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PUPIL ASSESSMENT - SHANBALLY NATIONAL SCHOOL
Assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process in Shanbally N.S. The central purpose of assessment is for motivational, diagnostic and guidance purposes. This provides essential feedback to individual pupils, teachers and parents. It helps indicate the progress being made by children and identify learning difficulties which may need to be confronted. Assessment also helps to provide a link from class to class and from primary to second-level.
Assessment covers all areas of the curriculum e.g.
Maths: computation, concepts, problem-solving,
Reading Skills: word attack, word meaning, comprehension and study skills
Language Skills: listening skills, oral communication, spelling, written work.
Social growth: respect for rights of others, participation in group activities, acceptance of new situations and responsibilities.
Creative activities: painting, drawing, craftwork, dance, music, drama, hand-skills, pencil-hold etc.
Physical Skills: sport, gymnastics.
An attempt is made to assess the various elements of learning within these curricular areas e.g. critical thinking and problem solving skills, creative and effective thinking, physical development, growth in self-esteem, participation in social activities etc. With this approach, assessment reflects pupils' attainment of key objectives in each curricular area. It is possible then to identify a child's further learning needs.
In Shanbally N.S. assessment involves a combination of informal and formal assessment with the use also of standardised testing. These is a change of emphasis from informal to formal as one moves from junior to senior classes.
Informal assessment ranges from observation of children, questions, testing comprehension, discussion of reading material and practical work e.g. art and craft or dramatic activity based on reading material. Informal assessment would also include written exercises- comprehension, functional and creative writing as well as their correction by the teacher and consequent feedback to the child.
Formal assessment begins in junior classes with self-referenced tests at a very simple level occurring once or twice a year. Formal assessment becomes the dominant mode of assessment in the senior classes with self-referenced tests taking place certainly once, if not twice a year. Criterion-referenced tests are administered annually throughout the school by the resource teacher.
On the basis on these assessments, a pupil profile is entered on a card for each pupil. The entries are based on the teachers' informal assessment of the child and the results of formal tests. The profile is updated annually by the class teacher.
The teacher meets with the parents on an annual basis, usually in November/ December and sends them a written report of the child's progress before term resumes in September. Information is given in a formative way which would allow parents take action to help their child.
Using this procedure for assessment, we aim to improve children's learning and not just measure it.