Dear 5R Families,
We’ve had a lot of assessments completed recently! On Friday your child will be bringing home three assessments:
- The completed rubric for their most recent Genius Hour inquiry, which includes self-assessment by students, as well as teacher assessment on the same document.
- Decimals assessment. As our decimals unit in Math is winding up, students will bring this assessment, along with their reflection document and a checklist of understandings.
- Research-based opinion essays and a checklist of writing progress. These essays, which were shared along with the student-completed checklists during our writing celebration several weeks ago. They will be accompanied by a publication package that includes the final essay and documents that your child feels help tell the story of this writing experience.
All of these are to be shared with you, in conversation with your child, and returned to school by the end of next week, Thursday, March 9. Please sign the assessment documents and, if you require more time to share, please let me know.
As with previous assessments, they are bringing these home so that you may have a better understanding of their thinking and progress.
These assessments should be understood as being a snapshot of student understanding on a particular day at a particular time, in a particular way of demonstrating thinking. This particular way of assessing understanding may present an incomplete picture of student progress. It is for this reason that many forward-thinking institutions have moved away from written assessments as the sole way of testing and grading. ZIS is no exception and these assessments represent only one of several ways data on a student’s thinking is collected.
These assessments are being sent home primarily to enrich your conversations with your child about their thinking and learning. Please take the time to look at them with your child, alongside their reflection. Then, sign them (somewhere obvious) and return them promptly to school. I would appreciate them returned by next Thursday, March 9. If you require more time, please let me know.
Many thanks for your ongoing support of your child’s home away from home!
Warm regards,
Jamie