Page 35 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: English As a Second Language and English Literacy Development, 2007

THE ACHIEVEMENT CHART FOR ESL AND ELD
The achievement chart that follows identifies four categories of knowledge and skills in English as a Second Language and English Literacy Development. The achievement chart is a standard province-wide guide to be used by teachers. It enables teachers to make judgements about student work that are based on clear performance standards and on a body of evidence collected over time.
The purpose of the achievement chart is to:
provide a common framework that encompasses all curriculum expectations for all courses outlined in this document;
guide the development of high-quality assessment tasks and tools (including rubrics);
help teachers to plan instruction for learning;
assist teachers in providing meaningful feedback to students;
provide various categories and criteria with which to assess and evaluate students’ learning.
Categories of Knowledge and Skills. The categories, defined by clear criteria, represent four broad areas of knowledge and skills within which the subject expectations for any given course are organized. The four categories should be considered as interrelated, reflecting the wholeness and interconnectedness of learning.
The categories of knowledge and skills are described as follows:
Knowledge and Understanding. Subject-specific content acquired in each grade (knowl- edge) and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding).
Thinking. The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes. Communication. The conveying of meaning through various forms.
Application. The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts.
Teachers will ensure that student work is assessed and/or evaluated in a balanced man- ner with respect to the four categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories.
Criteria. Within each category in the achievement chart, criteria are provided that are subsets of the knowledge and skills that define each category. The criteria identify the aspects of student performance that are assessed and/or evaluated, and serve as guides to what to look for.
Descriptors. A “descriptor” indicates the characteristic of the student’s performance, with respect to a particular criterion, on which assessment or evaluation is focused.
In the achievement chart, effectiveness is the descriptor used for each criterion 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,
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
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