CHAMINADE COLLEGE

Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment and evaluation will encompass all four categories of achievement: Knowledge, Thinking/Inquiry, Communication and Application (as per The Achievement Chart for English). A variety of assessments are designed to provide opportunity to encourage all students to achieve success.

Categories of Knowledge and Skills

The categories, defined by clear criteria, represent four broad areas of knowledge andskills within which the subject expectations for any given course are organized. The fourcategories should be considered as interrelated, reflecting the wholeness and interconnectedness of learning

The categories are defined as follows:

Knowledge and Understanding:Subject-specific content acquired in each course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding)

Thinking/Inquiry:The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes

Communication:The conveying of meaning through various text forms

Application:The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and betweenvarious contexts

ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES AND WEIGHTING / EVALUATION
Knowledge and Understanding
25 %
Thinking and Inquiry 25 %
Communication 25 %
Application 25 % / Term Work 55%
(assignments, tests, quizzes, performance based tasks)
ISU 15 %
Exam 30%

Department Policies regarding Assessment

Late Assignments

  • As per school policy, a 5% daily deduction will be incurred by a student whose assignment/work remains incomplete (with a 20% maximum deduction)
  • As per school policy, once assignments are marked and returned, late assignments will not be accepted and a mark of zero will be issued
  • Exceptions will be made for injury, illness, extracurricular participation and/or compassionate reasons

Tests

  • As per school policy, a teacher will give the class five school days’ notice for an up-coming test
  • Students will provide sufficient notice to the teacher for any legitimate reason that will result in a missed test
  • If a test is missed due to a legitimate reason, verification by way of a note, phone call, e-mail, must be provided for the teacher no later than the day of the student’s return to the class
  • An alternate evaluation will take place on the day after return or at a later date, at the teacher teacher’s discretion
  • As per school policy, if a test is missed for a non-legitimate reason, a mark of “0” will be recorded

Cheating/Plagiarism

  • As per school policy, if a student is caught cheating or plagiarizing (and following an investigation), a mark of zero will be issued and an incident report will be logged in the Safe Schools Report
  • Parents will be notified and a meeting will be set up with school staff to clarify the school policies
  • As per school policy, if a student is caught cheating or plagiarizing a second time (and following an investigation), a suspension will be issuedand the student will receive a mark of zero

Also

  • There will be a one week assessment moratorium before exams
  • All assignments will be handed back to students prior to the exam
  • There will be a formal review for all courses during the week before exams
  • ISUs will be part of all courses and will be completed during the term (ISUs cannot be due during the exam period)
  • All test, assignments, essays, quizzes, ISUs will be returned to students within three weeks of due date
  • Students will be allows to keep assignments and tests, but not exams
  • There will be consistent use of Webmarks and assessment practices in all English courses regardless of program level or grade

Exceptional Students

  • Students who are identified through the Resource Department will have their assessment based on their IEP

Minimum Marks

  • As per school policy, 5% will be assigned to students who cannot be evaluated due to the absence of submitted work
  • As per school policy, 25% will be assigned to students who are unable to achieve the course expectations

ACHIEVEMENT CHART: ENGLISH, GRADES 9 –12

Categories

Knowledge and Understanding – Subject-specific content acquired in each course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding)

The student:

  • Knowledge of content (e.g., forms of text; strategies used when listening and speaking, reading, writing, and viewing and representing; elements of style; literary terminology, concepts, and theories; language conventions)
  • Understanding of content (e.g., concepts; ideas; opinions; relationships among facts, ideas, concepts, themes)

Inquiry/Thinking – The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes

The student:

  • Use of planning skills (e.g., generating ideas, gathering information, focusing research, organizing information)
  • Use of processing skills (e.g., drawing inferences, interpreting, analysing, synthesizing, evaluating)
  • Use of critical/creative thinking processes (e.g., oral discourse, research, critical analysis, critical literacy, metacognition, creative process)

Communication – The conveying of meaning through various forms

The student:

  • Expression and organization of ideas and information (e.g., clear expression, logical organization) in oral, graphic, and written forms, including media forms
  • Communication for different audiences and purposes (e.g., use of appropriate style, voice, point of view) in oral, graphic, and written forms, including media forms
  • Use of conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage), vocabulary, and terminology of the discipline in oral, graphic, and written forms, including media forms

Application – The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts

The student:

  • Application of knowledge and skills (e.g., literacy strategies and processes; literary terminology, concepts, and theories) in familiar contexts
  • Transfer of knowledge and skills (e.g., literacy strategies and processes; literary terminology, concepts, and theories) to new contexts
  • Making connections within and between various contexts (e.g., between the text and personal knowledge and experience, other texts, and the world outside school)

Learning Skills

  • As per department policy, we are expected to use a Learning Skills Checklist to evaluate our students at the following times:
  • Once before Early Warning Letters
  • Once before Mid-Terms
  • Once per unit (possibly in conjunction with a major assignment)
  • We also agreed to use the same checklist in order to ensure continuity amongst the grades (I found one that models what the students will receive on their report cards…it’s simple to use, but effective)

The Learning Skills are the following:

Self-RegulationInitiativeCollaboration

Independent WorkOrganizationResponsibility

Reference: Growing Success. Covering Grades 1 to 12, 2010. Ontario Ministry of Education

English:

Contemporary Aboriginal Voices,

Grade 11, University Preparation (NBE3U)

This course emphasizes the development of literacy, critical thinking, and communication skills through the study of works in English by Aboriginal writers. Through the analysis of literary texts and media works, students will develop and appreciation of the wealth and complexity of Aboriginal writings. Students will also conduct research and analyze the information gathered; write essays and analyse the relationship between media forms and audiences. An important focus will be the further development of students' understanding of English-language usage and conventions.

Prerequisite: English, Grade 10, Academic

Identity: Identity is a concept created in response to the question Who am I? The investigation of identity is a personal journey of discovery and realization, which is part of maturation process of all students during adolescent years. Historical events, such as the Indian Act, have made the issue of identity a particular concern to Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians

Relationships: This strand serves as a focus for exploring ties that Aboriginal peoples have developed and maintained with the natural environment -- the land and its life-sustaining resources. In addition, students will explore the personal connections that Aboriginal peoples have made spiritually and culturally with their world.

Sovereignty:In the traditional governments of Aboriginal peoples, sovereignty is based on a spiritual understanding that the Creator gives human beings responsibility for governing themselves and taking care of the natural environment. In current discussions about sovereignty, Aboriginal peoples assert that this understanding is within themselves and that self-determination is basic to the needs of all human beings.

Challenges:Among the challenges faced by Aboriginal peoples today in defining their collective place in Canadian life is the need to reclaim, reassert, and further develop the distinct identities, relationships, and sovereignty that Aboriginal peoples have always held.

Writing: By the end of this course, students will:

*use a variety of print and electronic primary and secondary sources to gather

and analyze information and develop ideas for writing;

*select and use appropriate writing forms for various purposes and audiences;

*use a variety of organizational structures and patterns to produce coherent and effective

written work;

*revise their written work, independently and collaboratively, focusing on accuracy of information, clear expression, and consistent use of voice;

*edit and proofread to produce final draft, using correctly the grammar, usage, spelling,

and punctuation conventions of standard Canadian English, as presented for this course, with the support of print and electronic resources when appropriate.