From the Assistant Principal Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing

Formative Assessment

I am sure that parents have begun to hear the words formative assessment being mentioned by their children more and more throughout this term. Along with this, I am sure that as soon as we hear the word ‘assessment’ we immediately presume that it is ‘extra’ work teachers give students, on top of an already full homework load.

NESA defines formative assessment in the following way:

A type of student assessment that occurs during the learning process. Formative assessment aims to give teachers feedback about student progress so that instructional approaches, teaching materials, and academic support can be modified accordingly and feedback can be given to the student.

This means that formative assessment is your child’s everyday classwork. It’s a check-in point about how well your child is meeting the outcomes of their course and it allows the teacher insight into ways to support your child’s learning growth. In the College’s ‘Everything Counts’ model of learning, formative assessment is used to assist the teacher ensure that your child is receiving the correct grade at the end of each Semester, whilst providing feedback on how they can improve.

St Andrews College also provides feedback to parents via Compass twice a term on how your child is progressing in their learning before they work on their final assessment task. Formative feedback is shared with parents and students through the Steps in Learning. Students may also receive other verbal observation, marks, grades and/or written comments on Google Classroom about their classwork. This gives students an opportunity to know what they need to do in order to improve their work and continue to grow in their learning.

As you read through your Child’s Semester 1 report this weekend, please have a discussion with your child about all the work they have completed that contributed to the grades received on their report. I encourage you to have Google Classroom open and ask your child to showcase some of the best work they have completed for their teachers. Please be assured that by focusing on the whole picture of your child’s learning, not just an assessment at the end of their learning, we work towards more meaningful discussions about learning as a community.

Ms Josilin Kalifa
Assistant Principal Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing