Assessment and Grading - Highland Park Middle School

Assessment Policy

CRITERIA- RELATED ASSESSMENT

The students at HPMS are assessed on MYP criteria (on back) and district/state/national standards. Students and teachers use rubrics (see sample) as a tool to communicate the expectations and results of an assessment

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Formative assessments are part of the instructional process. Formative assessments provide information for teachers and students about unit objectives. One can think of formative assessment as “practice”. Formative assessments will make up the students grade until a summative assessment is given and recorded. At this time, the formative scores will be inactive but will continue to be visible on Schoology.
Summative assessments are given at the end of a learning period to allow students to demonstrate what they know. The summative assessment will determine the student grade. (Final grades will not include formative scores).

REASSESSMENTS, LATE WORK AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Wherever possible within a quarter, teachers will create a pathway to allow students to improve their knowledge, understanding of concepts or skills and reassess to show their new learning.
Late work and academic dishonesty will result in alternative consequences.

ASSESSMENT VARIATIONS

Assessment practices vary in all subject areas and include such tasks as: performances, projects, essays, exams, oral presentations, investigations, interviews, skits, simulations, exhibits, data analysis, and debates.

DIFFERENTIATION

Teachers modify tasks in product, process, or content to provide varying levels of learning.

SELF-EVALUATION

Students will be given opportunities to self-assess. Students should be able to communicate their strengths, areas for improvement, and the next steps in their learning.

RECORDING AND REPORTING OF GRADES

Teachers record the students’ assessment results on Schoology, our online grading information system.. Students, families, staff, and teachers have rights to access Schoology.
Schoology is updated to reflect student learning. Students’ progress grades and final grades are mailed to families eight times throughout the school year. Students and their families will have the opportunity to participate in conferences in the fall, winter and spring.

MYP Grading Video

IB to HP Grade Translation

IB Levels of Achievement	HP Letter Grade	Related Terms
1-2	N-D	minimal, identifies few, limited, rarely, little or no
3-4	C	adequate, some
5-6	B	substantial, sufficient, competent, thoughtful, good
7-8	A	perceptive, detailed justification, sophisticated, extensive

Note: Grades are based on an 8 point scale, therefore % reflected on Schoology do not translate to a traditional scale.

Sample Rubric

Mathematics Grade 6

Criterion A- Knowing and Understanding

IB Level	HP Grade	Selection of Mathematics	Application of Mathematics	Solution of Mathematics
1-2	N-D	select appropriate mathematics when solving simple problems in familiar situations	apply the selected mathematics successfully when solving these problems	generally solve these problems correctly.
3-4	C	select appropriate mathematics when solving more complex problems in familiar situations	apply the selected mathematics successfully when solving these problems	generally solve these problems correctly.
5-6	B	select appropriate mathematics when solving challenging problems in familiar situations	apply the selected mathematics successfully when solving these problems	generally solve these problems correctly.
7-8	A	select appropriate mathematics when solving challenging problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations	apply the selected mathematics successfully when solving these problems	generally solve these problems correctly.

MYP Criteria

	Criterion A	Criterion B	Criterion C	Criterion D
ELA	Analyzing	Organizing	Producing Text	Using Language
World Language	Comprehending Spoken and Visual text	Comprehending Written and Visual text	Communicating	Using Language
Humanities	Knowing and Understanding	Investigating	Communicating	Thinking Critically
Science	Knowing and Understanding	Inquiring and Designing	Processing and Evaluating	Reflecting on the Impacts of Science
Math	Knowing and Understanding	Investigating Patterns	Communicating	Applying Mathematics in Real-world Contexts
Arts	Knowing and Understanding	Developing Skills	Thinking Creatively	Responding
P.E./Health	Knowing and Understanding	Planning for Performance	Applying and Performing	Reflecting and Improving Performance
FACS Design	Inquiring and Analyzing	Developing Ideas	Creating the Solution	Evaluating

The criteria for each subject group represent the use of knowledge, understanding and skills that are taught in the IB. They address what students must know in the subject area to be successful (factual knowledge), the relationship between what they know and its application to a larger idea or concept (conceptual knowledge), the procedures for applying what they know to solve a problem or complete a task (procedural knowledge), and what approach to learning best suits the individual learner (metacognitive knowledge).