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Districts/district leaders:
Align assessment, evaluation and reporting policies and practices with the principles of equity and inclusive education to meet the diverse needs of students and their families.
Support principals and educators in reaching high levels of informed professional judgement and assessment literacy.
Use systematically-collected data and information about student learning to inform decision-making and actions for the district, schools and classrooms. (e.g., Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement and School Improvement Plan).
Establish collaborative structures and opportunities to collect and disaggregate student achievement data to identify gaps and set ambitious targets.
Indicator 1.1: Assessment is connected to the curriculum, collaboratively developed by educators and used to inform next steps in learning and instruction.
At the school:
Expectations, goals, criteria, tasks and assessment are aligned and planned concurrently.
Quality evidence of learning is determined collaboratively (e.g., through moderation, lesson study, co-planning) across grades, courses and pathways to determine student learning needs.
Meaningful tasks, activities and experiences are designed to:
foster thinking and metacognition
build on students’ diverse perspectives, knowledge and experiences
assess the depth of new learning in order to identify next steps.
In the classroom:
Assessment for and as learning processes are evident as students undertake authentic and relevant performance tasks.
Educators and students co-construct success criteria in relation to authentic and relevant performance tasks.
Multiple and varied opportunities are provided for students to demonstrate, communicate and refine their learning.
Student learning is regularly documented to inform educator and student next steps.
Students are supported and assessed in the ongoing development of learning skills and work habits.
Students:
Actively plan for and set personalized learning goals that relate to the curriculum expectations.
Engage in authentic and relevant performance tasks that are connected to their learning goals.
Indicator 1.2: A variety of relevant and meaningful assessment data is used by students and educators to continuously monitor learning, to inform instruction and to determine next steps.
At the school:
Student profiles, learning portfolios of student work, IEPs and assessment data are shared among educators in a confidential manner as students’ progress from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and/or between schools.
Collaborative processes are in place to guide problem-solving and decision-making in relation to prevention and interventions that may be required where data indicate students are not demonstrating the intended learning expectations. The School Effectiveness Framework K–12 11
Student achievement data are collected (e.g., through observation, work samples, conversations, assessment tasks) and disaggregated at critical checkpoints in the learning each term/semester/year to monitor progress toward school targets and in order to determine next steps to assure continuous improvement in student achievement.
Student assessments and achievement data inform the focus of professional learning and provide insight to its impact on student learning.
Collaborative development of assessment tasks, tools (e.g. rubrics) and practices supports consistency of practice in and between grades, divisions, departments and courses.
In the classroom:
A variety of assessment strategies and tools that meet the needs of all students are used to improve learning and inform instructional decisions (e.g., observations, demonstrations and presentations, projects, work samples, conversations, portfolios of student work).
Student achievement information is collected through common assessment tools identified by the district and/or school, analyzed and shared as part of the assessment for learning process.
Instructional decisions are made and actions taken in response to students’ demonstrations of learning.
Students:
Use assessment data to refine their work, plan next steps and monitor their own progress.
Provide explicit feedback about their engagement and learning to educators.
Advocate for what they need as learners.
Indicator 1.3: Students and educators build a common understanding of what students are learning by identifying, sharing and clarifying the learning goals and success criteria.
At the school:
Shared understanding of assessment for, as and of learning is built.
Inclusive and common instruction and assessment language is used across classrooms.
Assessment and instruction are collaboratively designed to ensure a clear understanding of the learning goals and success criteria.
Collaborative development of common assessment tools (e.g. success criteria to inform rubrics) and practices support consistency of practice in and between grades, divisions, departments and courses.
Data and information about professional learning are collected on a regular basis throughout the year to ascertain the impact on instructional practice, student learning and professional learning needs.
In the classroom:
Learning goals and success criteria identify the intended student learning, based on the knowledge, skills, concepts and processes from the Ontario curriculum, including the achievement charts.
During the learning, students and teachers co-construct the success criteria linked to learning goals. The School Effectiveness Framework K–12 12
Learning goals and success criteria are expressed in language that is meaningful to students.
Learning goals and success criteria are open to review and revision.
Students:
Describe what they are learning, the purpose of the learning and what it looks like.
Co-construct success criteria linked to learning goals.
Articulate their understanding of the learning goals and the success criteria that will be used to assess their learning.
Participate in the development of their individual learning goals.
Use the learning goals and success criteria to assess and improve their own learning.
Indicator 1.4: During learning, timely, ongoing, descriptive feedback about student progress is provided, based on student actions and co-constructed success criteria.
At the school:
A culture of learning is promoted in schools and classrooms whereby errors are seen as opportunities for learning and improvement.
Ongoing, descriptive feedback is collaboratively analyzed to provide information about student learning and to identify next steps.
Student assessment and evaluation practices are collaboratively reviewed in order to identify and address any potential systemic bias.
Processes and practices are in place to recognize and celebrate student progress.
In the classroom:
Learning goals and success criteria are used consistently to scaffold student learning, provide descriptive feedback and set high expectations for students.
Timely, explicit and constructive feedback related to the success criteria is descriptive rather than evaluative and extends thinking.
Student learning and progress is clarified throughout the learning process (e.g., through interviews, conferences and learning conversations with small groups, pairs and/or individual students).
Students have multiple and varied opportunities to revise and refine their demonstrations of learning.
Opportunities for students to provide quality feedback to classmates, educators and themselves are planned and occur.
Students:
Use descriptive feedback, based on the success criteria, to revise and refine their demonstrations of learning and set individual learning goals.
Provide accurate, constructive and descriptive feedback to themselves, their classmates, and educators in relation to the predetermined success criteria.
Indicator 1.5: Students are explicitly taught and regularly use self-assessment skills to monitor, improve and communicate their learning, within the context of the Ontario curriculum and/or Individual Education Plan (IEP).
At the school:
Educators share strategies for helping students to develop, understand and use criteria, identify strengths and areas for improvement and develop and implement goals for next steps in learning.
Self-assessment is used throughout the school as a skill connected to higher order processes such as metacognition and self-regulation.
In the classroom:
Self-assessment skills and goal setting are taught, modelled and practised.
Using co-constructed success criteria, opportunities are planned for students to practise self and peer assessment.
Educators provide students with qualitative feedback on their peer and self-assessment skills.
Students:
Engage in learning conversations and peer assessment to explain and question their own thinking.
Use work samples to help them understand what quality work looks like and to develop or refine their understanding of success criteria.
Use success criteria to assess and monitor their progress and set individual learning goals.
Participate in the collection and development of personal documentation of learning (e.g., portfolios, learning logs, course notebooks, student files) that assist in informing the next steps in their learning.
Set and track learning goals based on identification of strengths and needs through a variety of forums (e.g., student-led conferences)
Indicator 1.6: Assessment of learning provides relevant and meaningful evidence to evaluate the quality of student achievement at or near the end of a cycle of learning and to determine next steps.
At the school:
A fair and equitable assessment and evaluation policy is in place, is clearly articulated and shared with staff, students, parents and the community.
Tasks/assignments for assessment of learning are aligned with the curriculum expectations and/or the learning expectations in the IEP.
Assessment of learning is based on the most consistent, more recent demonstrations of learning.
Comments on report cards are personalized, clear, precise and meaningful to reflect individual student progress. The School Effectiveness Framework K–12 14
In the classroom:
A range of evidence for the assessment of learning is collected through observations, conversations and student products.
Assessment of learning is based on the performance standards set out in the Achievement Chart and the content standards identified by the overall curriculum expectations and/or IEP.
Assessment criteria align with the overall expectations and form the basis of assessment of learning.
Assessment of learning provides evidence to inform next steps.
Learning skills and work habits are evaluated and reported to parents.
Students:
Choose, where possible, how they demonstrate their learning for the purposes of assessment of learning.
Demonstrate an understanding of how their learning will be evaluated.
Use assessment of learning results to set new learning goals.
Indicator 1.7: Ongoing communication about learning is in place to allow students, educators and parents to monitor and support student learning.
At the school:
Communication protocols and timelines are clearly communicated in school publications, including websites.
School-wide processes are developed to inform and engage parents and students in learning, assessment practices and how next steps in learning are determined.
Parents and students learn about the different purposes of assessment and evaluation.
Parents are engaged through ongoing communication and dialogue to support a positive learning environment at home and at school.
In the classroom:
All communication about assessment is personalized, clear, precise and meaningful.
A system (e.g. student agenda, classroom website, moodle, blog) is in place to allow educators, students and parents to continuously monitor student progress.
Clear learning goals and success criteria are identified, shared and clarified with students and parents.
Communication at critical check points in the learning allows students and parents to contribute to and monitor progress during the learning.
Students and parents are involved in an ongoing communication process regarding student learning, through a variety of strategies (e.g., portfolio discussions, student-led conferences, IEP meetings, conferences with educators). The School Effectiveness Framework K–12 15
Students:
Identify and communicate their learning preferences, individual strengths and areas for further improvement.
Participate in meetings regarding their learning and progress (e.g. student-led conferences, IEP meetings, conferences with educators).
Engage in learning conversations and discussions with educators and peers that elicit evidence of understanding.
Comment on their report cards about strengths and goals
Note: All content is from The School Effectiveness Framework published by the Ontario Ministry of Education in 2013. It is re-posted here only for ease of digital navigation.
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