Curriculum Framework

Ensure judgments made about learner achievement reflect evidence of rich and robust learning

Evidence of learning is selected using triangulation of data from a broad collection of work that includes learners’ thinking process, visible growth, and meaningful demonstrations of their understanding. Providing multiple assessments across various assessment types reduces bias when making judgments about learning.

By carefully considering the body of evidence that is generated and collected – including knowledge of each learner’s educational profile – we can select and value individual pieces of evidence to arrive at a comprehensive evaluation of their overall learning. Educators reflect on the scope of coverage of the assessment and the relative importance of the curriculum expectations and learning targets to be assessed (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2020). Validity and reliability of evaluations should be consistent and accurate by using success criteria outlined in rubrics, scoring guides, and other tools (Kane, 2006).  Success criteria help align evaluations with specific learning expectations and can be used by educators to evaluate consistently.

Meaningful demonstrations of learning provide accurate and reliable reflections of learners’ abilities. Quality classroom assessment includes clear purpose, clear targets, sound design, formative usefulness, and effective communication (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2020). When learners have the opportunity to demonstrate their progress in various and multiple ways, educators, learners, and families/caregivers feel confident that overall grades represent the depth of learning.

Wabanaki Principles of Learning connections:

• Learning is embedded and honoured in memory, history, story, and contemporary realities.

Enacted in Practice

Educators design instruction with the intention to produce rich and robust assessment opportunities. Providing a variety of assessments and assessment types reduces bias. Assessment feedback focuses on how learners can improve understanding and skills, provides additional opportunities to improve, promotes growth mindset, and is timely and specific (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).

Learners respond to questions that allow them to show their thinking and demonstrate conceptual understanding by applying what they have learned in new and challenging contexts. Learners complete rich tasks that are meaningful to them, connect learning to real-world contexts, may have an audience beyond the classroom, and are developed and refined over time. Educators value the ability of learners to demonstrate their thinking when generating responses.

Educators listen to and understand learners’ goals to make learning meaningful, keeping learning goals centred through instruction and assessment. Educators gather evidence of learning through observations, conversations, and products, building a body of evidence over a period of time to make meaningful judgments about learner progress. Educators include the process as well as the product or performance in the selection of evidence.

Learners and educators use triangulation of data to ensure that evidence of learning is based on relevant work that reflects learning over time and/or multiple demonstrations of learning. Learners have ongoing opportunities to reflect on the evolution of their work and the body of evidence that best demonstrates their understanding and competence.

Educators use assessment and evaluation tools that focus on curriculum-based learning expectations and success criteria that are clear and consistent for learners throughout the learning process. Educators apply professional discretion, knowledge, and learning area-specific criteria to make judgments about learner achievement in relation to Skill Descriptors.

Educators record evidence of learning (e.g., PowerTeacher Pro, ESS Connect) to identify trends in a learner’s academic achievement aligned with curriculum Skill Descriptors and assign a grade that reflects this learning. Educators use approaches appropriate to their Program Block and consider statistical measures to arrive at the most authentic representation of learner achievement.

Learners share responsibility for articulating how they are working toward the success criteria and engage as collaborators in the learning and assessment process. Educators encourage learners to provide a body of evidence that best represents the depth of their learning (e.g., myBlueprint). Educators consider learner process, products, and performances in determining success in meeting curriculum expectations. While attendance, late submissions, and classroom behaviour can influence a learner’s ability to demonstrate learning over time, grades are based on academic achievement only. Where appropriate, educators and learners work together to align assessments with learners’ chosen pathways.

In practice, this:

• looks like assessment tasks directly connected to the Skill Descriptors; multimodal representations of learning; multiple opportunities to demonstrate achievement; intentional category weighting; collections of work (portfolios or processfolios) that show progress toward rich tasks over time; triangulation of data through conversations, observations, and products or performances.
• sounds like learners explaining the thoughts that go into an answer; educators posing follow-up questions to dig deeper into learner knowledge; conferences between learners and educators; and regular discussion about assessment.
• feels like educators know learners individually and have deep understanding of their achievement; a balanced approach to assessment that provides multiple opportunities to demonstrate and observe learning; and evaluations based on a broad range of representations of learner achievement.