYP Principles into Practice, p. 79).

The aim of MYP assessment is to support and encourage student learning. The MYP places an emphasis on assessment processes that involve the gathering and analysis of information about student performance and that provide timely feedback to students on their performance. MYP assessment plays a significant role in the development of ATL skills, especially skills that are closely related to subject-group objectives. The MYP approach to assessment recognizes the importance of assessing not only the products but also the process of learning (MYP Principles into Practice, p. 80).

Assessment in the MYP aims to (MYP Principles into Practice, p. 79):

● support and encourage student learning by providing feedback on the learning process

● inform, enhance and improve the teaching process

● provide opportunity for students to exhibit transfer of skills across disciplines, such as in the personal project and interdisciplinary unit assessments

● promote positive student attitudes towards learning

● promote a deep understanding of subject content by supporting students in their inquiries set in real-world contexts

● promote the development of critical- and creative-thinking skills

● reflect the international-mindedness of the programme by allowing assessments to be set in a variety of cultural and linguistic contexts

● support the holistic nature of the programme by including in its model principles that take account of the development of the whole student.

B. Formative and Summative Assessments in MYP

a. Formative assessment in the MYP Formative assessment:

● is an ongoing assessment aimed at providing information to guide teaching and improve student performance

● allows teachers to monitor student progress towards meeting IB standards.

● serves as the foundation for learning and prepares students for the “higher-stakes” nature of summative assessments.

Students will receive a variety of formative assessments throughout the academic year. These may include but are not limited to:

● Presentations

● Practicals

● Oral presentations/tests

● Portfolio/coursework

● Essays

● Exit tickets

● Quizzes

b. Summative assessment in the MYP Summative Assessment:

● is aimed at determining the competency or level of achievement of a student generally at the end of a course of study or a unit of work.

● is referred to as assessment of learning and is the process of testing, evaluating and grading the learning of students at a point in time.

● often occurs at the end of a term or course, and is used primarily to provide information about how much students have learned and how well the course was delivered (Jakicic, “Assessment that Makes Sense,” in Guskey, 2009, p. 35).

Every unit of learning in the MYP will have a Summative Assessment. It is up to the teacher to ensure that all strands of each subject criteria is assessed twice over the course of the year. Summative Assessments provide students with an evaluation of their work and an update on their academic progress. In many cases, it also serves as formative feedback for their next units of learning.

During each grade level, students will receive a variety of summative assessments throughout the course of the academic year. These may include, but not limited to:

● Projects

● End of unit test

● Essay

● Research project

● Presentations

● Practicals

● Debate

c. Personal Project

A Personal project is a culminating assessment in the MYP done in Year 5 All MYP students in schools in the fifth year of the programme demonstrate consolidation of their learning through the completion of a personal project.

The majority of work for the personal project should be conducted during the fifth (final) year of the programme. The official validation of personal project grades is mandatory and requires a process of external moderation of teachers’ internal assessment.

Moderation offers students an external, international recognition of their achievement in the personal project, creates a reliable international standard of achievement, and helps to inform learning and teaching throughout the programme (MYP: From Principles into Practice, p. 96). C. MYP Assessment Criteria The MYP assessment criteria across subject groups can be summarised as follows.

C. MYP Assessment Criteria The MYP assessment criteria across subject groups can be summarised as follows.

Each MYP objective and assessment criterion from every subject must be assessed through a summative assessment at least once per semester and at least twice per school year.

Also, those objectives and criteria can be used to evaluate the formative assessments in each unit.

D. Standardisation Process

1. Standardisation throughout the school year promotes consistency and builds common understandings about student achievement with respect to MYP objectives (MYP: From Principles into Practice, p. 84).

2. The standardisation process at RIS is informed by the MYP Assessment
Standardisation Guide and is summarised by the diagram below:

3. Internal standardisation of assessment is also required for the personal project. (MYP: From Principles into Practice, p. 84). The standardisation process for personal projects is guided by the Personal Project Handbook.

E. Recording and Reporting Student Achievement

RIS uses Toddle as the platform of formal recording and reporting systems to generate the report cards.

1. Recording Student Achievement

a. Teachers are required to enter all the details and information for formative and summative assessment tasks in Toddle.

b. It is the teacher’s responsibility to document all assessment evidence and data for their students. During the course of MYP units, teachers will need to record assessment data using the Toddle platform to support the determination of an achievement level. (MYP: Principles into Practice, p. 80).

c. Summative assessment data must be recorded as an achievement level as described within a criterion. (MYP: Principles into Practice, p. 80).

2. Reporting Student Achievement

a. Teachers will need to take all the data into account when determining a summative achievement level for a student in each criterion (MYP: Principles into Practice, p. 80).

b. The levels of achievement should be posted in a timely manner. A student’s work must be assessed and marked within 10 calendar days and the moderation process must be completed within the next 5 calendar days before awarding a final summative assessment achievement level.

c. The results are published in Toddle so that they are visible to both parents and students throughout the academic year.

d. In the MYP, RIS adheres to the idea of “transparency without unexpected outcomes.” Thus, teachers are required to notify parents, the Homeroom teacher, the MYP Coordinator, and the Head of Secondary whenever a student’s grades fall below a grade 2 at any point during the semester.

e. At the end of each semester, teachers will award a final achievement level for each objective and criterion assessed using the “best fit” approach and a final subject grade by adding together the student’s final achievement levels in all criteria and converting it to the MYP Grade Scale of 1 to 7.

f. The MYP Grade Scale boundary is as follows:

g. Reporting students’ achievement throughout the school year occurs using:

■ Written and verbal feedback on assessed students’ work visible on Toddle

■ Evidence of Learning and Reflection on Toddle

■ Learning Showcase

■ Parent-Teacher Conference (Homeroom Meeting)

■ Subject-teacher meeting with parents/students

■ Report Cards at the end of each semester

h. Report cards, which are published at the end of each semester, are used to communicate the holistic learning progress of students as they include the final achievement level for each assessment criterion in every subject, subject-specific comments including ATL skills, homeroom comments about student wellbeing and behaviour, and the comments on Personal Project progress for MYP 5 students.

F. Expectations from Students and Teachers

1. Expectations from Students

a. to meet any summative assessment deadlines on time

b. to adhere and maintain integrity by not engaging in plagiarism or cheating

c. to follow assessment guidelines, including the format of assignments, citation styles, and any specific requirements outlined by the teacher

d. to seek clarification on assignments, addressing concerns, and discussing accommodations, if necessary

e. to demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement in their understanding of the subject matter and their academic skills

f. to engage in self-reflection, where they assess their own progress and identify areas for improvement

2. Expectations from Teachers

To meet the purpose of this policy, teachers are expected to:

a. avoid the following inappropriate grading practices that are counter to MYP assessment principles:

i. Determining grades using a proportion of scores for classwork, homework and tests

ii. Determining grades by averaging summative performance scores over the year

iii. Using single pieces of work to determine final grades

G. None or Late Submission of Student Work in the MYP

In criterion-related marking, punitive action (except for when the validity of the work submitted is in question) must not affect a student’s achievement level in an assessment task or when determining summative assessment levels.

While late or incomplete work may contribute to the awarding of a lower achievement level due to the quality of the work, work will not be marked down as a direct consequence of being late.

However, in order to be awarded a final grade for the subject the learner must complete the minimum of requirements. If this is not completed by the end of the academic year, learners will not receive a final grade in the subject.

If a student’s work on a summative assessment task is late or fails to show the necessary learning, then the following procedures are followed at the school:

● If a student does not submit their assignment this is recorded in their learning and an e-mail is sent home. The teacher follows up with the students to encourage and support their work through developing approaches to learning (ATL) skills. If a student was absent or could not sit the assignment for a valid reason on the day of assessment, arrangements will be made to re-take the assignment. The scheduled re-take of the assignment must take place within the next 10 working days.

● A student can apply for an extension to a deadline in advance based on special circumstances.

○ This request for an extension should be made to the teacher and the teacher may give the student an extended deadline given the circumstances or ask the student to complete the assignment after school or during breaktime.

○ The school will do its best to ensure that students who have been granted extended deadlines do not have any advantages and will change/modify the assessment accordingly to prevent this (please see Inclusion policy).

● All cases of plagiarism and academic dishonesty are reported and followed up with an academic honesty review (please see Academic Integrity Policy).

● If a student is in danger of not being able to receive a progress grade or final grade, the student should be notified in writing as in accordance with the Norwegian Education Act.

VI. National Requirements for Assessment

A. Students in 5th and 8th grades are required to take Nasjonale prøver (national tests) in reading, arithmetic and English while Grade 9 students must take Nasjonale prøver in reading and arithmetic as set by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (UDIR).

B. The purpose of Nasjonale prøver is to give schools knowledge about the pupils’ basic skills in reading, arithmetic and English. The information from the tests shall form the basis for ongoing assessment and quality development at all levels in the school system.

VII. Roles and Responsibilities in the Implementation of the Assessment Policy

A. The Principal is responsible for communicating the Assessment Policy to all members of the school community.

B. The Principal, Heads of Schools, Programme Coordinators, and teachers are responsible for ensuring the Assessment Policy is implemented.

C. The Principal, Heads of Schools, Programme Coordinators and assessment committee are involved in the process of reviewing and developing the Assessment Policy. The Assessment Policy is a living, working document, referred to in the planning process, and for which the staff take ownership and responsibility.

D. To ensure that assessment as, of, and for learning happens, teachers are expected to:

1. share the learning goals and objectives with students at the beginning of the lesson and, where appropriate, during the lesson in a manner accessible for all students;

2. help students know and recognise the standards they are aiming for;

3. involve students in peer- and self-assessment;

4. provide feedback, which leads to students recognizing their next steps and how to take them;

5. have confidence that every student can improve; and

6. involve students in creating, reviewing, and reflecting on assessment information, where possible.

VIII. System for Policy Review

The RIS Assessment Policy is subject to regular review and revision at the end of each academic year by the assessment committee based on feedback from teachers, parents, and students. This ensures that our assessment practices continue to align with the IB mission, RIS mission, core values, and pillars and with the evolving needs of our community. Then, the final revised and updated version will then be made available to all stakeholders by posting on the RIS website at the start of the academic year. Also, changes and updates will also be discussed with all staff and teachers during the in-service days at the beginning of the school year

IX. Appendices Appendix

1: MYP Assessment Standardisation Guide Appendix

2: Personal Project Handbook Appendix

3: Assessment in the Primary Years Programme Appendix

4: Academic Integrity Policy Appendix

5: Inclusion Policy