Page 25 - Choices into Action

Assessment and Evaluation
The guidance and career education program must be evaluated regularly to determine the effectiveness of the school’s program plan. The program’s effectiveness will be determined by students’ achievement of competencies, ongoing communication with parents and community partners, and formal program evaluation through the program-effectiveness survey.
Teachers must continually observe, assess, and evaluate students’ achieve- ment of competencies in all components of the guidance and career educa- tion program. Information from assessment will help improve student learn- ing and identify areas for program improvement. It will help teachers and guidance counsellors determine how well their planned career exploration activities, teacher-adviser activities, and teaching and counselling programs and other components of the guidance and career education program are working, and help them make any changes required to help students achieve the program goals.
The methods for assessing and evaluating students’ learning must be clearly identified and based on the program goals. These methods must be appropri- ate for students’ ages, strengths, and needs and for the particular activities being evaluated. Guidance and career education student competencies can be assessed using interviews with students, observation of students’ behav- iour, checklists, and surveys, as well as student profiles, performances, work samples, journals, and academic and career portfolios. It is important that teachers have students review their learning progress and plans for improve- ment. Observations by parents, and other teachers, will provide a teacher, teacher-adviser, guidance counsellor, and, in some instances, a school team with information or suggestions that are useful when modifying program components or referring students to those able to provide individual assistance or short-term counselling.
24