Common use of Formative Assessment Clause in Contracts

Formative Assessment. Professional literature on the impact of formative assessment on student achievement is compelling. The landmark Black & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ study (1998) goes as far as to say that assessment explicitly designed to promote learning is the single most powerful tool we have for raising achievement. While it has the potential to help all students, assessment yields particularly good results with low achievers. Assessment for learning fosters motivation by emphasizing progress and achievement rather than failure. The district continues to build the knowledge base of the six essential elements of assessment for learning with all of our teachers and administrators. We assist teachers to identify elements of assessment for learning that they are implementing successfully, and to choose elements to focus upon for ongoing professional development. More than ever, classrooms are characterized by increasing diversity. Students vary in their cultural backgrounds, their facility with the English language, achievement levels and in motivation to learn. Differentiation of instruction refers to a proactive teaching response to the differing needs of students in their readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Differentiated instruction is based on a set of four key principles including: • The development of a safe, respectful learning community that values the differences of others as an asset. • The use of a variety of purposeful, flexible grouping configurations. • The use of ongoing assessment to drive the instructional process. • The development and implementation of high-quality curriculum as the core of the differentiated instructional process. (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ et al, 2007) While aspects of differentiated instruction have been addressed in a variety of professional development activities in the academic areas on an ongoing basis, this topic is now identified as an area for district focus. By increasing our attention to differentiated instruction, and providing more direct support to teachers at all levels, we hope to increase the consistency with which it is applied across all grades. Technology offers students multiple ways to access and demonstrate learning. We will be exploring various forms of instructional technology along with Universal Design for Learning pedagogical practices. Inclusive learning practices were identified through the Today & Tomorrow initiative as those that offer a variety of entry points for students. They provide highly relevant and practical learning experiences that may take place in a variety of settings in the school and community. They welcome students and attempt to match them with learning opportunities that best meet their needs and interests.

Formative Assessment. Professional literature on the impact of formative assessment on student achievement is compelling. The landmark Black & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ study (1998) goes as far as to say that assessment assess- ment explicitly designed to promote learning is the single most powerful tool we have for raising achievement. While it has the potential to help all students, assessment yields particularly par- ticularly good results with low achievers. Assessment for learning fosters motivation by emphasizing em- phasizing progress and achievement rather than failure. The district continues to build the knowledge base of the six essential elements of assessment for learning with all of our teachers and administrators. We assist teachers to identify elements of assessment for learning that they are implementing successfully, and to choose elements to focus upon for ongoing on-going professional development. More than ever, classrooms are characterized by increasing diversity. Students vary in their cultural backgrounds, their facility with the English languagelan- guage, achievement levels and in motivation to learn. Differentiation of instruction refers to a proactive pro- active teaching response to the differing needs of students in their readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Differentiated instruction is based on a set of four key principles including: • The development of a safe, respectful learning learn- ing community that values the differences of others as an asset. • The use of a variety of purposeful, flexible grouping configurations. • The use of ongoing assessment to drive the instructional process. • The development and implementation of high-quality curriculum as the core of the differentiated dif- ferentiated instructional process. (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ et al, 2007) While aspects of differentiated instruction have been addressed in a variety of professional development devel- opment activities in the academic areas on an ongoing on- going basis, this topic is now identified as an area for district focus. By increasing our attention to differentiated dif- ferentiated instruction, and providing more direct support to teachers at all levels, we hope to increase in- crease the consistency with which it is applied across all grades. Technology offers students multiple ways to access and demonstrate learning. We will be exploring various forms of instructional technology along with Universal Design for Learning pedagogical practices. Inclusive learning practices were identified through the Today & Tomorrow initiative as those that offer a variety of entry points for students. They provide highly relevant and practical learning experiences that may take place in a variety of settings in the school and community. They welcome students and attempt to match them with learning opportunities opportuni- ties that best meet their needs and interests. Last semester the Cook Training students at North Peace Secondary School were able to partake in a unique experience. Four groups of eight students from ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ each spent a week in our kitchen learning the ins and outs of the trade in preparation for opening their own canteen. Our students acted as mentors in the traditional way that chefs pass on knowledge to their apprentices. It helped to re- inforce the skills they learned while teaching others. This is what our students will be doing in the future as they advance in their careers. The experience was invaluable for the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ students as well. They were able to get into the kitchen and get right to work learning their new skills with out feeling intimidated because they had a partner working right along side of them.