“Assessment is the process of gathering data. More specifically, assessment is the way instructors gather data about their teaching and their students’ learning.”
(Hanna & Dettmer, 2004)
November 8, 2021
- End of the Quarter 1 Report Cards: TODAY. Sent home electronically or by PlusPortals
- Trimester assessments
- Student-Parent-Teacher-Conferences
- New Upper School Quarter Classes
ISO Community,
It is hard to believe that last week, one fourth of the “2021 – 2022” was successfully completed.
This has been a busy, and transformational year, as the International School of Ouagadougou continues to focus on consistent school improvement, and the quality of our students’ educational program. This year is our third year of implementing our student information system, PlusPortals, which we presently use as a tool for:
- Our virtual school learning protocol for potential “snow days”
- Teacher-parent and teacher-student communication
- Our online gradebook
- Producing our quarterly report cards
#1 Report Cards
Please note that we will be providing your students’ Trimester 1 report cards by PlusPortals. They were either sent by email through PlusPortals, or are located on your students’ performance page. Today, we will send a WhatsApp (approximately at 5:00pm), announcing when they will be available for viewing. Please note that Report cards will only be printed when a student is transferring from ISO. At the International School of Ouagadougou, you need not worry about report cards getting “lost” before reaching home! You may print a copy for your records, or save as a pdf …. And of course stick it on your refrigerator.
#2. Trimester assessments
The International School of Ouagadougou, like many American International Schools across the world, uses a Standards-Based Curriculum. A “standards based” curriculum is one in which the standards (and more specifically, their benchmarks) are the central focus of teaching and learning. Standards and benchmarks are the learning goals for the students. Unit and lesson plans are developed using the “unit by design” framework to ensure students are able to demonstrate their learning, as measured against the benchmarks.
At ISO, in non-IB classes, subject-specific standards are drawn from the AERO curriculum framework, which is aligned to U.S. Common Core standards. This alignment allows us to measure our students’ academic progress, by using the MAP assessment (Measure of Academic Progress). The MAP is NOT summative or high stakes; its main purpose is to give our teachers informed feedback to help us make instructional decisions.
At ISO, teachers use many data points, like in-class performance, observation, projects, class work, report cards, and not just the MAP test to guide us. This tool is used by International Schools throughout the world to assist students in their journey of learning, allowing us to compare our students’ performance not just to U.S. norms but to International norms as well.
The MAP results for the 2021 – 2022 School Year can be seen at the following link on our website: https://www.iso.bf/directors-message-47/.
#3. Student-Parent-Teacher-Conferences
If you have any questions about your students’ performance through the first 11 weeks of the school year, please be sure to visit us on Friday, for our Student-Parent-Teacher-Conferences. They will take place from 13:00 – 19:00pm; you may sign up for your appointments with all the teachers you wish to see by using this link.
#4. New Upper School Quarter Classes
Reminder; Grades 6-9 start new Quarter classes for trimester 2.
Have a great week and see you on Friday.
Jeff