Page 33 - Native Languages 9-10 (1999)

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The Achievement Chart for Native Languages
The achievement chart that follows identifies four categories of knowledge and skills in Native languages – Knowledge/Understanding,Thinking/Inquiry, Communication, and Application.
These categories encompass all the curriculum expectations in courses in the discipline. For each of the category statements in the left-hand column, the levels of student achievement are described.1 (Detailed information on the achievement levels and on assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy is provided in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Program Planning and Assessment, 1999.)
The achievement chart is meant to guide teachers in:
– planning instruction and learning activities that will lead to the achievement of the curriculum expectations in a course;
– planning assessment strategies that will accurately assess students’ achievement of the curriculum expectations;
– selecting samples of student work that provide evidence of achievement at particular levels; providing descriptive feedback to students on their current achievement and suggesting strategies for improvement;
– determining, towards the end of a course, the student’s most consistent level of achievement of the curriculum expectations as reflected in his or her course work;
– devising a method of final evaluation;
– assigning a final grade.
The achievement chart can guide students in:
– assessing their own learning;
– planning strategies for improvement, with the help of their teachers.
The achievement chart provides a standard province-wide method for teachers to use in assessing and evaluating their students’ achievement. Teachers will be provided with materials that will assist them in improving their assessment methods and strategies and, hence, their assessment
of student achievement. These materials will contain samples of student work (exemplars) that illustrate achievement at each of the levels (represented by associated percentage grade ranges). Until these materials are provided, teachers may continue to follow their current assessment and evaluation practices.
To ensure consistency in assessment and reporting across the province, the ministry will provide samples of student work that reflect achievement based on the provincial standard, and other resources based on the achievement charts. As these resources become available, teachers will begin to use the achievement charts in their assessment and evaluation practices.
1. The levels of achievement should not be confused with the Native languages course levels.