Our teachers use a variety of strategies to assess student learning. These include observing work in class and looking closely at tasks throughout the year.
Twice a year, teachers formally assess a student’s achievement based on the outcomes described in the syllabus of each subject. A written report using the common grade scale is sent home in the first half of the year, usually near the end of Term 2, and again in Term 4. This gives a clear picture of your child’s learning.
Student Led Conferences and Reporting to Parents
All classes at BPPS now conduct 'Student Led Conferences' in the place of traditional Parent/Teacher Interviews. These conferences are conducted towards the end of Term Two.
A student-led conference is a meeting with a student and his or her family and teachers during which the student shares his or her portfolio of work and discusses progress with family members.
The student facilitates the meeting from start to finish. Preparation for a conference creates an authentic purpose for good organizational and communication skills. The structure builds students’ sense of responsibility and accountability for their own learning, and it helps to hone their understanding of what it means to meet learning targets.
Parents who would also prefer to arrange a traditional Parent/Teacher Interview are able to do so, following the completion of the student led conferences.
Written reports are provided at the end of Term 2 and Term 4.
Assessments
We provide detailed information to students about what we expect from them throughout the year and how their work will be assessed. Students have a number of formal assessments throughout their schooling.
- Best Start – a mandatory, one-to-one assessment that identifies a student’s literacy and numeracy skills at the beginning of Kindergarten.
- National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) – reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and numeracy tests for students in Years 3 and 5. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) holds the tests in May each year. Results and student reports are released in August.
- Validation of Assessment for Learning and Individual Development (VALID) – online diagnostic science assessment for students in Year 6.
- Some students may elect to sit the opportunity class or selective high school placement tests. For more information, visit selective high schools and opportunity classes.