Assessment and Reporting
A Performance and Development Culture is the essence of a school. It is the foundation upon which a school culture is built. It reflects the teaching practices and the school community.
Our values and beliefs guide us in our purpose of making Kangaroo Ground PS a friendly experience where the individual matters
It is a shared ideal about the school’s direction and its belief and development of what our learning environment should reflect.
The community of Kangaroo Ground Primary School believes and strives to be a learning community which encourages and supports students, in a safe and happy environment, to reach their potential both academically and socially.
We believe in:
Working together
Keeping the learning alive and
Supporting each other
Kangaroo Ground Primary School strives to provide the best possible teaching and learning practices for the students in our care.
We achieve this goal by always working to improve and develop our teaching practices and skills.
This is reflected in our ongoing culture of supporting staff and providing ongoing Professional Development for all staff members.
- Teachers new to the school have the support they need to contribute effectively and gain new understandings and support where needed from an experienced staff member who acts as their mentor. These staff members have been accredited as mentors through s training program
- Individual teachers and teams of teachers receive effective feedback from a variety of sources that allows them to continuously reflect upon their teaching and improve their practice.
- Teachers develop a learning and development plan for their students’ that targets both the students’ individual needs and those of the school and reflects the DEECD Guidelines and AusVels outcomes. Their plans includes very specific professional learning targets and goals which are designed to provide the best learning outcomes for their students
At Kangaroo Ground Primary School our Performance and Development Cultural is well established and provides a wonderful environment for teaching and learning. We are however, always looking at and looking for new ways to continue the journey to provide the best possible learning outcomes for our students.
Assessment and Reporting
Assessment and Reporting is a vital aspect of children’s learning. We use assessment to inform our teaching and to guide us to the students’ needs.
At Kangaroo Ground Primary School we take great pride in catering for the needs of all children.
In order to identify the academic needs of each child, there needs to be a rigorous accountability process in place.
The DEECD Assessment and Reporting Guidelines are followed by our school which ensures that the staff identifies, caters for and monitors the progress of all children in their care.
Assessment of our students is an ongoing and rigorous process. We use a variety of assessment strategies including:
· Teacher observations
· Weekly testing
· Pre and post unit testing
· PAT Testing
· Torch Testing
· Lexile Reading Test
· Many forms of online testing
· Moderation with other staff members
We have a whole school assessment schedule which is a guideline for teachers to follow throughout the year. This schedule covers many forms of assessment.
Teachers work in professional learning teams (PLTs) where individual student progress is discussed. Staff share strategies and activities and provide support to each other.
This is the accountability process that ensures students do not slip between the cracks.
- Individual learning plans (ILPs) are developed for some students. These plans outline personal learning goals for students, what the school is doing to help the child reach these goals and suggested activities for parents to do at home to reinforce what the school is doing. The teacher will make contact with you and keep you informed of your child’s progress if they are on an ILP.
- Extra support staff are available to help teachers during literacy and numeracy sessions. They may work with one child or a small group. We encourage parent helpers and other volunteers to help in classrooms.
- Kangaroo Ground Primary School is a training school for Melbourne University, RMIT, Victoria University and LaTrobe students. There are often student teachers in classes who offer invaluable support for students with needs.
- Grade one students may be offered a place in the reading intervention program.
- It is expected that all preps will be reading at level 5 by the end of their Prep year. This is the minimum expectation. For children who have not reached this level or who are border line and may need extra support, the reading intervention program provides extra assistance. It is basically 1on1 private tutoring for your child every day for half an hour for approximately 20 weeks or until your child reaches level 15 or above. It is a very successful program and can often mean the difference between your child being a confident reader or a struggler. We offer this service free of charge. There are limited places as the program is intense. It also requires parents to do follow up at home.
- Interested students are offered instrumental music (piano, flute, recorder, guitar and violin), chess club and access to programs such as GATEways.
- Individual teachers provide a differentiated curriculum for students who are considered to be high achievers. No matter what grade level your child is in, they will be working on the appropriate AusVELS levels.
Assessment in the FOUNDATION Year
Assessment begins in the early days of the Foundation Year. During the month of February, our students in Foundation year do not attend school on Wednesdays. On one of these Wednesdays, your child will have a scheduled one hour interview with their teacher. During this time, a range of literacy and numeracy assessments will be undertaken. The children may not realise that they are being assessed as they participate in fun hands on activities with their teacher. This assessment is used to guide the teacher to your child’s strengths and areas of need.
This information helps inform student learning. Students may work in different groups according to the lesson focus. Sometimes they work with students of similar ability, other times they work in mixed ability groups and they also have lessons with a whole class focus. The important thing is, your child is being catered for and encouraged to stretch and extend their skills continuously while enjoying a high level of success. It is extremely important that children learn to takes risks and understand that making mistakes is part of learning. Children are congratulated for ‘having a go’. We love to see children taking a risk and trying something new.
REPORTS & INTERVIEWS
Reporting to parents is one way of communicating with your child’s teacher.
Please note that at Kangaroo Ground Primary School you are welcome to talk to your child’s teacher at any stage of the year.
If you wish to have a longer time to discuss an issue you can ring and make an appointment to speak with your child’s teacher before or after school.
We also have a formal interview schedule as follows:
February:
- Whole school Community information night. This is an opportunity to meet the staff as a whole and to become familiar with the school processes.
- This meeting is followed by an area meeting where parents have the opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher and ask question pertinent to their child’s class
June:
- Semester one reports are sent home
Term 3
- Individual interviews with your child’s teacher
December:
- Semester two reports are sent home
- Interviews are by request only
Whole school formal assessments take place in May and November each year. There are also a multitude of assessments that take place throughout the year. NAPLAN is for year 3 and 5 students and this usually occurs in May each year.