Throughout the school day, students engage in learning tasks, activities, and discussions that have been designed by a teacher. Each learning opportunity is connected to the learning outcomes from Alberta Programs of Study.
Teachers regularly use a variety of assessment methods to collect and interpret information about what students know and can do in relation the intended learning outcomes. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning.
Assessment:
- Guides the development of learning tasks
- Is shaped by the nature of the learning outcomes
- Engages learners in understanding and adjusting their approach to learning
- Leads to adjustments in instruction
During a unit of study, students have multiple and varied opportunities to develop, demonstrate, check and refine their understanding of learning outcomes. Throughout this process, teachers and students engage in formative assessment, a way of checking learning to decide what to do next. Teachers provide timely and descriptive feedback, and plan for next steps in learning based on the needs of their students. Students participate in developing criteria for learning tasks, monitor their own progress, provide feedback to their peers and identify goals and strategies to support their own growth and progress.
At times, often at the end of a particular unit of study, student learning is verified through a summative assessment, which is a comparison at a particular moment in time between individual student achievement and the outcomes of the Program of Studies. The summative assessments that teachers design and use throughout the reporting period form the body of evidence that teachers consider when determining grades at report card time.
