Wantirna College Newsletter

Learning and Teaching 

Providing Quality Feedback to Parents and Students

Growth over Grades

Our decision to shift our focus from grades to growth is one that we are not taking lightly. It’s a shift that will take time for our teachers, students, and parents to get used to and one that we need to keep discussing and working on to ensure we get it right. We believe our transition to Developmental Assessment will help us achieve a greater focus on learning growth and we understand that providing quality feedback that moves a learner forward is a critical part of the process.

 

Based on research evidence, most quality feedback that is going to successfully support learning growth is provided in the classroom and is immediate. It relies on the expertise of the teacher being responsive to the student and providing learning opportunities that are differentiated and targeted. Our best teachers are constantly checking for understanding and being responsive throughout the lesson in a range of different ways however it is epitomised by being able to ascertain where a student is in their learning and what the next steps of learning are. Based on this idea, that quality feedback constitutes communicating where a student is in their learning and what the next steps of learning are, we have revised our use of Learning Tasks on Compass to ensure that our feedback to parents will provide clearer and more targeted feedback.

 

To learn more:

· If you would like to know more about our decision to shift our focus from grades to growth, please watch this 6 minute clip that explains why we are moving to Developmental Assessment 

 

Please view the following clip that uses research evidence to explain why giving grades AND comments/rubrics does not help the learner. We understand this is a contentious issue however, we need to ensure that our decisions are evidence-based, and we are doing everything we can to help our students reach their potential. 

 (Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at the University of London)

 

 

Learning Task Guidelines for term 4

  • Year 7 assessment tasks will not have grades, they will have developmental rubrics
  • Year 11 SACS will not have grades, they will have developmental rubrics
  • Year 11 Exams will have percentage grades
  • Year 8, 9, 10 will have grading scale (see below) AND comment / rubric
  • Year 12 SACs will have percentage grades AND comment / rubric
  • Timeliness of feedback
  • Feedback needs be provided within two weeks of the task due date
  • Within 24 hours of the work being submitted, Learning Tasks need to be updated to show the task has been submitted/completed

 

Grading Scale

If subjects are NOT using Developmental Rubrics, the grading scale of VL, Low, Med-Low, Med-High, High, Very High MUST be used.

 

 

Assessment Checkpoints (year 7)

We are moving away from CAIs where students are given a major assessment task that they spend weeks working towards and are often not provided feedback until after the task. Instead, we are moving to Assessment Checkpoints where students are provided with regular assessments throughout a unit of learning that teachers can respond to at the point of need. These checkpoints align with the keys/skills knowledge on the developmental rubric and allow teachers to differentiate assessments to ensure all students are learning at their own pace and level.

 

Grades/Levels (year 8, 9, 10, 12, Exams)

Grades/Levels should be accompanied with quality feedback (rubric or comment). It is recommended that a grade should be based on the learning continuum/developmental rubric.

 

Comment/ Rubric or Developmental Rubric

All comments and or Developmental Rubrics should clearly communicate where a student is in their learning and what the next steps of learning are. If the developmental rubric can’t be attached to Compass, clear instructions should be provided in the ‘comment’ explaining to parents where to find the developmental rubric

If you missed our recent Assessment Q&A with parents two weeks ago, please access the recording here

 

 

Please feel free to contact us at any time if you would like to discuss our new Learning Task Guidelines starting term 4.

Have a restful break and stay safe,

 

Carrie Wallis

Assistant Principal – Learning and Teaching