Assessment and curriculum are interconnected. Curriculum sets the learning standards that give focus to classroom instruction and assessment. Assessment involves the wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to identify student learning needs, measure competency acquisition, and evaluate students’ progress toward meeting  the learning standards.  All forms will support a more flexible, personalized approach to learning and measure deeper, complex thinking through multiple forms of formative and summative assessment.

Principles of Quality Assessment

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Throughout the learning process,  teachers and students intentionally gather evidence to inform teaching and learning.  We create rich tasks, engage with our students in setting criteria, establish exemplars and leverage the power of questioning to allow for ongoing timely and descriptive feedback.  Students are encouraged to reflect and self-assess to build important metacogitive skills.  Personalization lends itself to assessment as learning, where students participate in setting of criteria and the design of the inquiries, and self and peer assessment. 

Quality Assessment.....
  • Is fair, transparent, meaningful and responsive to all learners.
  • focuses on all three components o the curriculum model - doing, understanding and knowing
  • provides ongoing feedback to students
  • is ongoing timely and specific
  • provides varied and multiple opportunities for learners to demonstrate learning
  • involves the student in their learning
  • promotes development of self assessment and goal setting (next step)
  • communicates clearly to the learner and parents where the student is, what they can do and support
(curriculum.gov.bc.ca/redesigning-assessment, 2016)
(image Sandra Herbst and Anne Davies, 2015)
(image by Liesel Knaack, , Vancouver Island University, 2016)
The Ministry of Education provides a framework for Classroom Assessment. This document discusses establishing criteria, criteria categories, assessment rationale and grade level applications of the framework. 
Our new focus on the development of competencies (what students can do) influences classroom instruction and assessment practices. Increasingly, formative criterion-referenced assessment is creating the basis for responsive communication between students, parents, and teachers on where students are in their learning (“Where am I now?”) and what students need to do to improve (“Where to next?”). 

​Communicating Student Learning

SD22's communicating student learning guidelines and policies.
The provincial proficiency scale provides language to communicate learning to parents.  Here you will find information on understanding the scale and using proficiency language. ​
Digital portfolios lead to flexible and timely communication for parents.  We have put together some information on how to  incorporate digital portfolios into your classroom?