Page 41 - Creating Pathways to Success

The “All About Me” portfolio (Kindergarten to Grade 6) and the Individual Pathways Plan (Grades 7 to 12), key components of the school’s education and career/life planning program, provide a structure for student/parent/teacher conferencing
as well as evidence to support ongoing planning at home and at school.
6.4 Student Engagement
A variety of strategies and practices can be employed by schools and school boards to enable students to provide authentic input into the development, implementation, and assessment of the school’s comprehensive education and career/life planning program. Like parent engagement, “student voice” is an essential component of Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education strategy (see OS, section 1.4). Student representation on the advisory committee is important, but there are other ways
of incorporating student input as well.
Information relevant to the assessment and design of the program can be gleaned from students’ reviews, with teachers and parents, of their “All About Me” portfolios and Individual Pathways Plans. During these discussions, students may provide feedback on the effectiveness of program components. This is one way of accessing the voice of all students, and it should be incorporated formally into the process of evaluating the program’s effectiveness.
As part of program implementation, schools are required to conduct Student Exit Surveys at the end of Grade 8 and Grade 12, at a minimum. Exit surveys could, however, be conducted at the end of every grade – a process facilitated through the web-based IPP system in Grades 7 to 12. Exit surveys provide another opportunity to obtain authentic student input that could shape the development, implementation, and evaluation of a school’s education and career/life planning program.
6.5 Measuring Program Effectiveness to Ensure Student Success
Evaluation of the school’s education and career/life planning program includes (1) monitoring the implementation of the program and (2) assessing how well the program is succeeding in helping students develop the knowledge and skills they need for effective education and career/life planning.
Schools are encouraged to align the strategies they use for measuring program effectiveness with school and board improvement planning processes related to Component 5 of the School Effectiveness Framework – the Programs and Pathways component (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013c). The indicators provided in the framework for that component can help schools identify areas of strength and areas requiring improvement with respect to education and career/life planning.
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