Bill's Blog

Teachers Recording Student Assessment Data

School A: There is a single storage database with all of the student’s assessment results.  The table has the criteria and whole mark. We need to make sure we are recording the data as the IB asks for. For example, you do not put an % point. Also one needs to put the clear evidence.

A)     Teachers are telling the students the criteria against which they are being assessed.

B)      Teacher need to give some understanding to students on how to get to the highest level. It can be verbal or it can be a detailed rubric.

C)      When the work is assessed, the students are to be shown what the criteria is.

D)     Teachers are supposed write the points scored in each criteria. They can add them up and convert to number 1-7

A school gradebook will look like this…

                                Task  1                           Task 2

·         Not all tasks or assessments need to be graded using the MYP format.

·         One school has a sheet for each student to go in the file. It lists the criteria, marks on each task whether it be formative or summative assessments.

·         It is very important to educate the parents on the assessment practices.

·         “levels” not grades or marks during the semester, the final 1-7 are the “grades”

Report Cards

·         You must be reporting against the criteria. It could be a comment or a number.

·         What happens if all of the criteria are not marked for a grading period?  Some schools do not put on final grade, some use “very good” others put a final grade but with a comment explaining why the criteria is blank.

·         What happens when a student enters mid-year? Case-by-case

·         We have four quarters, and then with mid-term progress reports. That is eight times per year that teachers need to make them.

·         Good idea to put on the AoI, even some schools put on Learner Profile. One school has Learner Profile and AoI in the teachers hands while doing the marks.

 Interdisciplinary Units

·         Earlier, there was an over-emphasis on these units and schools did too many of them. Today, it is important to do less of them, but to do them to enhance the learning for criteria within the disciplines involved.

·         Best way to find ways is Teachers Lounge –

MYP Coordinator

·         should have a minimum of 1/3 of their time to coordinate the program.

·         All paperwork and orientating new teachers.

Interdisciplinary Unit Practice

Unit Question – What sort of story may be revealed by a graph?

Concepts – Human activity is affected by population fluctuations / Graphs express rates of change

AoI – Environments – how human actions affects the environment

Another example of a good unit question is How is our future written in the stars?

Unit Question – How does binge drinking affect your social and personal well-being?

The effects of drinking on your body and social life.

How many Interdisciplinary units per school year?  – each year group should experience one interdisciplinary unit per year. This must happen however and it is important. A fundamental concept in MYP is collaborative planning. St. Dominic’s has a structure in place where the teacher leader of AoI also is assigned a grade level. They are to do two projects per year. The new guide however says to scrap this and go away from unifying themes. It is better to go for small collaborations.

Guiding questions are not the same as unit questions.

A long project (5 – 15 weeks) can easily address all of the criteria and objectives. I might not be assessing all aspects of the criteria. In technology it almost has to with the design cycle. The individual tasks within the objectives.

 Moderation

·         an optional process where students can earn MYP certificates. Today just under half of students undergo this process

·         a second reason is to have the IB assist you with maintaining academic rigor.

·         Bundle up one task, 8 samples and send away in March to a moderator, who is a practicing MYP teacher, who re-marks the paper. They are looking at some things like “Is this task a good one?” “Does this task demanding enough, can students reach beyond level 4” “Is the school setting standards too high or too low”

·         Next a senior moderator looks at it and then it goes to Cardiff where it is further analyzed.

·         In June all of the students grades are sent also to Cardiff and a report is issued in September

·         One drawback is schools want to avoid getting a moderation factor that will lower the levels

·         IB is looking at the revising the process;

·         The record of achievement will be lowered if the teachers are not being too rigorous

·         Most of the problem is bad tasks, not the teacher marking. Many do not allow higher thinking.

Fees for the MYP program

·         one teacher per subject group do the MYP subject specific training; this applies to all schools

·         a large school would send 1/3 of all teachers to one of the three workshops

·         typical costs are 2000 euros

·         on-line training doesn’t count for required PD

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