Student Assessment
Report Cards:
Overall, the year is divided into three terms, with report cards going home at the end of each term. The first term is followed by a parent-teacher-student interview session, and there is usually one of these after the second term. Report cards go home with the students on a Wednesday afternoon, and the parents are encouraged to go over the report with the student that evening. The next day the students are dismissed at noon, and the afternoon is used for the interviews. Parents not attending the interviews are contacted to ensure that they did receive a report card, and to try to set up an interview date for the future.
In keeping with the Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education Plan, J.V.C. uses an anecdotal reporting system for the primary grades. This entails a strong use of anecdotal records by the classroom teacher, and an emphasis on school-parent contact. It has driven changes in instruction, as 'traditional' methods were designed to facilitate monitoring and assessment through a marks process, rather than through an anecdotal process. Letter grades will continue to be used in all intermediate and percentages in secondary grades. While we do this at JVC, we also put a great emphasis on the comments section of each report card, so that the parent gets a comprehensive look at what material the student is covering, and how that individual is performing.
Each student is treated as an individual, and encouraged to get as much value from their studies as they can. Reporting thus includes how the individual is doing compared to his or her own capabilities, as well as how that person is doing compared to "regular' progress in the grade. A student might therefore be making very good progress on a personal level, but still working below grade level.
Report card dates for the upcoming year are Nov. 21/12, Mar. 13/13 and June 21/13.
Weighting of marks:
At the each level, the expectation is that the term grade will be based on at least ten marks, made up of assignments, tests, quizzes, essays and term exams.
As far as report cards go, there is a strong emphasis on the extent and quality of every one. Marks are wonderful indicators of a student's performance, but need to be supplemented by a comprehensive set of comments. The limited number of students in each class make this a very reasonable goal - even if it does involve a fair bit of work each time.
In most secondary courses there are final exams (not in courses like Art or P.E.). If the final exam is set by the school, the weighting towards the final course mark is:
Term 1 - 25%
Term 2 - 25%
Term 3 - 30%
Final Exam 20%
If the exam is set by the Yukon territory, the exam is generally weighted at 25% of the final course mark, while Gr. 12 Departmental exams are weighted at 40%.
For those courses without final exams, the weighting is:
Term 1 - 30%
Term 2 - 30%
Term 3 - 40%
Promotion Policy:
In most cases students will proceed from one grade to the next each year. Vertical acceleration (skipping) is not generally considered as an option; enrichment is a much preferred alternative.
There is a great deal of flexibility in our system to vary the expectations placed on each student to reflect what is realistically practical for that student to achieve. In most cases the program can be modified slightly so that the student can progress through his/her course of studies at the same rate as the other students in the class. With extra help from the teacher, Remedial Tutor, and/or Learning Assistance Teacher, the large majority of students will go through their schooling in the same group of students from year to year. Thus the education that each student receives will be dependent on the personal factors influencing their performance. This is not limited to intellectual capacity, but also reflects motivation, home support, attendance and the like. Please refer back to the three Principles of Education in the introductory section of this plan, as these are the central assumptions of the educational process.
When student progress is irregular, it can take two forms:
(a) individualized program - if a student is making progress, but the rate of progress is such that the student is significantly behind the expectations for the end of a particular grade, the student may be assigned to continue with appropriate work in the fall. The student's program will be adjusted to suit his/her needs, interests and capabilities. Every effort will be made to remove any stigma of 'failure' attached to this irregular progress - the emphasis will be on helping the student get the best education possible.
(b) repetition - students will repeat a grade only when there is compelling evidence that such a move would be in the student's best interests. The parents of any such student must be informed as early as possible in the school year, and every reasonable effort made to provide extra help so that this step can be avoided. Parents should be involved in a program of remediation to try to help overcome any difficulties. It is inexcusable to have a parent be "surprised" that their child has not successfully completed his/her grade.
In all grades up to and including Grade 9, the student either passes or fails to pass the entire grade. Starting with the 2004/05 year, Grade 10 became a course pass year to reflect the changes to the Graduation Program. At Grade 10 and above, each course is marked independently, and a student is given credit for those courses successfully completed. Once all graduation requirements have been met, the student is issued a graduation certificate and transcript.
In the case of a student on an individualized program, s/he will be encouraged and assisted to complete the requirements for full graduation. In situations where this is impractical, when the student has successfully completed all aspects of his/her individualized program, the student will be entitled to take part in the school ‘finishing’ activities and will be given a School Leaving Certificate in lieu of a Graduation Certificate. School Leaving is not to be confused with Graduation; it is an alternative for those students who cannot achieve full graduation.
Departmental Exams / Language Proficiency Index / YAT Tests
Departmental Exams are written at the completion of selected Grade 10, 11 and 12 subjects. Grade 10 students must write three exams, English 10, Math 10 and Science 10; grade 11 students write one exam in Social Studies and grade 12 students write one exam, English or Communications 12. These are set by B.C., and neither the content nor the timetable for writing can be altered at the local level. Even though the numbers of students writing exams have been very small, the results do show students and staff how our students compare to the larger student body.
Grade 11 and 12 students also write the Language Proficiency Index, a standardized test with Canadian norms which is often used as a test of English skills for university or college entrance. While it has a number of minor parts (Sentence Structure, Usage, Reading Comprehension) the most significant result is that obtained for writing an essay. It is the essay score alone that is used as an entrance requirement. Our students generally perform better than other comparable student groups.
Departmental Exams/Language Proficiency Index (LPI)/ Foundational Skills Assessment (FSA)
FSA tests are written by students in Grades 4 and 7 on literacy and numeracy performance. The FSA’s originate in B.C. where they are written by all students. Thus, our performance can be compared to a larger group.
Download a copy of Student Assessment
Overall, the year is divided into three terms, with report cards going home at the end of each term. The first term is followed by a parent-teacher-student interview session, and there is usually one of these after the second term. Report cards go home with the students on a Wednesday afternoon, and the parents are encouraged to go over the report with the student that evening. The next day the students are dismissed at noon, and the afternoon is used for the interviews. Parents not attending the interviews are contacted to ensure that they did receive a report card, and to try to set up an interview date for the future.
In keeping with the Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education Plan, J.V.C. uses an anecdotal reporting system for the primary grades. This entails a strong use of anecdotal records by the classroom teacher, and an emphasis on school-parent contact. It has driven changes in instruction, as 'traditional' methods were designed to facilitate monitoring and assessment through a marks process, rather than through an anecdotal process. Letter grades will continue to be used in all intermediate and percentages in secondary grades. While we do this at JVC, we also put a great emphasis on the comments section of each report card, so that the parent gets a comprehensive look at what material the student is covering, and how that individual is performing.
Each student is treated as an individual, and encouraged to get as much value from their studies as they can. Reporting thus includes how the individual is doing compared to his or her own capabilities, as well as how that person is doing compared to "regular' progress in the grade. A student might therefore be making very good progress on a personal level, but still working below grade level.
Report card dates for the upcoming year are Nov. 21/12, Mar. 13/13 and June 21/13.
Weighting of marks:
At the each level, the expectation is that the term grade will be based on at least ten marks, made up of assignments, tests, quizzes, essays and term exams.
As far as report cards go, there is a strong emphasis on the extent and quality of every one. Marks are wonderful indicators of a student's performance, but need to be supplemented by a comprehensive set of comments. The limited number of students in each class make this a very reasonable goal - even if it does involve a fair bit of work each time.
In most secondary courses there are final exams (not in courses like Art or P.E.). If the final exam is set by the school, the weighting towards the final course mark is:
Term 1 - 25%
Term 2 - 25%
Term 3 - 30%
Final Exam 20%
If the exam is set by the Yukon territory, the exam is generally weighted at 25% of the final course mark, while Gr. 12 Departmental exams are weighted at 40%.
For those courses without final exams, the weighting is:
Term 1 - 30%
Term 2 - 30%
Term 3 - 40%
Promotion Policy:
In most cases students will proceed from one grade to the next each year. Vertical acceleration (skipping) is not generally considered as an option; enrichment is a much preferred alternative.
There is a great deal of flexibility in our system to vary the expectations placed on each student to reflect what is realistically practical for that student to achieve. In most cases the program can be modified slightly so that the student can progress through his/her course of studies at the same rate as the other students in the class. With extra help from the teacher, Remedial Tutor, and/or Learning Assistance Teacher, the large majority of students will go through their schooling in the same group of students from year to year. Thus the education that each student receives will be dependent on the personal factors influencing their performance. This is not limited to intellectual capacity, but also reflects motivation, home support, attendance and the like. Please refer back to the three Principles of Education in the introductory section of this plan, as these are the central assumptions of the educational process.
When student progress is irregular, it can take two forms:
(a) individualized program - if a student is making progress, but the rate of progress is such that the student is significantly behind the expectations for the end of a particular grade, the student may be assigned to continue with appropriate work in the fall. The student's program will be adjusted to suit his/her needs, interests and capabilities. Every effort will be made to remove any stigma of 'failure' attached to this irregular progress - the emphasis will be on helping the student get the best education possible.
(b) repetition - students will repeat a grade only when there is compelling evidence that such a move would be in the student's best interests. The parents of any such student must be informed as early as possible in the school year, and every reasonable effort made to provide extra help so that this step can be avoided. Parents should be involved in a program of remediation to try to help overcome any difficulties. It is inexcusable to have a parent be "surprised" that their child has not successfully completed his/her grade.
In all grades up to and including Grade 9, the student either passes or fails to pass the entire grade. Starting with the 2004/05 year, Grade 10 became a course pass year to reflect the changes to the Graduation Program. At Grade 10 and above, each course is marked independently, and a student is given credit for those courses successfully completed. Once all graduation requirements have been met, the student is issued a graduation certificate and transcript.
In the case of a student on an individualized program, s/he will be encouraged and assisted to complete the requirements for full graduation. In situations where this is impractical, when the student has successfully completed all aspects of his/her individualized program, the student will be entitled to take part in the school ‘finishing’ activities and will be given a School Leaving Certificate in lieu of a Graduation Certificate. School Leaving is not to be confused with Graduation; it is an alternative for those students who cannot achieve full graduation.
Departmental Exams / Language Proficiency Index / YAT Tests
Departmental Exams are written at the completion of selected Grade 10, 11 and 12 subjects. Grade 10 students must write three exams, English 10, Math 10 and Science 10; grade 11 students write one exam in Social Studies and grade 12 students write one exam, English or Communications 12. These are set by B.C., and neither the content nor the timetable for writing can be altered at the local level. Even though the numbers of students writing exams have been very small, the results do show students and staff how our students compare to the larger student body.
Grade 11 and 12 students also write the Language Proficiency Index, a standardized test with Canadian norms which is often used as a test of English skills for university or college entrance. While it has a number of minor parts (Sentence Structure, Usage, Reading Comprehension) the most significant result is that obtained for writing an essay. It is the essay score alone that is used as an entrance requirement. Our students generally perform better than other comparable student groups.
Departmental Exams/Language Proficiency Index (LPI)/ Foundational Skills Assessment (FSA)
FSA tests are written by students in Grades 4 and 7 on literacy and numeracy performance. The FSA’s originate in B.C. where they are written by all students. Thus, our performance can be compared to a larger group.
Download a copy of Student Assessment
