Page 37 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | Canadian and World Studies

Communication
• expression and organization of ideas and information in oral, visual, and/or written forms
• communication for different audiences and purposes in oral, visual, and/or written forms
• use of conventions, vocabulary, and terminology of the discipline in oral, visual, and/or written forms
Application
• application of knowledge and skills in familiar contexts
• transfer of knowledge and skills to new contexts
• making connections within and between various contexts
“Descriptors” indicate the characteristics of the student’s performance, with respect to
a particular criterion, on which assessment or evaluation is focused. Effectiveness is the descriptor used for each of the criteria in the Thinking, Communication, and Application categories. What constitutes effectiveness in any given performance task will vary with the particular criterion being considered. Assessment of effectiveness may therefore focus on a quality such as appropriateness, clarity, accuracy, precision, logic, relevance, significance, fluency, flexibility, depth, or breadth, as appropriate for the particular criterion.
Levels of Achievement
The achievement chart also identifies four levels of achievement, defined as follows:
Level 1 represents achievement that falls much below the provincial standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with limited effectiveness. Students must work at significantly improving in specific areas, as necessary, if they are to be successful in a course in the next grade.
Level 2 represents achievement that approaches the standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with some effectiveness. Students performing at this level need to work on identified learning gaps to ensure future success.
Level 3 represents the provincial standard for achievement. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with considerable effectiveness. Parents of students achieving at level 3 can be confident that their children will be prepared for work in subsequent courses.
Level 4 identifies achievement that surpasses the provincial standard. The student demonstrates the specified knowledge and skills with a high degree of effectiveness. However, achievement at level 4 does not mean that the student has achieved expectations beyond those specified for the course.
Specific “qualifiers” are used with the descriptors in the achievement chart to describe student performance at each of the four levels of achievement – the qualifier limited is used for level 1; some for level 2; considerable for level 3; and a high degree of or thorough for level 4. Hence, achievement at level 3 in the Thinking category for the criterion “use of planning skills” would be described in the achievement chart as “[The student] uses planning skills with considerable effectiveness”.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
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