BeijingBISSInternationalSchoolAssessmentPolicy

Updated:May2019

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ASSESSMENTBELIEFSOFOURLEARNINGENVIRONMENT

FeedbackandSelf-Reflection

ü Assessmentisafeedbackprocess,whichshouldbetimelyandfrequent.Self-reflectionisanessentialcomponentofassessment.

Guideline:Studentsshouldhaveopportunitiesforselfandpeerassessment.

Guideline:Studentsneedtoreceivetimelyandfrequentfeedbackontheirlearning.

Criteria

ü Studentsshouldhaveclearcriteriaforsuccessonanyassessmenttask.

Guideline:Studentsreceivespecificclarificationsforeachlearningobjective.

Improvement

ü Assessmentshouldimprovestudentlearning.

Guideline:Studentsshouldhaveaccesstoanduseassessmentresultstoimprovetheirlearning.

Guideline: Feedback needs to include specific suggestions as to how students can improve theirlearning/performance.

Guideline:Studentsshouldhaveopportunitiesfordialogueabouttheirprogress.

InformingInstruction

ü Assessmentpracticesinfluenceinstructionalpracticeandassessmentresultsshouldbeusedregularlytoinformandmodifyinstruction.

Guideline:Assessment resultsmustbeused to informvariedandappropriateclassroom learningexperiences.

Guideline:Eachunitneedstobereflecteduponandreviewedwithnecessarychangesdocumented.

Data

ü TheSchoolwillcreateandmaintainsystemstocollectandrecordassessmentdataforthepurposeofimprovingstudentlearning.

Guideline:Assessmentrecordingsystemneedstobeusedregularlytodocumentstudentdata.

Guideline:Teachersandadministratorsanalyseassessmentdatatoimprovestudentlearning.

Assessmentstrategies

ü Avarietyofassessmentstrategiesandtoolsareusedtoassesslearning.

Guideline:Thetypeofassessmentstrategiesandtoolsmustbeappropriatetothelearningandtheneedsofthestudents.

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IBPrimaryYearsProgrammeAssessmentPractices

AboutassessmentinthePrimaryYearsProgrammeThe purpose of assessment is to involve all members of the BISS community in a process ofgatheringandanalysisofinformationaboutstudentlearningtoinformlearningandteaching.

Studentsbecomeeffective,self-regulatedlearnerswhentheyareactivelyengagedinassessmentandactonconstructivefeedback,whichmaybeobtainedthroughself-reflection,peer-orteacherfeedback.

Teachersbecomemoreeffectivewhentheycontinually learnaboutwhatstudentsknowandcando.Theyreflectontheirpractice,adjusttheirteachingbasedondata,andoffertimely,specificandwell-consideredfeedbacktobettersupportlearning.

Parentsandlegalguardiansbecomemoreinformedwhentheyunderstandthelearninggoalstheirchild is working towards, and the progress their child is making. They extend their child’sunderstanding and development of skills when they support learning. They contribute to theirchild’sjoyoflearningandgrowthasasuccessfullearnerthroughsharinginsightswiththelearningcommunity.

Schools become more impactful learning communities when they use assessment as a tool toevaluatethedepthoftheircurriculumandtheeffectivenessoftheirteaching.Theymakedecisionsabout targeting resources and support to the most pressing priorities and professionaldevelopmentneeds.

CharacteristicsofeffectiveassessmentHighlyeffectiveassessmentsharessomekeycharacteristics(AdaptedfromClarke2012):

• Authentic: It supports making connections to the real world to promote studentengagement.

• Clear and specific: This includes desired learning goals, success criteria and the processstudentsusetolearn.

• Varied:Itusesawiderrangeoftoolsandstrategiesthatarefitforpurposeinordertobuildawell-roundedpictureofstudentlearning.

• Developmental: It focuses on an individual student’s progress rather than theirperformanceinrelationtoothers.

• Collaborative: Itengagesboth teachersandstudents in theassessmentdevelopmentandevaluationprocess.

• Interactive:Assessmentencompassesongoinganditerativedialoguesaboutlearning.• Feedback to feedforward: It provides feedback on current learning to inform what is

neededtosupportfuturelearning(Hattie,Timperley2007)andraisesstudents’motivation.

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Developingassessmentcapabilitytosupportlearning

Allmembers of the learning community develop assessment capability (Frey, Hattie, and Fisher,2018) tomake the “tacit knowledge that is ‘hidden’within the learner transparent, explicit andavailable”(Clark2012).

Membersofthelearningcommunityareassessmentcapablewhen:

• Everyoneisawareof,andunderstands,whyandwhattoassess• Everyoneisawareof,andunderstands,whatconstitutesquality• Thereisasharedunderstandingofhowtoassessandwhatdataisbeingcollected,analysedandreported.• Thereisasharedlanguagefortalkingaboutassessment• Theassessmentprocess iscollaborativeandinclusiveofallmembers(Hipkins2009;Booth,Hill,Dixon2014)

Whenmembersofthelearningcommunityhaveasharedunderstandingandlanguagetomonitor,documentandmeasure learning,theycanmakepowerfulcontributionsto learningandteaching.Inanassessment-capablelearningcommunity,everyonehasaclearunderstandingofthereasonsfor assessment, what is being assessed, the criteria for success, and themethods by which theassessmentismade.Insodoing,theentireschoolcommunityis involvedintheinquiryregardingthe efficacy of the programme implementation. We believe this has a powerful effect on thedevelopmentofknowledge,conceptualunderstandingsandskills.

Teachers

Teacherssupportstudentstobecomeassessmentcapableinthefollowingways(IBO,2018).

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Teachersinalearningcommunityaskthefollowingquestions:• Whatawarenessandunderstandingdowehaveofstudentlearning?• Whatistheevidenceofwhatstudentscando,say,write,createanddemonstrate?• Howdowesupportstudentstounderstandwhatconstitutesquality?• Whatothercontextscanweprovideforstudentstopractisetheirskills?• Whatactionneedstobetakentodevelopthelearningfurther?• Howwillweknowthatwehavesufficientlysupportedstudentlearning?• Howcanweidentifyprogressioninlearningacrossmultiplecontextsorunitsofinquiry?• Howdoweuseevidenceoflearningtoplanthenextlearningstepswithstudents?

Indesigningaholisticassessment,teachersconsiderthefollowingquestions:

• Whatlearninggoalswillbeachieved?• HowcanIinvolvestudentsintheassessmentdesign?• Howcould studentsengage indialogueswith teachers about thedevelopmentof learner

profileattributes?• Whatdataorevidenceshouldbegathered?• Whattoolsorstrategiesshouldbeusedtogatherdata?• Howwilltheevidencebemonitored,documentedandmeasured?• Howcouldstudentsbeaskedtoevidenceanyadditionallearning?• Howwilltheresultsbesharedtofeedbacktothestudent?• Howwilltheresultsbeusedtoinformnextstepsinlearningandteaching?• Howwilltheresultsoftheassessmentbeusedtoinformthelearningcommunity?

StudentsStudentsdemonstratetheirassessmentcapabilityby:

• partneringwithteacherstodesigntheirlearninggoalsandsuccesscriteria• beingabletoself-assessanddiscusstheirprogresstowardsachievinglearninggoals• selecting evidence, such as samples of their learning, that best demonstrate the intendedlearninggoals

• developingthemetacognitiveskillstoreflectontheirlearningandtoplannextsteps• drawingonfeedbackandmultiplestrategiestoadjusttheirlearningandidentifywhereandwhentomakeimprovements.

Howtoassess-thefourdimensionsofassessmentAssessment provides evidence to inform learning and teaching. Both students and teachers arecontinuallyaskingthemselvesthequestions“AmImakingprogress?HowdoIknow?”Theygatherevidenceoflearningtoanswerthesequestions.

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Monitoringlearning

Monitoringof learningaimstochecktheprogressof learningagainstpersonal learninggoalsandsuccesscriteria.Itoccursdailythroughavarietyofstrategies:observation,questioning,reflection,discussinglearningwithpeersandteachers,andwell-consideredfeedbacktofeedforwardfornextstepsinlearning.Toolsusedformonitoringincludeopen-endedtasks,writtenororalassessment,andalearningportfolio.

DocumentinglearningThedocumentingoflearningisthecompilationoftheevidenceoflearning.Documentationcanbephysicalordigital,andcanbedisplayedorrecordedinavarietyofmediaforms.Documentationoflearningissharedwithotherstomakelearningvisibleandapparent.Itrevealsinsightsintolearningandprovidesopportunitiestoreconnectwithlearninggoalsandsuccesscriteria.

Studentsandteacherscandocumentlearninggoals,questions,reflectionsandevidenceoflearningusingavarietyofformats.

Learninglogsorjournals:Theseareusedtorecordfeedbackandreflectionsofon-goinglearning.

Learning stories: Narratives that document an instance when the learner shows knowledge,conceptualunderstandingsorskills.

Portfolios: A collection of artefacts that can also contribute to reporting. Documentation toolscouldincludeexemplars,checklists,rubrics,anecdotalrecords,portfolios.

MeasuringlearningThemeasuring of learning aims to capturewhat a student has learned at a particular “point intime”. BISS has employed the Australian National Curriculum to provide content for Scope andSequencedocumentation,understandingthatstudentsarenottobeassessedusingtheselearningoutcomes.Studentsareatdifferentlevelsanddevelopatdifferentrates.

Measuringoflearningensureseveryonehasaclearpictureofstudents’currentcapabilitiesandthemeasures inform the direction of future learning. To support students and teachers in this task,BISS employ the First Steps Continuums for English Language and Mathematics. BISS has alsodeveloped a First Steps Continuum for Chinese Language learning based on the First StepsContinuumsforEnglishLanguage.

ReadinglevelsareassessedthroughPMreaders,whicharemeasuredinAugust,JanuaryandJuneofeachyear.

Further development of school-wide assessment tools and curriculum is detailed in the BISSCurriculumReviewCycle2019.

ReportinglearningReportingonlearninginformsthelearningcommunityandreflectsthequestion“Howwellarewedoing?” It describes the progress and achievement of the students’ learning, identifies areas for

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growth and contributes to the efficacy of the programme. Reporting is perhaps themost publicaspect of assessment, and therefore needs careful consideration in order to provide clearinformationthatisusefultostudentsandparents.

BISSreportsonlearninginthefollowingways:• Parent/teacher/studentconferencesarescheduleonceasemester.Intheseconferences,thereisaconversationbetweenallparticipantsabouttheresultsofassessmentanddiscussionsaboutthe futureof learning. This is likea collectionof feedback conferences teachershavehadwithstudents,withtheparentsbeingpartoftheconversation.Teachersshouldmakerecordsofthecontentofpreviousfeedback/feed-forwardconversationstosupportthisconference.

• Student-led conferences happenat theendof the school year. In these conferences, studentsshowwhathasbelearnedthroughouttheyear.Thelearninggoalssetearlierintheyearshouldactasastimulusforconversation.

• Reportsaresentattheendofeachsemesterwithprogressreportsbeingsenthalf-waythroughthesemester.

Self-auditframeworkforteachers:Integratingassessment

Conceptualunderstandings Skills Knowledge

Monitoringlearning

Themonitoringoflearningoccursdailythroughavarietyofstrategies:observing,questioning,reflecting,discussing,andlearningwithpeersandteacherstoformmeaningfulfeedbackandfeedforwardfornextstepsinlearning.

WhatconceptualunderstandingsamIplanningforandmonitoring?Howwillmystudentsknowthepurposeofmonitoringlearning?

HowamImodellingtheskillsIwantmystudentstobuild?HowamImonitoringtheskillsIwantmystudentstobuild?

Whatrelevantpriorknowledgemightmystudentsalreadyhave?HowdoIplantofindout?

Documentinglearning

Thedocumentingoflearningissharedwithotherstomakelearningvisibleandapparent.Itrevealsinsightsintolearningandprovidesopportunitiestoreconnectwithlearninggoalsandsuccesscriteria

HowamIdocumentingfeedbackandreflectiononnewunderstanding?HowamIusingthisinformation?

Are/howaremystudentsidentifyingconnectionstootherslearningandpriorexperience?InwhatwaysaremystudentsandIdocumentingskilldeveloping?

HowhavemystudentsandIidentifiedanddocumentedtheirlearning?

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Measuringlearning

Themeasuringoflearninggathers“point-in-time”dataonachievementandprogress.Notalllearningcanbe,orneedstobe,measured.

HowhaveIgivenmultipleopportunitiesformystudentstoaccess,useanddemonstratenewunderstandings?

Howmightmystudentsusetheirstrengthenedskillsinothercontexts?Whatwillsupportthemtodoso?

HaveIgottherightbalancebetweenchallengeandknowledge?HowdoIknow?

AssessingearlylearnersStudentsintheearlyyearsacquirekeylearningmilestonesthatarefundamentalforfutureschoolsuccess. This includes their cognitive ability to reflect on their knowledge, conceptualunderstandingsandskills.Awiderangeofassessmentstrategiesinformslearningandteachingofyounglearners.

Earlyyears teachersobservehowstudentsmonitorandadjust theirownbehaviour,especiallyatplay,inorderto:

• Buildaclearpictureofthestudentandtheirinterests• Identifywhatandhowthestudentisthinkingandlearning• Assesstheeffectivenessofthelearningenvironmentonthestudent’slearning• Planlearningengagementsforindividualsandsmallgroups.

Whenobserving,teachersalsodocumentwhatthestudentssayanddo.Bylisteningcarefullytothedialoguebetweenstudents,teacherslearnabouttheircurrentinterests,existingknowledge,levelof involvement and social skills. Teachers share these observations with students and parents.Collaboratingwithcolleagues,theyanalysegroupinteractions,discoverstrengths,identifylearninggoalsandreflectontheeffectivenessofteachingpractices.

Givingandreceivingfeedback

Feedback has been identified as one of themost effective teaching practices (Hattie, Timperley2007) and forms the core of assessment. Effective teacher feedback offers opportunities forreflectionandaction. Itencourages learningadjustment,promotescontinuous improvementandcelebrates success. Effective feedback is timely, specific andwell considered toprovide studentswith opportunities to practise metacognitive skills (Frey et al, 2018). It helps students developstrategies to self-adjust and has a powerful influence on engagement and self-efficacy towardslearning.

Inprovidingfeedback,teachersmayalsoconsiderwhethertofocusonknowledgeorskills,onthelearningprocessoronself-regulationskills(Hattie2012).Allthreetypesoffeedbackarenecessary;however, students benefit most from feedback that is based on their learning progression. Forexample,alearnerwhoislearningaskillforthefirsttimemightrequiremorefeedbackrelatingto

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thatskillorknowledge.Atthesametime,another learnerwhohashadmultipleopportunitiestopractisethatskillwillbenefitfromfeedbackrelatingtoself-regulatoryskills(Hattie2012).

Feedbackonknowledge,conceptualunderstandingsandapproachestolearningsupportsstudentsmoving towards their desired learning goals. When giving feedback, teachers should thereforefocuson:

Feedback:HowamIdoing?Feedforward:Wheretonext?(HattieandTimperley,2007)

Teacher feedback canalsoaimat challenging students’ reflectiononmisconceptions. Supportingstudents’correctionofmisconceptionsremovespotentialbarrierstolearningandenhancesdeeperconceptualunderstanding(Hattie2012).

PeerfeedbackPeerfeedback isakeyactivitythroughwhichstudentsusethestructureand languageofsuccesscriteriatoappraiseandprovidefeedbackonthelearningofothers.Itemphasizestheimportanceof learning in the context of relationships by providing opportunities to communicate and belistenedto.Peerfeedbackcontributesto learningadjustmentbecause it isgivenin languagethatstudentsnaturallyuseandbecausestudentsaremorereadytoacceptfeedbackfromoneanother.

Students who provide feedback to peers also benefit in giving feedback, as they increase theirassessment capability. Peer feedback also gives teachers information about how a student’sunderstandingofalearningexperienceissimilarto,ordifferentfrom,theirpeers.

Tosupportthis,teachersmodelhowtoprovideeffectivepeerfeedbackby:

• usinglanguagethatshowsrespectforthelearningofothers• referringtosharedunderstandingsofwhatqualityandsuccesslookslikefordiverselearners• providingauthenticandongoingexperiencesingivingmeaningfulfeedback• supportingstudentstointeractwiththelearningofothers• conferencinginsmallgroups.

SourcesPublications

• International Baccalaureate Organization. IB Programme Standards and Practices. Cardiff:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• International Baccalaureate Organization. Primary Years Programme: Learning and Teaching.Cardiff:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2018.Print.

• Clark, I. “Formative assessment: Assessment is for self-regulated learning”. EducationalPsychologyReview.Vol24,number2.Pp205–249,2012.

• Gardner H. Assessment in Context: The Alternative to Standardized Testing. In: Gifford B.R.,O’ConnorM.C. (eds)ChangingAssessments.Evaluation inEducationandHumanServices, vol

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30.Springer,Dordrecht,1992.

• Hattie, JandTimperley,H.“Thepowerof feedback”.ReviewofEducationalResearch.Vol77,number1.Pp81–112,2007.

• Frey,Nancy,Hattie,J.,andFisher,D.DevelopingAssessment-CapableVisibleLearners:GradesK-12:MaximizingSkill,Will,andThrill.Corwin,ASAGECompany,2018.

• BeijingBISSInternationalSchool.BISSElementarySchoolHandbook2019-2020,Beijing:BeijingBISSInternationalSchool,2019.

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IBMiddleYearsProgrammeAssessmentPractices

AboutassessmentintheMiddleYearsProgrammeThesinglemost importantaimofMYPassessment is tosupportandencouragestudent learning.Assessmentisintegraltoallteachingandlearningandisalignedwithsubject-groupobjectives.

Througheffectiveandongoingformativeassessment,teachersgather,analyse,interpretanduseavariety of evidence to improve student learning and to help students to achieve their potential.Formativeassessment(assessmentfor learning)providesteachersandstudentswithinsights intotheongoingdevelopmentofknowledge,understanding,skillsandattitudes.Studentpeerandself-assessmentisanintegralpartoftheformativeassessmentprocessesduringwhichstudentslearnhowtogiveanduseconstructivefeedback.Formativeassessmentisanongoingprocessandshouldbecarriedoutatleastonceaweek.

At least twice in each year of the MYP, teachers apply summative assessment and assess theprescribedsubject-groupobjectivesusingassessmentcriteria.

AssessmentstrategiesIn order to provide students with opportunities to achieve the highest level, teachers developrigorous tasks that embrace a variety of assessment strategies including (but not limited to):observation, open-ended tasks, portfolio assessment, process journals, performance, selectedresponse.

DeterminingachievementlevelsAt theendof each semester, teachersmake judgmentson their students’ achievement levels ineachsubject-groupcriterion.Todeterminetheseachievementlevels,teachersgatherevidenceofachievement from a range of learning experiences and assessments. Teachers ensure that thisevidencecomesfromtheperformanceofthestudentoverthedurationoftheunitstaught.Whenapplying the assessment criteria to student performance, teachers determine whether the firstdescriptor describes the performance. If the student work exceeds the expectations of the firstdescriptor,theteacherdetermineswhetheritisdescribedbytheseconddescriptor.Thiscontinuesuntiltheteacherarrivesatadescriptorthatdoesnotdescribethestudentwork;theworkwillthenbedescribedbythepreviousdescriptor. Incertaincases, itmayappear that thestudenthasnotfulfilledallofthedescriptorsinalowerbandbuthasfulfilledsomeinahigherband.Inthosecases,teachersusetheirprofessionaljudgmentindeterminingthedescriptorthatbestfitsthestudent’sperformance.

Standardizationofassessment

The internal standardization of assessmentmust take place before final achievement levels areawardedforeverysubjectgroupandthePersonalproject.Theprocessinvolvesteachersmeetingto come to a common understanding on the criteria and achievement levels and how they are

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applied. This process promotes consistency and common understandings about studentachievementwithrespecttoMYPobjectives.Thestandardizationofassessmentshouldtakeplaceatleastoncepersemester.

Recording

Teachershave the responsibilityofdocumentingassessmentdataonall their students. TeachershavetorecordsummativeassessmentdatausingManageBacintheformofanachievementlevelasdescribedwithinacriterion.Therecordedassessmentdatasupports thedeterminationof thefinalachievement levelat theendofeach reportingperiod (semester1andsemester2) ineachcriterion.

Reporting

Thereare several typesof formal reportingof studentsprogress atBISS, including semesteroneandtwowrittenreports,Parent-Teacher-StudentConferencesandStudent ledconferences. Inaddition,parentscanarrangeindividualmeetingswithhomeroomand/orsubjectteachersatanytimeduringtheschoolyear.

SemesterreportsIndividualMYPsemesterreportscontaininformationonstudents’academicprogresfromalleightsubjects in the formof summativeachievement levelswith corresponding leveldescriptor forallsubjectcriteria. Inadditiontocommunicatingachievement levels ineachofthecriteria,studentsareawardedgradesbyapllyingtheIBgeneralgradeboundaries(achievementlevelsfromallfourcriteriaareadded):

TheMYPsemesterreportcommunicatesalsothetaughtandassessedcurriculumforthereportingperiod,progressinServiceasActionandstudents’leveloforganizationalskillsandattitude.

Parent-Teacher-StudentConferencesThe conferences are an opportunity to meet with all subject teachers in one day to discussindividual student’s progress. The conferences take place twice a year, usually in themiddle ofsemesteroneandatthebeginningofsemestertwo.

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StudentledconferencesStudentsledconferencesareorganisedeveryyearinAprilandprovideanopportunityforstudentstotakegreaterresponsibilityfortheirlearning.Duringtheweekspriortotheconferences,studentsreflectandselectsamplesfromallsubjects,serviceasaction,afterschoolactivities, thePersonalproject(grade10),andprepareaportfoliowhichissharedwithparentsduringtheconferences.

SourcesPublications

• International Baccalaureate Organization. IB Programme Standards and Practices. Cardiff:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• International Baccalaureate Organization. MYP: From principles into practice. Cardiff:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• International BaccalaureateOrganization. SubjectGuides. Cardiff: International BaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• International Baccalaureate Organization. Fostering interdisciplinary teaching and learning intheMYP.Cardiff:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• International Baccalaureate Organization. Further guidance for developing MYP assessedcurriculum.TheHague:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2015.Print.

• Beijing BISS International School. BISS Secondary School Handbook, Beijing: Beijing BISSInternationalSchool,2018.

• Beijing BISS International School. IBMiddle Years Programme Handbook 2019-2020, Beijing:BeijingBISSInternationalSchool,2019.

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IBDiplomaProgrammeAssessmentPractices

AboutassessmentintheDiplomaProgrammeThe singlemost important aim of DP assessment is to support and encourage student learning.Assessmentisintegraltoallteachingandlearningandisalignedwithsubject-groupobjectives.

Througheffectiveandongoingformativeassessment,teachersgather,analyse,interpretanduseavariety of evidence to improve student learning and to help students to achieve their potential.Formativeassessment(assessmentfor learning)providesteachersandstudentswithinsights intotheongoingdevelopmentofknowledge,understanding,skillsandattitudes.Studentpeerandself-assessmentisanintegralpartoftheformativeassessmentprocessesduringwhichstudentslearnhowtogiveanduseconstructivefeedback.

DP teachers apply summative assessment according to their subject guide usingDP assessmentcriteriaanddetermineachievementlevels.

Inadditiontotheformativeandsummativeassessment,DPhasinternalandexternalassessment.DPcoordinatorwithsubjectteachersorganizestheinternalassessmentcalendarforDPstudentstobalancethetimescheduleamongdifferentsubjects.

AssessmentstrategiesIn order to provide students with opportunities to achieve the highest level, teachers developrigorous tasks that embrace a variety of assessment strategies including (but not limited to):observation, open-ended tasks, portfolio assessment, process journals, performance, selectedresponse.

DeterminingachievementlevelsAt theendof each semester, teachersmake judgmentson their students’ achievement levels ineachsubject-groupcriterion.Todeterminetheseachievementlevels,teachersgatherevidenceofachievement from a range of learning experiences and assessments. Teachers ensure that thisevidencecomesfromtheperformanceofthestudentoverthedurationoftheunitstaught.Whenapplying the assessment criteria to student performance, teachers determine whether the firstdescriptor describes the performance. If the student work exceeds the expectations of the firstdescriptor,theteacherdetermineswhetheritisdescribedbytheseconddescriptor.Thiscontinuesuntiltheteacherarrivesatadescriptorthatdoesnotdescribethestudentwork;theworkwillthenbedescribedbythepreviousdescriptor. Incertaincases, itmayappear that thestudenthasnotfulfilledallofthedescriptorsinalowerbandbuthasfulfilledsomeinahigherband.Inthosecases,teachersusetheirprofessionaljudgmentindeterminingthedescriptorthatbestfitsthestudent’sperformance.

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Recording

Teachershave the responsibilityofdocumentingassessmentdataonall their students. TeachershavetorecordsummativeassessmentdatausingManageBacintheformofanachievementlevelasdescribedwithinacriterion.Therecordedassessmentdatasupports thedeterminationof thefinalachievement levelat theendofeach reportingperiod (semester1andsemester2) ineachcriterion.

Reporting

Thereare several typesof formal reportingof studentsprogress atBISS, including semesteroneandtwowrittenreports,Parent -Teacher -StudentConferencesandDPcoordinator– individualparentmeetingafterthefinalmockexaminationofG12.Inaddition,parentscanarrangeindividualmeetingswithhomeroomand/orsubjectteachersatanytimeduringtheschoolyear.

SemesterreportsIndividual DP semester reports contain information on students’ academic progress from all 6subjectsintheformofsummativeachievementlevelswithacorrespondingleveldescriptorforallsubjectcriteria. Inadditiontocommunicatingachievement levels ineachofthecriteria,studentsareawardedgradesbyapplyingthepreviousyear’sIBexamgradeboundaries.

TheDPsemesterreportcommunicatesalsothetaughtandassessedcurriculumforthereportingperiod,progress inTOK,EE, andCAS, students’ levelof achievement forApproaches to LearningandAcademicHonesty.

Parent-Teacher-StudentConferencesThe conferences are an opportunity to meet with all subject teachers in one day to discussindividual student’s progress. The conferences take place twice a year, usually in themiddle ofsemesteroneandatthebeginningofsemestertwo.

Internalmoderation

Aftereachofficialmockexamsand the final IBDPexam, teachers,departmentcoordinatorsandthe DP coordinator analyse the results in order to improve teaching and learning. Apart fromanalysingtheexamresults,teachersengageinaninternalmoderationprocesstocheckthequalityof inetrnal assessment processes. The process involves teachersmeeting to come to a commonunderstanding on the criteria and achievement levels and how they are applied. This processpromotes consistency and common understandings about student achievement. The internalmoderationofassessmentshouldtakeplaceatleastoncepersemester.

SourcesPublications• International Baccalaureate Organization. IB Programme Standards and Practices. Cardiff:

InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• International Baccalaureate Organization. DP: From principles into practice. Cardiff:InternationalBaccalaureateOrganization,2015.Print.

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• International BaccalaureateOrganization. SubjectGuides. Cardiff: International BaccalaureateOrganization,2014.Print.

• Beijing BISS International School. BISS Secondary School Handbook, Beijing: Beijing BISSInternationalSchool,2018.

• BeijingBISSInternationalSchool.IBDiplomaProgrammeHandbook2019-2020,Beijing:BeijingBISSInternationalSchool,2019.