The reporting system at Star Academy is very unique, as it focuses on the specific and measurable progress of each individual student in every subject area. When the report cards were developed over 15 years ago, our goal was to provide parents with a comprehensive understanding of the skills their child was achieving and working towards. We especially wanted to separate ourselves from the “select-from-list” and “at-a-glance” style of Public School report cards. The result was a thorough report that reflects briefly on the content covered in each unit but more specifically it looks at how the student performed based on their abilities.
Planning
The Planning – Assessment – Reporting cycle is fed by several factors, including: setting individual student goals; Ontario’s Elementary Curriculum; Star Academy’s 5 Pillars (Academic – Physical – Social – Emotional – Global); Star Academy’s unique skill-based curriculum; feedback from parents; and support from staff and administration.
Star Academy’s unique Curriculum has been in development for several years now, and is finally a tangible document, bringing to life the philosophy of Star Academy. Our Curriculum supports learning throughout Star Academy’s 5 Pillars of Education as well as exceeding all standards required by the Ontario Ministry of Education Elementary Curriculum. Additionally, our curriculum expresses specific skills that Star Academy students will be taught and assessed on during their growth through Star’s blended classrooms which allow students and teachers flexibility in content while focusing on important skills that will allow students to succeed at any level of education in any school setting.
Assessment
Many styles of assessment are used by Star Academy teachers, including: formalized comprehensive Reading Inventory assessments which are completed twice per year; complete writing assessments are performed 3 times per year; informal anecdotal assessments are conducted daily; and there are frequent formal assessments that take place in the classroom based on regular assignments.
All of these assessments are designed to help teachers in planning appropriate lessons and working with individual students to develop their skills in all areas. We follow similar models to all Ontario Schools in assessing student progress using “assessment for learning”, “assessment of learning” and “assessment as learning”.
Reporting
Our report card is the last piece of the cycle! A full report is sent home twice each year, and is designed to flow with the way our curriculum feeds our Planning and Assessing. Each subject will be reported on a separate page, but comments will be broken down into specific remarks on skill sets within each Strand. Senior Grade Sheets will accompany the two full reports for Grade 7 and 8 students, allocating percentage grades as well as Effort Grades.
Additionally, parents will receive a Mid-Term Report Card in the fall that will provide a brief overview of their child’s development in all Five key areas of educational development: Academic – Physical – Social – Emotional – Global.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
Parental involvement and input is the crucial factor remaining in the Reporting Process. Parent/Teacher conferences are a chance to work as a team with your child’s teachers towards common goals. Conferences are scheduled following the Mid-Term and the First Term Report Cards and are mandatory. Each conference is scheduled for 30 minutes to provide parents an opportunity to thoroughly discuss the progress and next steps for their child. Goals are set for the next term, and are recorded so they can be tracked and discussed in the next meeting.
Taken from: http://www.staracademy.ca/report-cards/
