Assessment
At WISS on-going assessment is an integral component of the IB teaching and learning program. The prime objective of assessment is to provide feedback on the learning process. Assessment involves the gathering and analysis of information about student performance and is designed to inform teaching practice. It identifies what students know, understand, can do and feel at different stages of the learning process, providing appropriate forms of assessment and international benchmarking. Primary Years Programme (PYP) Assessment is an integral part of the curriculum model. The PYP curriculum model has three interdependent components:
The purposes of assessment in the PYP are principally to determine what the student knows and understands about the world, to inform and differentiate the teaching and the learning, to monitor student progress interms of the student profile, to provide feedback to teachers, students and parents, to monitor the efficacy of the programme and to informthe professional development of the teachers. Middle Years Programme (MYP) The emphasis is on formative as well as summative assessment:
The process of external moderation of internal assessment organized by the IBO requires teachers to share and reflect on their assessment techniques, to come to a common understanding of the assessment criteria and to standardize their assessment procedures. MYP assessment recognizes the need to respect local requirements and educational cultures. It balances this need with the requirement to assess student achievement against commonly agreed objectives in all subject groups. Diploma Programme (DP) Assessment is based on a broad approach. A very wide range of structures from examinations (comprising short response questions, structured response questions that lead the student in stages through a complex problem, data analysis questions, case study questions or essay questions), laboratory investigations, conversation exercises and project work, for example, to studio exhibitions of all kinds of artwork, are used where they are found appropriate. The main criterion for judging the suitability of a particular form of assessment is whether it satisfactorily and directly measures student performance in relation to the stated objectives of the relevant course. These objectives generally focus on higher order cognitive skills, such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation, although there is always a role for the recall and routine application of knowledge as well. Other major considerations include cost, manageability and reliability. These different requirements are balanced against each other, but in all such deliberations the primary consideration is always a recognition of the effect that any assessment structure has on classroom teaching. It is essential that assessment structures support good classroom practice. This is considered of greater educational importance than pure reliability of measurement. (extract from IB - A Continuum of International Education 2002)
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