Middle School Assessment

Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making expectations explicit and public, setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality, and using the resulting information to document and improve performance.

At ASB, we endorse the following eight big ideas about assessment (Damian Cooper, 2007):

1. Assessment serves different purposes at different times: it may be used to find out what students already know and can do; it may be used to help students improve their learning; or it may be used to let students and their parents know how much they have learned within a prescribed period of time.
2. Assessment must be planned and purposeful.
3. Assessment must be balanced including oral, performance, multi-modal, digital and written tasks, and be flexible in order to improve learning for all students.
4. Assessment and instruction are inseparable because effective assessment informs teaching and learning.
5. For assessment to be helpful to students, it must inform them in words, not just numerical scores, what they need to do next in order to improve.
6. Assessment is a collaborative process that is most effective when it involves self, peer, and teacher assessment.
7. Performance standards are an essential component of effective assessment.
8. Grading and reporting student achievement is a caring, sensitive process that requires teachers' professional judgment. 

Reporting

ASB Middle School issues report cards at the end of each semester. We offer a standards-based report card style that lists the essential skills, knowledge, and understanding in each subject area, based on the AERO Standards for core classes and US national standards for the Arts.

The following benchmark proficiency indicators are used to denote student achievement:

• Exceeding the Standard (EX): Assessment evidence has been collected this reporting period demonstrating work that exemplifies this grade level standard. 
• Meeting the Standard (ME): Assessment evidence has been collected this reporting period that demonstrates this student has met the standard for this grade level. 
• Approaching the Standard (AP): Assessment evidence has been collected this reporting period that demonstrates this student is approaching the standard for this grade level. 
• Beginning to Meet the Standard (BE): Assessment evidence has been collected this reporting period that demonstrates this student has not met the standard for this grade level. 
• Incomplete Evidence (IN): The teacher has insufficient or incomplete evidence and is unable to determine if the standard has been met.

Approaches to Learning

Approaches to Learning (ATLs) are integral to student learning at ASB. We believe that students who consistently demonstrate these ATLs are developing habits that support metacognition and life-long learning. We report ATLs on each trimester report card and provide feedback throughout the year in our online grade book.