Deputy Principal News: Reporting and Assessment
Assessment at St Joseph's
Throughout the school year we collect a wide range of data to track and monitor student growth. Our teachers collect all sorts of immediate and valuable information about students that informs and influences how we teach, as well as where and what requires reviewing, readjusting, and reteaching.
As we approach the middle of Term Two, we begin to kick off one of our two dedicated assessment periods for the year. During this time a range of whole class and one-on-one formal, standardised assessments are conducted with all students from Prep through to Year Six. For some of our staff, this can mean they are out of the classroom for the day conducting assessments that allow accurate and concise data to be collected in order to best support the future learning of each student. We thank all families for their understanding with this process.
At St Joseph’s we use checklists, observation notes, student work samples and formal assessments to inform our teaching of English and Mathematics. At St Joseph's we use several standardised testing types. Some of these are conducted as a whole class, while other assessments are conducted in a one-on-one setting. We continually refine our assessment schedule, ensuring we follow the best and most current research-informed educational practice.
We are incredibly fortunate to facilitate the opportunities for our classroom teachers to meet one-on-one with their students to assess their development thus far. It is always a delight to meet with teachers and discuss assessment and note the growth and development of students across the reporting period, and I look forward to this opportunity over the next couple of weeks. These discussions tend to focus on the growth made by students in each class, and the strategies that allowed students to flourish. We also analyse areas where we can also grow and improve on as a school, and identify important ideas and strategies that can lead us to improve in these areas in Semester Two.
School life at St Joseph's is always incredibly busy, so taking the time to reflect on what we have achieved as a school, cohort and class is extremely beneficial and fulfilling for all involved. We thank the teachers immensely for their care and dedication to their craft, but also their willingness to open up and discuss their successes, and also their areas for growth. We're fortunate to be in a position as a school, where these conversations are entered into willingly and without judgement.
On the closure day of 7th June, the teachers will spend time unpacking, discussing and analysing all of the assessment data that has been gathered, both over the testing period, and during Term One. Teachers will be supported to unpack, measure and reflect on the growth the students have made and plot this against the Victorian Curriculum. This opportunity for uninterrupted reflection time is a very rare occurrence, and one that is valued highly by all our staff. We thank our families for their understanding and support of this day. While we also look forward to sharing this progress and growth in the parent/teacher interviews and student reports at the end of Term Two.
Tom Hartney
Deputy Principal and Teaching and Learning Leader