Primary Years Programme Making the PYP happen - ITARI

Making the PYP happen
What are the purposes of assessment
The purposes of assessment are to promote student learning, to provide information about student learning
and to contribute to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the programme.
Student learning is promoted through:
! assessing the students’ prior knowledge and experience brought to the topic or task in order to
plan and/or refine the teaching and learning programme or to meet individual or group needs
! building a profile of students’ understanding
! engaging students in reflection on their learning and in assessment of the work produced by
themselves and by others.
Information about student learning is provided by:
! representative examples of students’ work or performance
! compiling statistics based on explicit benchmarks and rubrics
! records of test results.
Programme evaluation uses a variety of student assessments to:
! assess student performance in relation to the general and specific outcomes of the programme
! assess group performance in relation to other classes or groups both internally and externally
! inform others, including students, colleagues and parents.
What is good assessment practice
Effective assessments:
! are planned for and built in, not bolted on
! identify what is worth knowing and assess it
! have criteria that are known and understood in advance
! allow students to demonstrate the range of their conceptual understandings, their knowledge and
their skills
! are made up of tasks that require the synthesis and application of their learning
! focus on big ideas and transdisciplinary skills rather than facts or specialized skills
! are based on real-life experiences and can lead to other problems or questions
! focus on producing a quality product or performance
! highlight a student’s strength and expertise rather than what the student does not know
! include collaboration between the student and the teacher or among students
! employ many ways for a student to demonstrate expertise
! take into account different ways of learning and knowing and are sensitive to personal circumstances
! allow students to express different points of view and interpretation
! promote self-evaluation and peer-evaluation
! use scoring that focuses on the essence of the task and not on what is easiest to score
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