Page 46 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education
The performance standards are outlined in the achievement chart, which is provided
in the curriculum documents for every subject or discipline (see pages 52–53). The achievement chart is a standard province-wide guide and is to be used by all teachers as a framework within which to assess and evaluate student achievement of the expectations in the particular subject or discipline. It enables teachers to make consistent judgements about the quality of student learning based on clear performance standards and on a body of evidence collected over time. It also provides teachers with a foundation for developing clear and specific feedback for students and parents.
The purposes of the achievement chart are to:
• provide a common framework that encompasses all curriculum expectations for all courses across grades;
• guide the development of high-quality assessment tasks and tools (including rubrics);
• help teachers plan instruction for learning;
• provide a basis for consistent and meaningful feedback to students in relation to provincial content and performance standards;
• establish categories and criteria with which to assess and evaluate students’ learning.
Assessment for Learning and as Learning
Assessment is the process of gathering information that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a course. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. Assessment for the purpose of improving student learning is seen as both “assessment for learning” and “assessment as learning”.
As part of assessment for learning, the teacher and placement supervisor provide students with descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement. Receiving such feedback
on their early attempts to apply their skills and knowledge in the cooperative education experience, as well as feedback throughout their learning, helps students deepen
their learning. Assessment as learning develops students’ capacity to be independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, reflect on their thinking and learning, monitor their own progress, and determine next steps.
As essential steps in assessment for learning and as learning, teachers need to:
• plan assessment concurrently and integrate it seamlessly with instruction;
• share learning goals and success criteria with students at the outset of learning to ensure that students and teachers have a common and shared understanding of these goals and criteria as learning progresses;
• gather information about student learning before, during, and at or near the end of a period of instruction, using a variety of assessment strategies and tools;
• use assessment to inform instruction, guide next steps, and help students monitor their progress towards achieving their learning goals;
• analyse and interpret evidence of learning;
• give and receive specific and timely descriptive feedback about student learning;
• help students to develop skills of peer assessment and self-assessment.
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