Evidence Set Two:
Assessment and reporting
Overview
Evidence Set Two focuses on the different ways in which I use assessment and reporting to support children’s learning in the class. Assessment may be in the form of conversations with children, observations of them working, review of their work or formal testing. Reporting also takes place at different levels of periodicity and formality, from daily activity records through to official semesterly reports.
Descriptors
1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of children
1.2 Understand how students learn
1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability
2.2 Content selection and organisation
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs
5.1 Assess student learning
5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements
5.4 Interpret student data
5.5 Report on student achievement
2-A Work diaries
2-B Work conferences and posted curriculum
2-C Diagnostic language assessments
2-D Transparent Classroom activity and reporting records
Annotation of Evidence
Artefact 2-A The use of a work diary or journal in a Montessori class, is one of the tools that helps to establish a balance between freedom and responsibility. The child is introduced to using a diary as soon as they enter the class from Cycle 1, and is guided to the next level as they master each stage. Maria Montessori identified several characteristics of the primary-aged child, including a developing sense of responsibility, a group instinct and the desire to seek out heroes. These characteristics all come into play as younger children observe older children, whom the younger children look up to, recoding work in their diaries, which motivates the younger ones to use their diaries and progress through the stages of recording (1.1, 1.2). This process is also driven by each individual child’s own level of confidence and ability in writing, so each child is introduced to the different stages at the appropriate time for them. And, while cursive writing is the expected norm in class, some children record their diaries using print handwriting, and in some cases may use a computer to type their work records, depending on specific learning needs. This process can also be altered for children that may have different ways of learning based on their cultural backgrounds, such as using a learning map for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to record their work in a visual and non-linear way (1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6).
Artefact 2-B The child’s records of their work (in conjunction with my own records) then form the basis of regular one-on-one conferences with each child. The frequency of the conferences will vary based on the child’s need (1.5). The conferences allow me to assess where each child is at across all learning areas, and will directly influence my planning. For example, there may be some curriculum areas that a child has neglected to practise, or in which further support is needed, such as lessons needing to be redelivered; or a child may have mastered a concept and need to be challenged further. This feedback is then given directly to each child and lessons planned accordingly. The posted curriculum is used to support these conversations and bring the child’s awareness to areas that are required to be covered, particularly as they progress through the cycle and head towards transitioning to Cycle 3 around age 9 (2.2, 2.3, 3.2, 5.1, 5.2).
Artefact 2-C When children come to Cycle 2 at around age 6, most will have a working knowledge of the letter sounds and symbol associations, but there is a large range in each child’s level of mastery and their ability to apply this skill to reading and writing. It is therefore important to have a clear picture of where each child is at so they can be instructed at an appropriate level of challenge. Diagnostic language assessments allow a detailed understanding of the individual skills that contribute to effective reading and writing, including phonological awareness, and the ability to read and write individual letter sounds and words. When conducted at the beginning of the child’s time in Cycle 2, and then yearly thereafter, this testing also provides a measure of their progress and identification of areas that the child may be struggling with. This information will then inform planning for each individual child, and when analysed collectively, can inform the evaluation of teaching programs (1.5, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, 5.1, 5.4).
Artefact 2-D As already described, regular one-on-one conferencing with children in the class gives me an opportunity to see where each child is at across all areas of the curriculum, and to provide the appropriate level of support and challenge for each child. My conference notes also inform my reporting to parents through semesterly school reports, augmented by daily records of the lessons the child has received and the work they have practised and mastered (5.5). Importantly, semester reports are peer-reviewed ensuring that there is a consistent interpretation of grading (5.3). These records also allow me to easily see the spread of lessons across the curriculum for all children, and to adjust my planning accordingly to ensure that children are receiving an appropriate balance (2.2).
Reflection
While assessment in a Montessori context does not rely as heavily on formal testing as in more traditional educational settings, assessment is nonetheless as integral in a Montessori classroom as in any other. The aim of assessment should always be to provide a better understanding of the child’s areas of strength and challenge in order to support the child’s learning and development at an appropriate level. Collectively, the three pillars of freedom and responsibility in the Montessori classroom – the work diary, conference and posted curriculum – form a large part of the continuous assessment that I am conducting in the class every day. An area that I would like to focus more on in future is how I can utilise diagnostic assessment, such as the language assessments I have already begun to use in my class, to clarify areas of weakness or strength that may be less evident through informal means. Progressive Assessment Testing (PAT) is one such means of assessment that I would like to better understand and utilise in my class, and this testing is now underway. NAPLAN is another source of data that may be useful for identifying trends over time, and I have already started to engage in professional reading to understand the benefits and limitations of using NAPLAN data, to be able to use this information effectively and appropriately.