Assessment

Assessment at St. Mary’s Muhaisnah High School

Principles

There has been a paradigm shift in the way we approach internal assessment so that it is authentic and reliable and used to inform and guide practice. Internal assessment must gather reliable and valid data but also be able to be tracked to record attainment over time and to record progress by individual students and by groups of students.
Assessment and differentiation are inextricably linked; we differentiate based on what we know are the strengths and weaknesses of a student. We build that understanding through reliable and authentic assessments. Without effective assessment practices we cannot gather the necessary information to make decisions about the next stages of learning for an individual or a group of students.

Effective Assessment Practice

1. The teachers’ assessment of the students’ work can be considered effective when:
   Assessment is an integral part of planning, teaching and learning; the teachers use suitable forms of assessment, based on expectations which are clear, realistic and understood by students.
2. The level and nature of the students’ prior attainments influence the selection and use of teaching methods and subject content; the students’ strengths are consolidated, and their weaknesses addressed.
3. The students’ written work is regularly and consistently marked in ways that highlight the strengths and shortcomings, using approaches that are well understood by students and their parents.
4. The purpose of homework is explained clearly; the work which is set is appropriate to the needs of the students, reinforces and extends their knowledge and understanding and provides the teachers with the evidence of progress.”