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Assessment and Grading Policy

ENS–AAS–PO02 version: 01

Issued: 25/9/2023

Page 1 of 78

Policy ID

No.

Assessment & Grading Policy

The Director General Approval

Name

Date

Signature

Dr. Shawn Lee Dilly

2023

Document Control

Prepared & Reviewed

Position

Date

Signature

Dr.Iram Jilani

Head of American Curriculum

2023

Mr. Faris Al Shammeri

Head of Development and

Quality Assurance Committee

2023

Approved

Position

Date

Signature

Mr. Stephen Charles Cox

Deputy Director General

Academic Affairs

2023

Mr. Ahmed Al Bastaki

Deputy Director General for

Schools Operations

2023

Next Review Date

30 September 2024

Version

V1.0

Note: This document is confidential and prepared exclusively for the use of the Emirates National Schools.

   
Assessment and Grading Policy 
                                                                                                  
 
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Table of Contents 
 
Vision and Mission of Emirates National Schools ................................................................ 3 
General Statement of Policy ................................................................................................ 4 
Purpose of Statement .......................................................................................................... 5 
Assessment Philosophy....................................................................................................... 6 
Dimensions of Assessment ................................................................................................. 7 
Conversations Around Assessment ..................................................................................... 8 
Expectations in Grading and Reporting ............................................................................... 9 
Students of Determination ................................................................................................. 11 
In-School Collaborative Dialogue and Moderation ............................................................. 11 
Standardization and Moderation Guidelines ...................................................................... 11 
Assessment Grading Guide: What to Assess and How to Assess .................................... 13 
Assessment Overview ....................................................................................................... 14 
            Formative Assessment Guidance .......................................................................... 14 
            Summative Assessment Guidance ........................................................................ 15 
           Authenticy of Assessments ..................................................................................... 17 
           Peer Assessment and Self-assessment to Promote Student's Agency .................. 18 
The ENS Reporting Cycle .................................................................................................. 18 
             IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) Grading and Reporting ............................... 19 
             IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) Grading and Reporting ................................ 34 
             IB Diploma Program (DP) Grading and Reporting ................................................ 39 
             American Diploma Course Grading and Reporting ............................................... 41 
            Advanced Placement (AP) Grading and Reporting ................................................ 43 
Credit Recovery ................................................................................................................. 44 
Appendices Contents......................................................................................................... 47 
            APPENDIX A - IBMYP Programme Subject Specific Assessment ........................ 48 
            APPENDIX B - IBMYP Programme Boundary Guidelines Breakdown .................. 49 
            APPENDIX C - A Repair Kit for Grading (Ken O’Connor, 2011) ............................ 55 
            APPENDIX D - Demistifying Accommodations and Modifications ......................... 59 
            APPENDIX E - Sample Moderation Form .............................................................. 65 
            APPENDIX F - Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) ................................ 68 
            APPENDIX G - Student Performance Evaluation – ENS Grade Weights .............. 71 
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 73 
 
 
 
 
 

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Vision and Mission of Emirates National Schools

Vision

Preparing future leaders through innovation in education and treasuring of cultural

heritage.

Mission

Emirates National Schools will provide students with educational programs that develop

character, use technology to improve learning, and prepare students to be leaders and

community members.

IB Learner Profile Attributes

The Emirates National Schools are committed to supporting a system of guiding principles

that will be used

to arrive at a clear and accurate grading and reporting policy and

procedures. We strive to prepare

our students to be:

Inquirers: We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know

how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our

love of learning throughout life.

Knowledgeable: We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge

across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global

significance.

Thinkers: We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible

action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators: We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one

language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the

perspectives of other individuals and groups.

Principled: We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice,

and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for

our actions and their consequences.

Open-minded: We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as

the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and

we are willing to grow from experience.

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Caring: We show empathy, compassion, and respect. We have a commitment to service,

and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.

Risk-takers: We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work

independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are

resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

Balanced: We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives —

intellectual, physical, and emotional — to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We

recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

Reflective: We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We

work to understand our strengths and weaknesses to support our learning and personal

development.

General Statement of Policy

Emirates National Schools’ grading and reporting system shall provide students, parents,

teachers, and the community with a framework for accurately reporting student

achievement. It is the school system’s responsibility to the community that all school

members will work to challenge and support all students in the pursuit of their highest

levels of academic and personal achievement. Therefore, to stimulate achievement as

measured by its extraordinary expectations, the school system will establish a clear and

accurate system of grading and reporting academic achievement.

As well, such a system can serve as an open communication link between the school,

home, and the community. It will provide all parties with awareness of their student’s work

and an understanding of how the grade reflects their student’s achievement. While the

policy outlines the assessment practices as framed by the specific IB programmatic

assessment philosophy requirements, due to national requirements the students will

receive a final academic percentage score that will reflect their knowledge/skill attainment

of the academic content standards and skills for each subject area. All classroom

assessments, assignments (including homework), and activities will be aligned to the

academic content standards and/or subject criteria. Grades/scores/achievement levels

are recorded over the course of each quarter.

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Purpose of Assessment

The purpose of assessment is to inform learning and teaching. It involves the ongoing

process of gathering and analysis of information about student learning to inform teaching

practice. It identifies what students know, understand, and can do at different stages in

the learning process. Effective assessment that achieves this purpose provides valuable

information to understand what constitutes learning and how to support it and is

meaningful to all members of the learning community. Schools become more impactful

learning communities when they use assessment as a tool to evaluate the depth of their

curriculum and the effectiveness of their teaching as well as use feedback to empower

student agency when students set goals and monitor their progress. They make

decisions about targeting resources and support to the most pressing priorities and

professional development needs.

Assessments provides the following to teachers, parents, and students:

 Multiple and varied opportunities to uncover misunderstandings and discover

enduring

understandings;

 Opportunities to choose learning

experiences, develop Approaches

to Learning Skills and Learner

Profile Attributes through authentic

learning experiences, and reflect on

learning to build understandings that

ensure success in an ever-changing

world; and

 Opportunities to be informed of

academic progress.

 Opportunities to reflect on

approaches to teaching, adjust

instruction, design learning

engagements, and flexibly group

students.

Source: From Principles Into Practice - ibo.org

Figure AS01: Integrating assessment

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Assessment Philosophy

Emirates National Schools’ approach to assessment recognizes the importance of

assessing the process of inquiry-based learning as well as the products resulting from

inquiry-based learning. Students and teachers are actively engaged in assessing the

students' progress as part of the development of their wider critical thinking and self-

assessment skills. The assessment component of the school's instructional program can

itself be subdivided into three closely related areas:

 Assessing - how we discover what the students know and have learned, the

Approaches to Learning they have used, and the Learner Profile Attributes they

have developed.

 Recording - how we choose to collect and analyze data.

 Reporting - how we choose to communicate information.

To realize these expectations, the grading and reporting system must:

- Support and encourage student learning by providing timely* and descriptive feedback

on the learner outcomes and processes.

- Promote positive student attitudes about learning.

- Promote a deep understanding of subject content and concepts by supporting in their

inquiries set in real-world contexts.

- Promote the development of higher-order cognitive skills focused on rigorous

academic content standards and evidence outcomes.

- Be honest, fair, transparent, credible, useful, and user-friendly.

- Reflect consistency within and among courses, grade levels, departments, and/or

schools.

- Communicate information in a clear and timely manner.

- Reflect high expectations of all students across all courses and programs.

- Support the holistic nature of developmentally appropriate learning and teaching for all

students.

- Communicate student progress in developing as an internationally minded citizen.

- Be based on quality assessments that meet standards and provide clear descriptions

and achievement expectations.

- Be based on the individual student’s achievement as compared to standards (and not

to other students.

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*Teachers should give documented, constructive feedback for all common

formatives within 48 hours and for summative assessments within 5 working days.

At Emirates National Schools, we believe assessment is an integral part of all learning

and teaching. Effective assessment practices motivate students, validate strengths, and

inform areas for improvement.

“Highly effective assessment shares some key characteristics such as:

 Standards-based: It is designed based on the planned and taught grade level-

standards and learning outcomes that include knowledge, skills, and learning

concepts.

 Authentic: It supports making connections to the real world to promote student

engagement.

 Clear and specific: This includes desired learning goals; success criteria and the

process students use to learn.

 Varied: It uses a wider range of tools and strategies that are fit for purpose in

order to build a well-rounded picture of student learning.

 Developmental: It focuses on an individual student’s progress rather than their

performance in relation to others.

 Collaborative: It engages both teachers and students in the assessment

development and evaluation process.

 Interactive: Assessment encompasses ongoing and iterative dialogues about

learning.

 Feedback to feedforward: It provides feedback on current learning to inform what

is needed to support future learning (Hattie, Timperley 2007) and raises students’

motivation.”

Dimensions of Assessment

Each of these aspects aim to provide evidence to inform

learning and teaching. The emphasis may shift over the

years but what is critical to note is that students need

opportunities to use actionable feedback.

Source: From Principles Into Practice - ibo.org

Figure AS02: Assessment to inform learning and teaching

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Conversations Around Assessment

When members of the learning community have a shared understanding and language to

monitor, document and measure learning, they can make powerful contributions to

learning and teaching.

Teachers in a learning community should ask and discuss the following questions:

 What awareness and understanding do we have of student learning?

 What is the evidence of what students can do, say, write, create and demonstrate?

 How do we support students to understand what constitutes quality?

What other contexts can we provide for students to practice their skills?

 What action needs to be taken to develop the learning further?

 How will we know that we have sufficiently supported student learning?

 How can we identify progression in learning across multiple contexts or units of

inquiry?

 How do we use evidence of learning to plan the next learning steps with students?

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Source: From Principles Into Practice - ibo.org

Figure AS03: Assessment-capable teacher

Students

Students develop assessment capability when teachers provide them with multiple

supported experiences in reflecting on their learning and how to make improvements.

Using specific language to describe, discuss and evaluate learning, students demonstrate

their assessment capability by:

 partnering with teachers to design their learning goals and success criteria

 being able to self-assess and discuss their progress toward achieving learning

goals.

 selecting evidence, such as samples of their learning, that best demonstrate the

intended learning goals.

 developing the metacognitive skills to reflect on their learning and to plan the

next steps.

 drawing on feedback and multiple strategies to adjust their learning and identify

where and when to make improvements.

Expectations in Grading and Reporting

After aligning the adopted academic content standards with the aims, objectives, and

criteria of the relevant IB Programme, teachers use standards-based grading practices to

determine achievement levels. Through a body of evidence, such as observation, selected

response, constructed response, performance tasks, process journals, portfolio

assessments, and peer/self-assessments, teachers use an appropriate tool to document

such as rubrics and report on progress.

Emirates National Schools utilize the following grading guidelines to assure that students

are fairly assessed. These guidelines are conducive to and aligned with the International

Baccalaureate assessment philosophy, American standards-based grading practices, and

the UAE-MoE expectations.

Although academic grades might be affected by student behaviors such as effort,

participation, attendance, and adherence to class rules, these elements do not reflect

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student achievement towards the standards/criteria and therefore must not affect the

reported academic grade and should be reported separately.

 Student behavior such as submitting late work must not be penalized through

grades; instead support for the learners should be provided. Teachers should

explicitly teach students time management skills and ensure that students work

through formative activities that scaffold their understanding so they can access

summative assessments with confidence and apply their understanding in varied

authentic contexts.

 The teacher should form a partnership with the student to co-create a plan to work

on and submit late or missing work. Every effort should be made to ensure that all

students are expected to make-up missing or incomplete summative assessments.

 Extra credit or bonus points should not be awarded because this distorts the actual

performance level of the student; instead, students should be provided multiple

opportunities to demonstrate academic progress and proficiency through a body of

evidence designed to align to the rigor of the grade level expectations.

 Only quality assignments aligned with clear standards and clear descriptions of

achievement expectations should be included when assigning grades.

 Missing work should not impact the score unless there is not enough evidence to

accurately assess a student’s achievement level. Rather than assigning zero use

alternatives such as determining reasons why the student was unable to complete

the assignment, discussing with parents and counselor how to support the student

learning, reassessing to determine real achievement or use “I” for incomplete or

insufficient evidence. If within the allocated timeframe, the student still doesn’t make

up missing work, and is unable to complete credit recovery for certain reasons, the

teacher may use 50% instead of “0”.

 Achievement from formative assessments should be recorded to provide

information to students, teachers and parents of students’ progress towards

standards, and only include student achievement against content standards when

determining final grades. Some formative assessments are included in the final

grade.

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 Teachers should clarify learning expectations and provide scoring rubrics and

grading processes with students in advance of any assessment given. Whenever

possible, students should be involved in the grading process so that they

understand how their grades have been determined and the expectations of the

learning and assessment. Reflection before, during and after learning is ongoing

and integral to learning, as is personal responsibility and agency in responding to

actionable, descriptive feedback to improve work.

Students of Determination

Students with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) may require learning

support requiring an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Learning Plan

(ILP). These plans provide teachers and support staff with accommodations or

modifications required to access the curriculum according to student learning needs.

Teachers should refer to the IEP or ILP for identified strategies when tailoring

assessments to measure the student’s abilities. Each case will be reviewed on an

individual basis with the SEND Coordinator when determining final grades. Please see

Appendix E for further guidance.

In-School Collaborative Dialogue and Moderation

All schools should engage in collaborative dialog and develop essential agreements as

part of their professional learning community (PLC) time to clarify terms, discuss effective

assessment practices to ensure school-wide inter-rater reliability. The focus of the

discussions must be on student progress and attainment, fair assessment practices, the

role of formative assessments, and communication to parents and students. Teachers

should engage in collegial dialogue on learner progress to proactively address areas of

need. IB Coordinators and K-12 Subject Coordinators are responsible for ensuring that

assessments meet the expectations of rigor, depth of knowledge, and cognitive

complexity. Assessments should be moderated to ensure greater inter-rater reliability and

ensure predicted grades are justified and accurately reflective of the student’s body of

work.

Standardization and Moderation Guidelines

Standardization and moderation are ongoing processes. All parallel teachers are required

to standardize all tasks, from creation to grading. For example, in the Middle Years

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Program, after grading a few completed tasks, each parallel teacher picks an example of

high (7-8), medium (5-6), and low (1-4) tasks and grades them side-by-side and compares

results. Teachers will then discuss grading issues and use outcomes to standardize an

ongoing, consistent approach to grading. Teachers will standardize selection of summative

assessments for each unit. Additionally, the MYP Coordinator and/or subject coordinator

may select additional assessments to be moderated as well as the moderators for the

assessments. To facilitate this process, all assessments should be marked within 5

days of completion. All Writing Assessments, PYP and MYP performance tasks, PYP

Grade 5 Projects, MYP Personal Project elements, and the DP Assessments must go

through the same process.

1. The teacher collects and grades their students` work using the criterion objectives

selected using the standardization process.

2. The assessments are graded with feedback within 5 working days of the

assessment completion.

3. For further moderation, the coordinator assigns teachers a selection of

assessments to be moderated or grades a selection themselves.

4. Teachers who have received the assessments for moderation have 3 days (unless

a longer time is mutually agreed upon special cases) to grade and comment on the

work they have been given, ready to discuss at a moderation meeting.

5. All teachers meet in a department meeting, (or at a mutually agreed different time if

there are report deadlines to be met / national holidays / etc.) and go through the

grades they have given, justifying their reasons.

6. Teachers agree on a final grade for each piece of work.

 If a final grade cannot be agreed upon, the coordinator should be consulted. A

one-mark difference within the same level is acceptable.

 If the teacher has been found to be over/under marking on a rubric(s) he/she will

work with the coordinator for the remaining of the assessments from that

class/subject/assignment.

Important Notes:

 The standardization process is required to be done for all types of assessments, while

the moderation process is required to be conducted just for the summative as

assessments.

 During the standardization and moderation process the teacher will not give his/her

initial grades to the students.

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 Hide the tasks results in the LMS until the Standardization process is complete.

 Teachers will not discuss any changes to the grades that occurred during the process

with the students. Comments such as “I gave you a 6 but Mr(s). X graded it down to a

4” are not acceptable. The purpose of standardization and moderation is to ensure

consistency and equity in marking.

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Assessment Grading Guide: What to Assess and How to Assess

Throughout the academic school year, multiple measures are collected as a ‘body of

evidence’ to inform the final marks while acknowledging that some measurements are

more comprehensive and provide a more valid and reliable measure of student

achievement. These measurements are “weighted” in the final grade to provide greater

accuracy in assessing student proficiency of the course grade level expectations.

Throughout the year, teachers will design assessments to provide opportunities for

students to engage in assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment

of learning to ensure they are meeting the grade level expectations. Assessments should

provide opportunities to consider how students:

 engage in authentic challenges that require solutions based on the integration of

knowledge.

 demonstrate and develop subject knowledge.

 apply their conceptual understandings to further their inquiries successfully.

 demonstrated and developed the approaches to learning.

 demonstrate both independence and ability to learn collaboratively.

(Chappuis et al., 2012; Fenwick & Parsons, 2009; McNamee & Chen, 2005; Rowe, 2012;

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Schraw, 2001; Sparks, 1999)

The Interactive Formative Feedback Model Implementation below is just one example of a

feedback model that could be used to increase student agency, growth and achievement.

(Credit: Alison Yang)

Assessment Overview

Formative Assessment Guidance

Formative assessments are work conducted when a student is still learning the material. It

is an assessment that is designed to provide direction for both students and teachers. For

the students, the adjustment may mean reviewing, additional practice, or confirmation that

they are ready to move forward. For the teachers, it may mean changing instructional

strategies, providing additional practice, or being ready to move forward based upon a

teacher’s body of evidence at a point in time. Examples of formative assessments include

observations, anecdotal notes, quizzes, drafts, peer editing, learning journals, ‘ticket out

the door’ feedback, and portfolios. Formative assessments are not equal to class activities

which happen to provide students with opportunities to practice the taught skills and have

opportunities to exhibit processes for the taught knowledge. Class activities shouldn’t be

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formally graded, but should be provided with feedback as to how students should improve

on their mastery.

At ENS, we expect that every lesson should end with a closure that provided data and

information to inform the teacher’s instruction. There are typically many more formative

assessments than summative assessments. Effective practice suggests that student

performance is documented on a continuous basis through ongoing data collection.

Additional characteristics of formative assessments include:

 Inform teachers, students, and parents of progress and needs.

 Formative assessment results scaffold understanding to assure success on the

summative tasks.

 Formative assessment provides important opportunities for students to rehearse or

refine performances of understanding as they prepare to complete summative

assessment tasks.

 Formative assessments are used to assess the learning targets in all content areas

through the lines of Inquiry, unit planners, and weekly lesson plans; and

 Peer and self-assessment are valuable formative assessment strategies.

ENS Formative assessment encompasses (but not limited to):

 Diagnostic assessment: is usually performed at the start of each unit. It helps

teachers to prevent assumptions about what students know.

 Self-assessment and peer assessment

 Quizzes, small weekly tests

 Small Projects

 Questions and answers in the lesson

 Homework

 Classwork

 Discussions

 Practical or experimental work

 Teachers’ observations

Summative Assessment Guidance

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Summative assessments are conducted when a student has had adequate instruction and

practice to display their mastery of academic content standards. It is designed to provide

information to be used in making decisions about a student’s achievement level at a point

in time. Summative assessments may include essays, exams, projects, performances,

and performance tasks.

It is important to note that the design of summative assessments may differ between the

PYP, MYP, and DP due to the nature of each programme.

 Summative assessment should be conducted after conducting enough number of

class activities and formative assessments for the same set of the assessed

learning standards.

 Summative grades are culminating and used to inform progress report marks and

guide feedback provided.

 Summative assessments are used to assess academic content standards, and the

enduring understandings of Units of Inquiry, often through performance tasks.

 Summative assessments should provide varied opportunities for students to

demonstrate and reflect upon their content knowledge, conceptual understanding,

and Approaches to Learning skills.

Before conducting any summative assessment, students should be assessed in an

ongoing basis through formative assessments and feedback is provided to support

learning and give the teacher a body of evidence to determine academic progress.

Source: Education

Closet

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Assessment strategies and tools form the basis of a comprehensive

approach to assessment and represent the school’s answer to the

question, “How will we know what students have learned?” The strategies

are the methods or approaches that teachers use when gathering

information about a student’s learning. Teachers record this information

using a variety of tools, which are the instruments used to collect data.

The assessment strategies and tools—rubrics, anecdotal records,

checklists, anchor papers, continuums, portfolios of work— are designed

to accommodate a variety of preferences and ways to learn. They should

provide effective means of recording students’ responses and

performances in authentic, real-life situations that have genuine problems

to solve.

Authenticity of Assessments and Reporting Information

ENS is preparing future leaders who should be well-equipped with the needed knowledge

and skills. The authenticity of assessments and academic reports are crucial parts of ENS

assessment philosophy and practices.

ENS assessments should be authentic which can be described as:

 Realistic

 Requires judgment and innovation.

 Asks the student to “do” the subject.

 Replicates or simulates the contexts in which adults are “tested” in the workplace or

in civic or personal life.

 Assesses the student’s ability to efficiently and effectively use a repertoire of

knowledge and skills to negotiate a complex task.

 Allow appropriate opportunities to rehearse, practice, consult resources, and get

feedback on and refine performances and products (Grant Wiggins, 1998).

Emirates National PYP and MYP Schools has adopted the GRASPS (G: Goal; R: Role; A:

Audience; S: Situation; P: Product/Performance; S: Standards) model to write authentic

assessments because it also provides opportunities to links to the lines of inquiry,

objectives of the unit; evidence of the student understanding through authentic

performance, opportunities to demonstrate conceptual understanding and clear

expectations in the form of a rubric.

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Peer-assessment and Self-assessment to Promote Student’s Agency

Authentic assessment engages students and encourages them to take responsibility for

their own learning. By ensuring that assessment and the reflection that goes with it is an

integral part of the learning and teaching that happens in the classroom. Teachers create

an environment where the student becomes a critical part in the assessment process.

Within this environment, teachers provide students with measurable learning goals in

alignment with clear success criteria along with self-assessment tools such as rubrics and

checklists. By taking a more active role as an assessment capable learner, students reflect

on and analyze how they think and learn, making it possible for them to become not only

self-assessors but also self-adjusters. Self-adjusters use the specific, descriptive feedback

they are given to modify and improve not only the work they do but their understanding as

well.

Source: Assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning. (2017, March). [National Forum].

The ENS Reporting Cycle:

 Three Way Goal Setting Conferences: In the ‘Three-way Goal Setting

Conferences’, students will identify their major learning and social goals for the

year. These conferences involve the students, parents, teachers and are held near

the end of the first Unit of Inquiry (October).

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 Parent-Teacher Conferences: The parent-teacher conferences are a meeting

between the teacher and the parent to discuss their child’s progress and attainment

in the first semester. The conference is based on the Semester 1 report card and

an opportunity for parents to ask specific questions regarding the report card levels

and comments.

 Student-Led Conferences: Student Led Conferences are an opportunity for

students to share their learning with their parents in school. The conference

involves the student and parent, with the teacher there to observe and support if

needed. The student leads the conference, explaining their learning to their parent.

The parent’s role is to support and encourage the student and ask appropriate

questions while the conference is taking place.

 Written Reports: ENS Campuses will provide quarterly reports to parents. Two of

these are full descriptive written reports on each subject area (February and June)

and two are interim data reports (November and April); all are published online on

the PowerSchool Parent Portal and Toddle. The focus of the interim report cards is

to provide the attainment levels in the core subjects (math, English, science, Arabic

and Islamic), as well as the progress of students in all these subjects. The detailed

end of semester report cards follows a narrative format outlining the student’s

academic progress and social development in each semester. In our reports ENS

teachers should use a 1-8 scale to report in most subject areas; for some areas

they will use qualitative terminology. In addition to this, teachers also provide

general comments/feedback on the student’s development (including action and

ATL skills).

Students receiving learning support will also receive narrative feedback on progress

and attainment within these reports.

 Student Portfolios: Each student at ENS has a student portfolio using an online

TODDLE platform. The portfolio will contain transdisciplinary work that reflects the

development of the IB elements (knowledge, skills, concepts, and actions) as well

as the Learner Profile. Our portfolios are records of student involvement in learning

which are designed to demonstrate success, growth, higher-order thinking,

creativity, assessment strategies and reflection. The portfolios provide a picture of

each student’s progress and development over a period of time.

IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) Grading and Reporting

This section frames the grading and reporting guidelines for grades K through 5.

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Assessing student progress is critical in the Primary Years Programme. Assessment

allows teachers to discover

what the students know and have learned. The primary

objective of assessment in the PYP is to provide

feedback on the learning process. Bruner

(1986) states that students should receive feedback “not as a reward or punishment, but as

information”. It is therefore also important to provide opportunities for students to respond

to and act on the feedback they are provided.

Assessing, learning, and teaching are directly linked and function purposefully together.

Teachers need to select assessment strategies and design assessment instruments to

reflect clearly the

specific

learning outcomes on which they intend to report. They

need to employ a range of strategies for assessing student work that considers the

diverse ways that individual students learn, using developmentally appropriate assessment

methods and strategies.

ENS K-5 Report Requirements

Consistent with IB Primary Years Programme assessment philosophy articulated in PYP:

Principles to Practices (2019), ENS believes that effective assessment and reporting

practices allow parents to:

 see evidence of student learning and development.

 develop an understanding of the student’s progress; and

 provide opportunities to support and celebrate student learning.

Assessment in the PYP focuses on how we work with students to evidence learning, that

is, how we monitor, document, measure, and report learning. Each of these aspects has

its own function, but all aim to provide evidence to inform next steps. The PYP places a

greater emphasis on monitoring and documenting learning as these dimensions are

critical in providing actionable feedback for the learner and learning. Measuring and

reporting on assessment is about communicating what students know, understand, and

can do. It

describes the progress of the students’ learning, identifies areas for growth,

and contributes to the efficacy of the programme. Reporting needs careful consideration

to provide clear information that is useful to students and parents and may take many

forms including portfolios, conferences, and written reports.

Effective PYP reporting should:

 Engage parents, students and teachers as partners;

 Reflect what the school community values;

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 Be comprehensive, honest, fair, credible, clear and understandable to all parties;

and

 Allow teachers to incorporate what they learn during the reporting process into their

future

teaching and assessment practices.

Reporting on assessment is about communicating what students know, understand and

can do. It describes the progress of the students’ learning and identifies areas for growth.

Schools are required to report on each student’s development according to the attributes

of the learner profile and Approaches to learning, however, this feedback does not need to

be included on a report card.

While there are no specific formats required by IB for reports, the PYP reporting system

must ensure that all teachers involved in the student’s progress have an opportunity to

comment and include information related to student attainment and progress on the

following components:

1. The Learner Profile and Moral Education Attributes

2. Transdisciplinary Units of Inquiry Knowledge and subject-specific achievement.

3. Approaches to Learning development.

4. Conceptual Understanding; and

5. Actions that the students have taken to apply learning.

PYP Early Years Grading Guide

Effective grading and reporting practices in the Early Years (KG 1-2) require that both

formative and summative assessments are best used to inform parents of their child’s

progress. Formative and summative

assessments are designed to both be aligned

within units of inquiry and stand-alone units. The importance of structured play is

valuable when observing student development of conceptual understanding and skills.

The following table provides an overview of reporting expectations for parents:

Annual Progress Reports

Units of

Inquiry (UOI)

National

Curriculum

American Curriculum

UOI Portfolio

of Evidence

SMART Goal

Setting and

academic

assessment scores

Data

tracked

KLC

(Literacy,

8-stage

Developmental

Continuum

SMART Goal

Setting, portfolios,

comments and

feedback

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-4 levels of

descriptive

analytical rubrics.

Math,

Science,

and ATL

Skills)

Learner Profile and Approaches to Learning Skills

Conferences and Final Reporting

Quarter One:

Parent-teacher

conferences

Provide Quarter 1 Progress Reports to communicate student progress

using KLC Data Tracker.

Share portfolios, writing samples, and NWEA MPG (KG2).

Develop SMART goals (based on KLC/ NWEA MPG Learning

Continuum) with parents for their child and commit to home support

through IXL and other e-learning platforms as well as shared reading.

Term One:

Three-way

conferences*

Share ENS Pre-K -KG2 Term Report and student portfolios.

Review progress of SMART goals, revise, and renew commitment to

home support through e-learning platforms in American and National

Curriculum.

Quarter Three:

Three-Way or

Student-led

conferences

Provide Quarter 3 Progress Reports to communicate student progress.

Students verbally share their portfolio with parents to communicate their

own progress.

Review progress of SMART goal, All data in National Curriculum and

American curriculum should be considered when developing the

SMART goal.

Term Two:

End-of-Year

Reports

Share ENS Pre-K -KG2 Term Report, end-of-year NWEA MPG Reports

and student portfolios.

Student Data folders, which could include data file comments, EOY

writing samples, data tracker etc.) are prepared on students for the next

school year.

*Comments should be specific, objective, and descriptive feedback related to academic

achievement and progress; please see section on feedback for more detailed guidelines.

PYP Early Years American Curriculum KLC Grading Guide

Effective grading and reporting practices in the Early Years (KG 1-2) require that both

formative and summative assessments are best used to inform parents of their child’s

progress. Teachers use a common assessment tool, the Kindergarten Learning

Continuum (KLC) to observe and document student progress. The KLC is used to assess

student progress in Toddle as follows:

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PYP Pre K Assessment Scale in Toddle

Standards-

based

NC & AC

Learning

Level

Description for the 4-point scale

Exceeding

grade level

expectations.

Level 3

Students demonstrates an advanced understanding of

concepts, skills and processes taught.

• Produces high-quality, frequently innovative

work against Pre K learning expectations.

• Communicates a comprehensive understanding

of concepts and contexts.

• Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical

and creative thinking above Pre-K learning

expectations.

Meeting

grade level

expectations.

Level 2

Students are demonstrating an understanding of Pre-K

level concepts, skills and processes taught in this

reporting period.

• Produces good quality work against Pre-K

learning expectations.

• Communicates secure understanding of concepts

and contexts

• Demonstrates critical and creative thinking,

sometimes with sophistication.

Progressing

towards

grade level

expectations

Level 1

Students are developing Pre-K grade level concepts,

skills, and processes taught.

• The student produces work of a very limited

quality against KG2 learning expectations.

• Conveys many significant misunderstandings.

• Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative

thinking.

Evidence

Incomplete (I)

There is not enough evidence to determine grade level

mastery.

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PYP KG1 Assessment Scale in Toddle

The following scale is used to assign grades and rubric scores from assessments tagged

to standards and used for grading and reporting progress in Toddle:

Standards-

based

AC - KLC

Learning

Level

Description for the 8-point scale

Exceeding

grade level

expectations

Stage 4

Student is demonstrating an advanced understanding of

concepts, skills and processes taught.

• Produces high-quality, frequently innovative work

against KG1 learning expectations.

• Communicates a comprehensive understanding of

concepts and contexts.

• Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical

and creative thinking above KG1 learning

expectations.

Meeting

grade level

expectations

Stage 3

Student is demonstrating an understanding of KG 1 grade

level concepts, skills and processes taught in this reporting

period.

• Produces good quality work against KG1 learning

expectations.

• Communicates secure understanding of concepts

and contexts

• Demonstrates critical and creative thinking,

sometimes with sophistication.

Progressing

towards

grade level

expectations

Stage 2

Student is working toward attainment of KG 1 grade level

concepts, skills and processes taught.

• Student produces work of an acceptable quality

against KG1 learning expectations.

• Communicates basic understanding of most

contexts.

• Student begins to demonstrate some basic critical

and creative thinking.

Developing

Stage 1

Student is developing KG 1 grade level concepts, skills,

and processes taught.

• The student produces work of a very limited

quality against KG1 learning expectations.

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• Conveys many significant misunderstandings.

• Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative

thinking.

No Evidence

Incomplete

(I)

There is not enough evidence to determine grade level

mastery.

KG2 Assessment Scale in Toddle

The following scale is used to assign grades and rubric scores from assessments tagged

to standards and used for grading and reporting progress in Toddle:

Standards-

based

KLC

Stages of

Development

Description for the 8-point scale

Exceeding

grade level

expectations.

Stage 7 - 8

Students demonstrate an advanced understanding of

concepts, skills and processes taught.

• Produces high-quality, frequently innovative

work against KG2 learning expectations.

• Communicates a comprehensive

understanding of concepts and contexts.

• Consistently demonstrates sophisticated

critical and creative thinking above KG2 learning

expectations.

Meeting

grade level

expectations.

Stage 6

Students are is demonstrating an understanding of KG

2 grade level concepts, skills and processes taught in

this reporting period

Progressing

towards

grade level

expectations

Stage 5

Students are working toward attainment of KG 2 grade

level concepts, skills and processes taught in this

reporting period.

Stage 4

Students are developing KG 2 grade level concepts,

skills, and processes taught in this reporting period.

Developing

Stage 3

Students are demonstrating an understanding of KG 1

grade level concepts, skills and processes taught in

this reporting period

Stage 2

Students are working toward attainment of KG 1 grade

level concepts, skills and processes taught in this

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reporting period.

Stage 1

Students are developing KG 1 grade level concepts,

skills, and processes taught in this reporting period.

No Evidence

Incomplete (I)

There is not enough evidence to determine grade level

mastery.

Portfolio Requirements

The documentation of learning is intended to make learning visible and apparent. It

reveals insights into learning and provides opportunities to reconnect with learning goals

and success criteria. Portfolios are a collection of artifacts that are also used to provide

further evidence of learning. Students and teachers document evidence of learning using

an electronic portfolio stored in the Toddle platform. During three-way and student-led

conferences, students share their learning journey through the portfolio. Students and

parents will have access to the electronic portfolio which contains the following artifacts:

 Unit Overview of the UoI including (Transdisciplinary Theme, Central Idea, Lines of

Inquiry)

 UoI pieces of work (chosen by child):

 UoI Summative Assessment Artifacts

 2 artifacts on UoI (e.g., Action, Approaches to Learning, Learner Profile,

Lines of Inquiry, etc.)

 1 artifact representative from Mathematics

 1 artifact representative from Science

 3 artifacts representative from National Curriculum (Arabic, Islamic, UAE

Studies)

 1 artifact representative from Literacy

 1 artifact annually from Specialists (if applicable)

 Student Reflections

Student Data Folder: KG1-2

The purpose of the student profile is to collect and forward end-of-year assessment

information to the teacher the student will be engaged with at the next level of their

academic progression.

 KG1-KG2 Report on academic progress in Literacy, Numeracy, Science, Arabic,

and Islamic Studies, and UAE-SS.

 KG2 Reading Levels.

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 KLC Assessment Continuum.

 Writing Prompt from final Unit of Inquiry (Introduction by student to teacher)

 KG2 MPG Primary MAP Student Profile.

Annual Progress Reports

Units of

Inquiry

(UoI)

National

Curriculum

Homeroom

Learner

Profile and

ATL Skills

SPECIALISTS

UOI

Portfolio of

Evidence

Learning outcomes

and a percentage

score and

comments* based

on content

standards: 2

commendations

and 1

recommendation

KLC assessment

scale and

comments* based

on content

standards: 2

commendations

and 1

recommendation

Comments

on Learner

Profile,

Approaches

to Learning

Skills, Moral

Education.

KLC assessment

scale plus one

comment* related

to content

standards

including 2

commendations

and 1

recommendation

Conferences and Final Reporting

Quarter 1:

Parent

conferences

Provide Quarter 1 Progress Reports to communicate student progress.

Share portfolios and NWEA reports. Develop SMART goals with parents

for their child and commit to home support through e-learning platforms

and shared reading.

Term 1:

Three-way

conferences

Share Term Report and student portfolio. Review progress of SMART

goals, revise, and renew commitment to home support through e-learning

platforms and shared reading.

Quarter 3:

Three-Way

or Student-

led

conferences

Provide Quarter 3 Progress Reports to communicate student progress.

Students verbally share their portfolio with parents to communicate their

own progress.

Review progress of SMART goal, Winter NWEA reports, and e-learning

platform reports.

Term 2:

End-of-Year

Reports

Send Term Report, end-of-year Individual NWEA Reports and student

portfolios. Student Data folders are prepared on students for next school

year.

Transfer scores to the End-of Year e-SIS platform. Teachers are expected

to peer edit for English Language conventions and provide feedback to

ensure accuracy in reporting, and professionalism.

PYP Grade 1-5 Grading Guide

Each quarter, all teachers will analyze a ‘body of evidence’ to determine marks for the

point-in time progress reports. These marks should be based on all assessments

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collected in the quarter. The ‘Best Fit’ methodology should be used to determine the

point-in-time progress that a student has made.

At the end of Quarter 2 and Quarter 4, grades will be recorded as evidence of the

students’ overall progress in the end-of-year marks in e-SIS and/or Ministry Reports. All

formative and summative assessments will be tagged on grade level standards and

scored on the 1 – 6 performance scale in Toddle. If a teacher assigns assessments

tagged to standards below grade level, the teacher cannot award the student a

score any higher than 3 on the Assessment Scale. Homeroom teachers will report on

subjects that they teach: English, Math, Science, and Specials (eg. Art and PSPE if

applicable).

Effective PYP grading and reporting practices require that both formative and summative

assessments are best used to inform parents of their child’s progress. Formative and

summative

assessments are designed to both be aligned within units of inquiry and

stand-alone units. The following table provides an overview of reporting expectations for

parent:

Annual Progress Reports

Units of

Inquiry

(UoI)

National

Curriculum

Homeroom

Learner

Profile and

ATL Skills

SPECIALISTS

UOI

Portfolio of

Evidence

Percentage score

and comments*

based on content

standards: 2

commendations

and 1

recommendation

Percentage score

and comments*

based on content

standards: 2

commendations

and 1

recommendation

Comments

on Learner

Profile,

Approaches

to Learning

Skills,

Moral

Education.

Percentage plus

one comment*

related to content

standards

including 2

commendations

and 1

recommendation

Conferences and Final Reporting

Quarter 1:

Parent

conferences

Provide Quarter 1 Progress Reports to communicate student progress.

Share portfolios and NWEA reports. Develop SMART goals with parents

for their child and commit to home support through e-learning platforms

and shared reading.

Term 1:

Three-way

conferences

Share Term Report and student portfolios. Review progress of SMART

goals, revise, and renew commitment to home support through e-learning

platforms and shared reading.

Quarter 3:

Three-Way

Provide Quarter 3 Progress Reports to communicate student progress.

Students verbally share their portfolio with parents to communicate their

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or Student-

led

conferences

own progress.

Review progress of SMART goal, Winter NWEA reports, and e-learning

platform reports.

Term 2:

End-of-Year

Reports

Send ENS KG1-2 Term Report, end-of-year Individual NWEA Reports and

student portfolios. Student Data folders are prepared on students for

next school year.

Transfer scores to the End-of Year e-SIS platform. Teachers are expected

to peer edit for English Language conventions and provide feedback to

ensure accuracy in reporting, and professionalism.

*Comments should be specific, objective, and descriptive feedback related to academic

achievement and progress; please see section on feedback for more detailed guidelines.

G1-G5 Performance Scale

Standards-

Based Point

Rubric

Score

Range

Score

Breakdown

4 (Exceeds

expectations)

90 -

100%

97 - 100

Produces high-quality, frequently innovative

work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced

understanding of concepts and contexts.

Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical

and creative thinking. Frequently transfers

knowledge and skills with independence and

expertise in a variety of complex classroom and

real- world situations.

93 - 96

90 - 92

3 (Meeting

expectations)

80 -

89%

87 - 89

Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative

work. Communicates extensive, understanding

of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical

and creative thinking, frequently with

sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in

familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world

situations, often with independence.

83 - 86

80 - 82

(Approaching

expectations)

70 -

79%

77 - 79

Produces good-quality work.

Communicates basic understanding of most

concepts and contexts with few

misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often

demonstrates basic critical and creative thinking.

Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in

familiar classroom situations but requires

support in unfamiliar situations.

73 - 76

70 - 72

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1 (Below

expectations)

60 -

69%

67 - 69

Produces work of an acceptable quality.

Communicates basic understanding of many

concepts and contexts, with occasionally

significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to

demonstrate some basic critical and creative

thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of

knowledge and skills, requiring support even in

familiar classroom situations.

63 - 66

60 - 62

0 (Little

Evidence)

Below

60%

55 - 59

Produces work of limited quality. Expresses

misunderstandings or significant gaps in

understanding for many concepts and contexts.

Infrequently demonstrates critical or creative

thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of

knowledge and skills, and infrequently applying

knowledge and skills.

0 (No

Evidence)

Below

60%

0 - 54

Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys

many significant misunderstandings or lacks

understanding of most concepts and contexts.

Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative

thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge

or skills.

Score

Range

Score

Breakdown

Level of

Achievement

Descriptor

The student does not submit

summative assessments and / or does

not meet the minimum number of

attendance days.

The student does not reach a standard

described by any of the descriptors

below

Below 50

1-3

Does not meet the

standard

 The student produces work of a

very limited quality

 Conveys many significant

misunderstandings

 Very rarely demonstrates

critical or creative thinking

50 - 59

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60 - 69

Approaching the

standard

 Produces work of an

acceptable quality

• Communicates basic

understanding of most contexts

• Begins to demonstrate some

basic critical and creative

thinking.

70 - 79

Meets the Minimum

Standards

80 - 85

5-6

Meets the

Standards

• Produces good quality work

• Communicates a secure

understanding of concepts and

contexts.

• Demonstrates critical and

creative thinking, sometimes

with sophistication.

85 - 89

90 - 95

7-8

Exceeds the

Standard

• Produces high-quality,

frequently innovative work

• Communicates comprehensive

understanding of concepts and

contexts

• Consistently demonstrates

sophisticated critical and

creative thinking

96 -100

PYP Weightage of Grade 1-5 Category A & B Subjects

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Types of category A summative Assessments that should be included in the grade

books:

• Performance Task (handwritten essay and oral presentation).

• Reading comprehension, grammar, and spelling #1 (Informational Text ).

• Reading comprehension, grammar, and spelling #2 (Literature Text ).

Types of Category A formative Assessments that should be included in the grade

books:

• Weekly reading assignments.

• Weekly reflection assignment.

• Average of weekly spelling tests.

• In-class formative assessments.

• Writings (the final edited copy).

Types of summative Assessments that should be included in the grade books:

• Test # 1 (Domains 1,2,3)

• Test # 2 (Domains 4,5,6)

Types of formative Assessments that should be included in the grade books:

• Quran reciting assignments every 2 weeks (3 per quarter).

• Quran memorization (2 per quarter).

• Weekly reflection assignments.