Assessment Policies
For us assessment is an integral part of teaching, which has to be formative. Educators are continually assessing their students using a variety of innovative strategies to inform their planning and ensure their students learning needs are met.
Formal written reports are presented to the parents twice a year in September and at the end of the academic year. However, parents are most welcome to make contact with the educators whenever they feel necessary.
Formal written examinations are gradually introduced from Class 5 onwards twice a year preceding the written reports.
Assessment Policy – Primary Years
Philosophy of Assessment
To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now, so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning process. Assessment policy informs the importance of assessments to all the stakeholders involved. Being an inclusive school which aims to cater to the individual needs of the students, it becomes important to have a comprehensive assessment policy which is inline with IB assessment philosophy and requirements.
We need to move away from the concept of assessment as judgement & competition or as a way to obtain grades. We need to move towards a vision of assessment as reflection that can improve classroom instruction.
Applies to To entire teaching staff at Fountainhead School
Learner Profile Knowledgeable, Thinkers , Reflective
Values guiding the policy Learner, Fairness
Purpose of Assessment
Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning process.To ensure the effectiveness of students educational experience, it is important that varied assessment techniques be used at regular intervals. Fountainhead school has defined the following objectives for assessment:
To provide quality feedback to students so as to ensure growth in learning of students.
1.To effectively guide students through the five essential elements of learning: the acquisition of knowledge, the understanding of concepts, the mastering of skills, the development of attitudes and the decision to take action..
2.To provide feedback to parents regarding students progress through grades.
3.To ensure that the assessment process is aligned with IB assessment objectives.
4.To ensure that the assessment process is reliable and trustworthy.
5.To ensure that everyone concerned with assessment, including students, teachers, parents and administrators, have a clear understanding of the reason for the assessment, what is being assessed, the criteria for success, and the method by which the assessment is done.
Connection with School’s Mission Statement
Fountainhead Student Mission Statement:
To Nurture leaders through Primary Greatness
Primary greatness is the greatness that each individual can attain by achieving both competence and character.To become leaders, students are expected to take responsibility of their own lives, learn to work more effectively with others and to do the right thing even when no one’s watching. This is how we define leaders. Not everyone may want to or can become business or political leaders or leaders in sports or arts, but becoming a leader as defined above is the kind of leader that everyone can become.
When we say that one of the purpose of the assessments is to effectively guide students through the five essential elements of learning: the acquisition of knowledge, the understanding of concepts, the mastering of skills, the development of attitudes and the decision to take action & also to develop internationally minded people, we thereby nurture students to develop competence and character leading to Primary greatness.
Connection with the other policies: The assessment policy should be read in conjunction with the schools language policy, admission policy, ICT policy and Special Needs Policy.