Balanced Assessment
Assessment can be both for learning (formative) or of learning (summative). Assessment for learning is usually classroom assessments that happen while the learning is still occurring. These assessments are used to diagnose students' needs, plan instruction and to provide students with feedback so they can improve. "Research has shown that consistently applying principles of assessment for learning has yielded remarkable, if not unprecedented, gains in student achievement." (Stiggins, 2005).
Assessment of learning measures what the student has learned at a point in time, such as at the end of a unit or the year. Summative assessments, or assessment of learning, frame meaningful performance goals or learning outcomes and the students' learning in relation to it.
Both have their purposes and when used well support student learning. Developing assessment competencies require that teachers rethink both what they do now and their purpose in assessing. It requires that teachers make decisions about what to give up and what adjustments are needed.
District or Provincial Assessments at Each Grade Level
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Grade 1
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Reading Assessment (PM Benchmarks)
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Grade 2
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Reading Assessment (PM Benchmarks)
District Writing Assessment
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Grade 3
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District Numeracy Assessment
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Grade 4
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Foundation Skills Assessment
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Grade 5
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District Writing Assessment
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Grade 6
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District Numeracy Assessment
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Grade 7
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Foundation Skills Assessment
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Grade 9
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District Numeracy Assessment
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Grade 10
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Provincial Exams (English, Math, Science)
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Grade 11
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Provincial Exams (Social Studies, Civics)
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Grade 12
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Provincial Exams (Communications, English)
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