Below are some
of the ways we assess children at French Hill. It is important to remember
that French Hill’s approach is holistic and based on multiple sources of
relevant information.
Teacher
Observation/Interaction
Teachers observe
and interact with students every day. They informally assess a student’s
academic, social and emotional growth. This first-hand manner of assessing
children is a valuable and significant component of our total assessment
program.
Portfolio
Assessment
Student work is
periodically collected and stored. It then can be shared with students, as
part of instruction, and with parents when conferencing. (Examples: When
conferencing with a student, a teacher might make reference to an earlier
writing in an effort to highlight growth; a teacher will share student work
with parents during parent/teacher conferences.)
The purpose of
an inventory is for the teacher to “inventory” what students know and are able
to do with a particular set of skills and core of knowledge. (Example:
Teachers inventory students in the area of mathematics at the beginning of the
school year to help ascertain what skills they have retained from the prior
year.)
Early
Literacy Profile
This assessment
is designed to provide information about a student’s progress in various
aspects of literacy development - reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
The Early Literacy Profile consists of a small set of standardized tasks that
are completed in the context of classroom life, collected at designated times
in the year and evaluated in relation to developmental scales. Examples of the
tasks include writing samples (K-2) and reading samples (running records,
grades one, two and kindergartners who are reading).
Dibels
We also use a quick,
research-based reading assessment called DIBELS. DIBELS stands for Dynamic
Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and is used to assist with
monitoring student progress as well as identifying children who may need extra
support to become good readers. DIBELS is administered to students three times
per year (September, January and June) by our DIBELS team. (Your child may
share with you that he/she read with one of our teachers or specialists who is
part of the DIBELS team.)
