Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
At ISB in the High School, most assessments are categorised as either formative or summative. Both types of assessments contribute to the overall body of evidence, used by teachers and help to provide feedback, measure student performance and improve student learning.
Summative assessments are primarily used to determine a Grade for each subject; these assessments are reported on PowerSchool and are used at the end of each reporting period to determine the overall performance for the subject.
Formative assessments are equally important as they provide practice opportunities for students to be successful in their summatives, provide feedback for students and help the teacher adjust their teaching.
In a ‘normal’ year with school up and running on campus, we would expect to see first summative grades appear mid to late September, after students have completed a unit or chunk of learning. However this does vary from course to course, depending on the nature of the unit. This is why, our first grade update on PowerSchool, usually focuses on HAL performance only. The next grade update would normally include a HAL and Grade-Up-To Date on a 7-1 scale. By this stage, teachers should have enough assessment data to determine an overall grade, for each student.
However with this unusual start to the school year in virtual school, it is taking longer to collect some of this data. Teachers are getting to know students, teaching content, practicing skills, planning formatives, providing feedback, adjusting teaching etc. the assessment process is decidedly taking a bit longer than in a ‘normal’ year. Although you may not yet see a summative grade in your child’s gradebook on PowerSchool, rest assured that assessment is happening day to day in the classroom and teachers are giving feedback both in written form and verbally. Some of this data may be reported in PowerSchool.
Furthermore, due to the wonderful news (hopefully) that we are reopening school next week, we are having to adjust other aspects of our normal feedback and communication practices, including Mid-Semester Comments, Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences, and reporting timelines.
With this in mind, please be aware that we have decided the following timeline for our grade-updates and communication of grades and student performance to parents:
- October 1st HAL and a Pass/Fail “grade” for all courses
- October 8th Predicted Grades collected for Gr12 students and communicated out to students and parents shortly thereafter
- October 22nd Comments released for students of concern* (more information coming soon)
- October 29th HAL and Grade Update
- November 4/5th (tentative) Student Parent Teacher Conferences (virtual)
- November 19th HAL and Grade Update
- December 13th Semester Grade and HAL Update
Please be patient with us, as we adjust our assessment practices to fit in with this unusual context. Of course if you have any questions about how your child is doing in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to your child’s subject teacher at any time.
Do let us know if you need any further information or clarification about our Grade Updates and Assessment practices in the High School.
Justyna, Justin and Andy