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Introduction

This policy document was composed following a whole-school planning day, which took place on October 17th '06. This was part of the review towards the compilation of a Strategic Three Year Plan under the school's inclusion in the DEIS programme. The document was discussed at the Support Teaching Team's meeting on Friday 27 th October. It was discussed on a whole school basis at a staff meeting on Friday 10 th November and was then submitted to the Board of Management for discussion before ratification at its meeting in December '06.

Policy Rationale

The core of the policy is that all children should experience success at school. This policy endeavours to identify at the earliest possible opportunity, children who may have learning difficulties and put in place a whole school response to their needs. Our school believes that an effective assessment policy is central to this core objective. It is of overriding importance that assessment at Our Lady of Lourdes National School should motivate pupils and enable and encourage them to achieve to the best of their ability. It is also important that it is accessible to parents/carers and involves them in the process.

Our policy covers both assessment of learning and assessment for learning . What we understand this to mean is that assessment of learning is assessment for accountability purposes, to determine a student's level of performance on a specific task or at the conclusion of a unit of teaching and learning, and assessment to enable teachers to compare the reading and Math performances of their pupils with reading and Math standards nationally. The information gained from this kind of assessment will be used in reporting. Assessment for learning, on the other hand, acknowledges that assessment will occur as a regular part of teaching and learning and that the information gained from assessment activities will be used to shape the teaching and learning process in our school.

Relationship to School Ethos

We aim to provide a well-ordered, caring, happy and secure atmosphere where the intellectual, spiritual, physical, moral and cultural needs of the pupils are identified and addressed. The school adopts a holistic approach to the education and development of each child and to the enhancement of teaching and learning processes. We believe that an effective Assessment Policy will help teachers to identify early interventions that need to be put in place to ensure that enhancement, increased confidence and raised self-esteem is achieved.

Aims and Objectives

The primary aims and objectives of the policy are:

• To facilitate improved teaching and pupil learning.

• To create a procedure for monitoring achievement.

• To track learning processes which assist the long and short term planning of teachers.

• To co-ordinate assessment procedures on a whole school basis involving parents and pupils in managing strengths and weaknesses.

• T o plan the assessment of learning outcomes that informs future teaching

• To diagnose difficulties in learning in order to provide intervention strategies

• To identify gifted and able or talented children who require extension activities

• To give positive feedback to the learner with clear ways forward

• To encourage increasing skills of self assessment

• To keep records of attainment that will inform the reporting process

• To use validated assessment data to inform target setting and to raise expectations and standards

• To ensure consistency and the standardised agreement of levels of work collated by teachers

• To analyse performance of different genders and ensure appropriate intervention is taken

Policy Content

This policy is geared towards using assessment to inform planning and identify the needs of all pupils including the exceptionally gifted so that adequate strategies are in place early enough to facilitate meeting their needs. These strategies may include pupil self-assessment, two-way communication between parents and teachers, modification of teacher programmes and Individual Education Plans.

Standardised Testing

The school has in recent years, used the Micra T and Sigma T in preference to the Drumcondra tests. This decision was taken as the school was unsatisfied with the reliability of some scores obtained on the Drumcondra tests due to the multiple choice nature of the tests.

All classes from First class upwards will be tested. The tests will be administered as per the "Screening Timetable" as outlined in this policy.

The outcomes of testing in June will be used to monitor pupils progress and will be used to inform classroom planning. Scores on standardised tests will be analysed and discussed on a whole-school basis. Children's results on these tests and teacher-devised tests will be the focus of strategic initiatives throughout the school and will thus facilitate more effective approaches to curriculum differentiation by the class teacher. Teachers will use the results to set specific targets to cater for the individual needs of children who are experiencing difficulty with Literacy or Numeracy skills development and draw up action plans for the realisation of these specific targets. These plans will be recorded by the individual teacher in their fortnightly planning schemes.

Standard and Percentile Rankings scores will be recorded on the class Record template and stored by each individual teacher with a copy held by the Support Teaching Team and principal. The results will be also recorded on the school's database by the principal/secretary as appropriate. The school's database is accessible to all teachers following the upgrade of computers in the school in January 2007. The Support Teaching Team will analyse the results in June for allocation of support to pupils in the following September.

Informal Assessment

The most common form of assessment used in our school is teacher observation, teacher designed tests, projects and homework. These informal assessments are at the discretion of individual teachers. Records of teacher-designed tests are kept by the individual teachers and communicated to parents at the Parent-Teacher meeting each November and end of year report. Each teacher has discretion as to the format, administration and frequency of in-class testing. The most common types of informal teacher designed testing in our school are tests on the strands & strand units for each curricular area, spelling tests and tables tests.

Curricular Areas

Each teacher holding a post of responsibility has, with the cooperation of the school community, written an assessment policy for the curricular area(s) under their care. These assessment procedures cover the assessment of each of the strands of the individual subject areas. This assessment forms an integral part of the school's policies in each curricular area and are the basis for recording progress in the curricular area in question and in the compilation of the Monthly Reports collated by the Post of Responsibility holder. These Monthly Reports are stored by the teacher in a special folder in the staffroom.

Screening

The screening methods used to identify learning strengths and weaknesses by class teachers in our school are:

• Teacher observation

• Use of homework, teacher-designed tests & projects

• Evolving Reader Stage of Development Checklist

• Checklists for Difficulties in Mathematics

• Middle Infant Screening Test (MIST)

• Non Reading Intelligence Test

• Behaviour Checklists

• Standardised Tests

Screening Timetable

Class Test Time Administered

Upon Enrolment Milestones Checklist (Completed by Parents)(P) Before child starts school

Junior Infants
Foundations for Learning (S) Before Halloween

LAAR Test of Emergent Literacy (S) Before Halloween

Early Years Behaviour Checklist (if required) (C) Before Halloween

Evolving Reader Stage of Development Checklist (C) June (from 2007/08)

Checklists for Difficulties in Mathematics (C) June (from 2007/08)

Checklist from Jolly Phonics (C) June

Starways Word Checklist (C) June

Belfield Infants Assessment Pupil's test (C)/(S) February

Senior Infants

Checklists for Difficulties in Mathematics (C) June (from 2007/08)

Middle Infant Screening Test (S) Second Term

Early Years Behaviour Checklist (if required) (C)

Checklist from Jolly Phonics (C) Halloween & June

First Class

Quest Screening Test (S) September

Quest Diagnostic Test (if relevant) (S) Following screening