Assessment and Reporting

St Saviour’s Primary is guided by the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Assessment, Feedback and Reporting Framework. This framework describes assessment as the ongoing process of gathering, analysing and reflecting on evidence (single or multiple sources) by teachers and students in order to make informed judgements or inferences about what the students know, understand and can do.

The fundamental purpose of assessment in education is to establish and understand where learners are in an aspect of their learning at the time of the assessment and to map student progress over time. It is a dynamic process that involves teachers making ongoing judgements (minute by minute, day by day) about student progress. These judgements are then used to design and deliver effective feedback.

There are different types of assessment. Short cycle assessment happens within and between lessons and is shared through feedback (minute by minute). Medium cycle assessment happens within and between units. Long cycle takes place across terms and standardised or external assessment takes place yearly. These assessments can be for learning (formative), which helps to identify a student’s current understandings to help them attain higher levels of performance. They can also be of learning (summative), which indicates the standards achieved by students at particular points in their schooling.

Effective feedback is designed to achieve improvement in student learning by continuously driving student performance towards a current learning goal. It leads to significant improvement in student outcomes.

Through feedback students:

• Autonomy, ownership and self-regulation is increased
• Effort, motivation and/or engagement in increased
• Are led to alternative strategies to understand
• Confirm that they are correct or incorrect, or how far they have reached toward their goal
• Identify alternative direction they may take in their attainment of the learning objective

There are four types of feedback. Task related tells the learner how well they have performed a task. Process related feedback prompts a learner to look for strategies for improvement. Self-regulation feedback is when a student can use their own knowledge to work out what to do next and how to improve. Self-related/praise feedback is related to personal evaluations and observations of characteristics unrelated to learning (E.g. praising effort).

Reporting refers to multiple acts of communicating information informally and formally on what students know, understand and can do at a point in time and may include recommendations for their future learning.

There are various types of reporting at St Saviour’s Primary. These include:

• Progressive or continuous reporting, which is ongoing reporting of individual student progress (e.g. phone calls, emails, parent communication)
• Formal reporting includes report cards (end of terms 2 and 4), parent/teacher interviews (end of terms 1 and 3) and academic/encouragement certificates (end of each term at the final assembly).
• External agency reporting includes reporting student achievement to outside agencies.

SOURCE – Toowoomba Catholic Schools Assessment, feedback and reporting framework

Reporting Student Progress Throughout the Year

St Saviour’s Primary School report twice yearly using a five-point scale in all learning areas. Other areas such as student attributes, effort and attendance will also be included in the Report.

Reporting is a process, not simply a report card. No single method, such as a twice yearly written report, can be left to carry the whole burden of reporting student progress each year. At St Saviour’s Primary School, we believe the most effective reporting occurs when various approaches are used throughout the year. Parents are also encouraged to contact their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year to discuss their child’s learning at a time convenient to teachers and parents.

The following is an overview of the reporting process that is currently used at St Saviour’s Primary School.

Term 1

• Years Prep - 6 Parent/Teacher Welcome Evening (early in term)
• Parent/Teacher interview offered – offered through Schoolzine.
• Class Communication Note – May be sent home each week via SZapp.
• Work Samples –May be sent home throughout the term.

Term 2

• Class Communication Note – May be sent home each week via SZapp.
• Work samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
• Years P - 6 formal written report – End of term

Term 3

• Class Communication Note – May be sent home each week via SZapp.
• Work samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
• Parent/Teacher interview - offered through Schoolzine.
• Year 3 / 5  NAPLAN student report to be forwarded home – Generally, end of term.

Term 4

• Class Communication Note – May be sent home each week via SZapp.
• Work samples –May be sent home throughout the term.
• Years P - 6 formal written report  – End of term.