CBC Approach to Assessments

Week 4 marks the start of the Year 12 ATAR Written Examinations. Naturally, many of the conversations I've had around campus this week with students, teachers, and parents have centred on assessments. With this in mind, I thought it would be helpful to share some insights into the CBC approach to assessment. By having a common language and consistent approach both at school and at home, we can help the boys prepare more effectively and alleviate some of their anxieties about assessments in their subjects.

Many academic papers have been published about the drawbacks of students focusing on marks and grades rather than truly learning the content and skills required for each subject. This often leads to a classroom environment where students ask, 'Is this graded?', which can be interpreted as, 'Should I give my best effort?'. Ideally, students should take pride in and give their best effort in all they do. Striving for personal bests, regardless of the result, is a key characteristic of a CBC Gentleman.

To foster a culture that values effort and personal bests, I encourage CBC teachers and students to view summative assessments in three ways:

1. Each assessment is an opportunity for a student to improve their own performance.
   Currently, I am enjoying learning French on the Duolingo app. I often tell students that if I took the Duolingo final test for French right now, I would probably score about 6%. This doesn't mean I have failed or that my last 12 months of study have been pointless. However, at school, I often see students being too hard on themselves for receiving a test score below an arbitrary performance measure set by themselves (or their parents), typically seen as a 50% or 'pass grade'.
   For a student who previously scored 30%, achieving 50% is an outstanding accomplishment to be celebrated. Conversely, it may be a concern for a student who was previously scoring 80% or more.
   How parents can help: Set goals based on effort rather than grades and celebrate incremental improvements over arbitrary 'pass' grades. Each child's bar should be set at a different height.
2. Each assessment measures what a student knew and could articulate at the time they completed it.
   If a student scored 70% on a test taken on Monday, it means that on that day, they could successfully demonstrate 70% of the required knowledge and skills. Not being able to demonstrate the remaining 30% could be due to various reasons. This is a valuable opportunity to identify the next steps in their learning, such as focusing on a key topic area.
   How parents can help: Reframe discussions about assessments at home. Assessment scores are not an indication of what the student knows about the subject but a signpost of what they were able to demonstrate at the time of the assessment. What they can demonstrate NOW is more significant.
3. Each assessment is an opportunity to engage with formal feedback and plan the next steps in learning.
   Continuing the example above, a student could reframe their 70% by asking, "After seeing my Teacher's feedback, if I took this test again right now, would I get 100%?" (or at least a significantly improved grade?). If the answer is yes, then the assessment is a success. If the student can now demonstrate the required knowledge and skills, the learning cycle is complete.
   How parents can help: Consider asking the following questions when discussing assessment grades with your child:
   o    "What did you learn from the teacher's feedback on your assessment?"
   o    "If you took the assessment again, would you correctly answer the questions you got wrong this time? Show me an example"
   o    "What actions could you take to help prepare you for assessment? From these actions, which one will you commit to doing?"

I wish all the boys the best of luck with their upcoming assessments. May their grades reflect their efforts, and may the discussions at home focus on future growth

Mr Jean-Paul Papineau
Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning