Assessment Glossary

achievement level

a student’s demonstration of knowledge, skills and attitudes relative to grade level learner outcomes.

assessment

process of collecting information on student achievement and performance that includes a variety of assessment tasks designed to monitor and improve student learning.

assessment for learning

assessment experiences that result in an ongoing exchange of information between students and teachers about student progress toward clearly specified learner outcomes
(also called diagnostic and formative assessment; refers to information not used for grading purposes)

assessment of learning

assessment experiences designed to collect information about learning to make judgments about student performance and achievement at the end of a period of instruction to be shared with those outside classrooms
(also called summative assessment; refers to performance data compiled as a grade)

checklist

a two-point evaluation tool that indicates if a student has achieved a learner outcome [yes or not yet]

criteria

what students need to do to show they have achieved the learner outcomes (e.g. compare and contrast, explain, analyze)  

descriptive feedback

part of an ongoing, specific and constructive conversation about learning that relates directly to the learner outcomes

evaluation

making decisions about the quality, value or worth of a response for the purpose of providing descriptive feedback (formative) and marks (summative)

grade (mark)

a letter, number or comment reported at the end of a period of time as a summary statement of student performance based on a variety of summative assessments [based on OConnor, 1502, 241-242]

grade level of achievement

a teacher judgment based on the results from a variety of classroom assessments throughout the school year in relation to learner outcomes in a subject area after a course for a specific grade level has been completed.

grading

a process to determine a student’s performance level

learner outcomes

what we expect students to learn; the provincially mandated knowledge, skills and attitudes we expect students to demonstrate as a result of schooling

peer-coaching

one student considering the quality of another’s work and providing feedback by applying criteria to help improve performance; requires a non-threatening and supportive relationship between the peers (also referred to in the literature as peer-assessment, peer-evaluation, peer-tutoring, or peer-editing)

performance level

how well a student demonstrates grade level learner outcomes represented by a grade (mark)

performance assessment

a meaningful, real-life task that enables students to demonstrate what they know and can do in situations like those they will encounter outside the classroom as well as in situations that simulate how people do their work

rating scale

an evaluation tool of three or more points that illustrates how frequently, consistently or independently a student demonstrates a learner outcome

rubric

a fixed measurement scale and list of criteria that describe the quality of products or performances used to evaluate a student’s performance

self-reflection

considering the quality of one’s own work by applying criteria; requires that a student feels safe enough to be honest in making objective observations about the work (also referred to in the literature as self-assessment or self-evaluation)