F R A M E W O R K

Evaluation

of learning

At the Preschool and Elementary LevelsEVALUATION

OF LEARNING

AT THE PRESCHOOL

AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Framework

Direction générale de la formation des jeunesEducational institutions are authorized to reproduce

this document in whole or in part to meet their

needs. If the document is reproduced for sale, the

price should not exceed the cost of reproduction.

© Gouvernement du Québec

Ministère de l’Éducation, 2002—02-00307

ISBN 2-550-39515-8

Legal deposit—Bibliothèque nationale du QuébecTABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.................................... 5

CHAPTER I

THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF

EVALUATION ........................................... 7

1.1 Evaluation as Support for Learning ... 7

1.2 Evaluation for the Recognition of

Competencies ................................ 10

CHAPTER II

THE ACT OF EVALUATING ....................... 13

2.1 Planning ........................................ 13

2.2 Information Gathering and

Interpretation .................................. 16

2.3 Judgment ...................................... 18

2.4 Decision ........................................ 19

CHAPTER III

CLASSROOM EVALUATION PRACTICES......21

3.1 Evaluation Focuses ........................ 21

3.2 Learning and Evaluation Situations 22

3.3 Evaluation Conditions ..................... 25

3.4 Tasks ............................................ 25

3.5 Evaluation Criteria ......................... 26

CHAPTER IV

EVALUATION TOOLS AND MEANS..............27

4.1 Tools Used to Gather Information ... 27

4.2 Tools Used to Record Information... 29

4.3 Tools Used to Interpret Information

in Elementary School: Competency

Levels .............................................33

CHAPTER V

COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS AND

STUDENTS ............................................ 35

5.1 Report Cards and Progress

Reports........................................... 35

5.2 Other Forms of Communication ...... 37

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................. 39

GLOSSARY ........................................ 43

APPENDIX I

COMPULSORY PROVINCIAL

EXAMINATIONS AT THE END OF

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ........................... 45

APPENDIX II

EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER

INFORMATION ........................................ 47INTRODUCTION

The current education reform involves a

policy shift to promote educational success

for the greatest possible number of students. One of the major elements of this

reform is without a doubt the renewal of

the curriculum, which includes the Québec

Education Program and evaluation of

learning.

The educational policy statement Québec

Schools on Course maintains that evaluation is a central component of the curriculum. Given the close link with learning,

evaluation practices have to be adapted to

the characteristics of the new Québec

Education Program.

Evaluation of learning in the Québec

Education Program

"The Québec Education Program is characterized essentially by its competencybased approach and its focus on the

learning process. Knowledges are organized in terms of competencies to make

learning meaningful and open-ended for

students. The conceptual framework adopted by the Québec Education Program

defines learning as an active, ongoing process of construction of knowledge." (p. 4)

Learning is viewed as an active construction of the learner's knowledge that

builds on his or her cognitive and affective

resources and is influenced by his or her

cultural environment and social interaction.

It is therefore a process that is cognitive,

affective and social in nature.

This concept of learning affects evaluation

in several ways. To begin with, it calls for

the creation of learning and evaluation

situations that reflect the students' environment, that involve interaction among

classmates, that enable students to construct their thoughts on the basis of what

they already know and that give them

some control over the way in which

learning and evaluation activities are conducted. This concept also recognizes the

place and role of knowledge in the development of competencies, because there

are no competencies without a knowledge

base.

The Québec Education Program defines a

competency as "a set of behaviours based

on the effective mobilization and use of a

range of resources." (p. 4) This definition

points clearly to important characteristics

that must be taken into account during

learning and evaluation activities.

A competency is an appropriate performance in a given situation. In this

context, knowledge must serve as a tool

for both action and thought development.

The evaluation of students' competency

therefore involves verifying their ability to

use a variety of resources appropriately in

a given circumstance.

A competency is complex because it

reflects the ability to combine a set of

acquired resources in an effective manner

for a specific purpose. For example,

writers mobilize a wide variety of resources

to produce a piece of written work. They

must be effective in using all the resources6 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

needed to write coherently and in accordance with the requirements of the

language. Writing a poem and writing a

letter call for different approaches.

Evaluating a competency involves placing

students in situations that require the

mobilization of a variety of pertinent resources. It is also important to evaluate

competencies in a contextualized manner,

since the resources to be mobilized

depend on the context in which they will be

used.

A competency is cumulative because it

must be developed over time and because

it can always be improved. For example,

one can develop the ability to speak a

second language over an entire lifetime.

Since a competency is cumulative, students should be given enough time to

learn and to develop the competency. This

is especially a challenge for subject specialists who see students once a week at

most and rarely for more than 60 minutes.

Moreover, we cannot say categorically that

someone either has or has not acquired a

competency, since it is possible to identify

different levels of competency.

A competency is comprehensive and integrated in the sense that it involves using

a variety of resources that are not limited

to knowledge acquired in school. These

may also include resources related to a

student's personality, interests, experiential

learning, etc. Because the resources that

students use in a given situation do not

result solely from formal learning, evaluation should take into account the whole

range of resources the students actually

use.

In short, teaching, learning and evaluation

are not considered in sequence as distinct

points in the pedagogical process, but

rather in dynamic interaction. To the extent

that evaluation allows students to consider

their own processes metacognitively and

teachers to make use of their observations

to foster students' progress, evaluation

promotes learning.

In this context, the educational community

is currently raising a number of questions

regarding guidelines and methods in evaluation. Which evaluation practices are in

line with the competency-based approach

of the Québec Education Program? What

aspects of prior practices should be

retained? What should be evaluated and

how? When? How will parents be informed

of their children's progress?

This document proposes some answers to

these questions and addresses other

concerns regarding evaluation at the preschool and elementary levels. This framework for the evaluation of learning is

intended mainly for teachers and those

responsible for implementing the Québec

Education Program, especially school administrators. This framework presents a

concept of the evaluation of learning that is

consistent with the requirements of the

Québec Education Program and the Policy

on the Evaluation of Learning.CHAPTER I

THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF EVALUATION

Evaluation of learning is defined as a

process that leads to a judgment on the

knowledge acquired by a student and the

competencies developed. This judgment

serves as a basis for decisions and actions

and must be founded on a sufficient

amount of pertinent information.

In accordance with the stated views of the

reform regarding evaluation of learning,

the values that guide evaluation are

justice, equality and equity, as well as

coherence, rigour and openness.

Competencies are evaluated on the basis

of meaningful situations, that is, situations

that give students a chance to learn while

appealing to their interests and motivating

them. To the extent that they are conducive to student self-evaluation and provide

teachers with information to make their

teaching more effective, evaluation promotes the development of competencies.

At the preschool and elementary levels,

evaluation serves two purposes: support

for learning and recognition of competencies. Both functions are presented

separately, but the corresponding processes are not necessarily independent

and sequential. The very act of regularly

gathering information to help students

learn also allows teachers to determine the

degree to which students have developed

competencies.

1.1 Evaluation as Support for

Learning

Evaluation serves to support learning

whenever the goal of evaluation is to

support the student in acquiring knowledge

and developing competencies. To fulfill this

function, evaluation must be integrated into

the teaching and learning process and be

used to monitor both student learning and

teaching practices.

Regulation of learning by the teacher

Teachers can carry out three types of

monitoring during the learning process:

interactive, retrospective and proactive.

Regulation, whether it is interactive, retrospective or proactive, can pertain to

different learning focuses such as the processes used, the final result or previously

acquired knowledge. It can also cover

other aspects of the learning process like

student motivation or involvement. Whatever its focus, it should promote individual

student progress.

Interactive regulation takes place during

learning activities and involves providing

students with immediate feedback. This

type of informal communication between

teacher and student cannot be entirely

planned, since it occurs in response to

needs that emerge during learning

activities.8 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Examples of interactive regulation:

a) During a particular learning sequence in

an English Language Arts class, the

teacher chooses to target one particular

characteristic of reading progress: using

an appropriate strategy to get at meaning

when encountering a difficult passage. The

teacher reviews the variety of strategies

outlined in the Québec Education Program

and now wants to verify which ones the

students appear to call upon regularly. She

makes a point of noting how selected

students are progressing. With some students, there is evident progress, and she

notes this. With others, there is an attempt

to apply a strategy, but support is needed

and she arranges a reciprocal reading

exchange with a peer. Two other students

need more immediate intervention, and

this is offered with a "Try this." In all cases,

the teacher's observations and the nature

of the intervention are recorded as soon as

possible.

b) A preschool activity involves the competency To affirm his/her personality. Given a

list of available learning station activities,

the teacher asks the children to each

choose one that interests them and that

they find enjoyable. Afterward, the children

will meet with their parents to discuss their

preferences and interests. After choosing

their learning station activity, the children

share their interests and preferences. The

teacher also asks them questions: What

do you want to do? What materials will you

select? Will you be working alone or with

others? During this discussion, the teacher

notes whether the children have found

appropriate ways of meeting their needs,

which is the evaluation criterion that has

been selected for this situation.

c) For a learning and evaluation activity

involving the competency Interagir en

français en se familiarisant avec le monde

francophone, the subject specialist moves

around the classroom while the students

are busy with a group activity. The teacher

responds immediately to needs demonstrated by students. Students are encouraged to ask for help by using expressions

on display for them, such as "Comment diton ... en français?" "Nous avons besoin

d'aide." "Est-ce que c'est correct?" "Nous

ne comprenons pas." etc. The kind of

support provided by the French teacher

throughout the learning and evaluation

activity stresses the importance of interactive regulation for the students to

successfully complete an activity, task or

project.

Retrospective regulation involves reviewing tasks that were not successfully

completed during the first step in the

learning process. It allows teachers to

track growth in specific abilities of individual students over time and to adapt

pedagogical practices in order to deal with

the problems identified.

Examples of retrospective regulation:

a) A teacher compares the last two stories

that a student has written. The teacher

notes that in both cases the plot is well

constructed, but the student has painted a

clumsy portrait of the main character. The

teacher decides to help the student modify

the description of the hero of the second

story by encouraging him to make use of

the descriptions in the stories he is

reading. Later, the teacher prompts the

student to read the new version to the

other students in the class so that they can

appreciate the quality of the description of

the character.

b) After exploring a subject, a class

decides to further pursue the question How

do you make plants grow? A team of four

students decides to sprout seeds underCHAPTER I - THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF EVALUATION 9

various conditions. As usual, they must

record the whole procedure in their lab

notebooks. After checking the lab notebooks, the teacher notices how much

trouble one of the students is having in

organizing her notebook. The teacher then

helps the student find a way to improve

how she records the steps taken. She will

compare notes with a teammate from time

to time. At the beginning of every period,

the student will summarize the work

completed in an earlier period for the team.

Once the task is completed, the student

may compare the description of steps

taken with the previous description so that

she can identify her progress and pinpoint

what was helpful. This makes it possible to

take the following two evaluation criteria

into account: "correct transmission of

scientific and technological information" for

the competency To communicate in the

languages used in science and technology, and "analysis of the steps in the

procedure" for the cross-curricular competency To adopt effective work methods.

For a subject specialist, feedback is often

verbal and intended for the entire class or

a small group of students. Personalized

feedback may also be given to students

with specific difficulties.

Proactive regulation is based on observations made during previous learning

activities, and allows future learning

situations to be modified. This type of intervention can be used in two ways. When

students are experiencing difficulties, the

teacher can adapt learning situations to

suit their needs. When students are progressing rapidly, the teacher can devise

learning situations that will enable them to

consolidate their competencies in other

contexts.

Examples of proactive regulation:

a) A teacher notices that when reading

assignments are too far removed from

students' concerns, or too complex for

them, some students do not understand or

are not interested in them. For subsequent

activities, the teacher decides instead to

offer them reading assignments tied to

their real interests, particularly something

that is reasonably challenging.

b) A teacher notes that a student has

provided an extremely accurate evaluation

of the quality of his own work. The teacher

comments on this and asks him to help

other students.

To summarize, although there are three

types of regulation during the learning

process, interactive regulation is nevertheless the most important, because

students can receive immediate feedback.

The teacher can therefore respond to the

students' questions and reactions by providing appropriate information.

Regulation of learning by the student

(self-regulation)

Teachers seek to develop the students'

autonomy and the central role they play in

their own learning. They help students

gradually develop the ability to make

adjustments to their own learning process.

Students must be aware of both their own

learning approach and their own progress,

and when they encounter a problem, they

must be able to rely on various strategies

to rectify the situation. In this case, students are engaging in a metacognitive

activity that helps them construct their

knowledge.10 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

The exchange of ideas within the classroom can help students self-regulate.

Ideas can be shared in different forums

(e.g. a discussion involving a student and

the rest of the class, two students working

together, or a teacher-student exchange).

As much as possible, students should be

placed in situations that force them to give

or receive information, so that the class

becomes a real learning community. In this

way, the students develop the habit of

discussing their ideas with their classmates. They share their doubts and

questions, explain their procedures, present their achievements and describe the

problems they encountered during the

learning situations. While certain subject

specialists may not have much time to

spend with students, it is in their interest to

take advantage of this kind of activity to

gather information on which their judgments will be based.

Exchange of ideas provides students with

an interactive way of learning how to make

their own adjustments. The teacher can

help the group work efficiently by reviewing

the relevant aspects of the situation and by

getting students to become aware of

important points and develop their social

skills. If an exchange of ideas is to be

instructive, the teacher must ensure that

students engage in intelligent discussion.

Self-evaluation has proved to be a good

way of motivating students to become

aware of how they carry out a task

effectively. When students evaluate themselves, they can, among other things,

comment on their work method, explain

the problems they encountered and reflect

on the strategies they have used. The

teacher must create a framework conducive to self-evaluation: he or she must

provide students with the possibility of

making choices and encourage them to

assume responsibility and take risks.

Students must be presented with many

different opportunities for self-evaluation

and must be provided with feedback on the

accuracy of their evaluations.

Monitoring of pedagogical practices

During learning situations, evaluation not

only guides students through the learning

process, but also helps teachers make

adjustments to their pedagogical practices.

These practices, and especially planning,

may have to be adjusted. Are the learning

context and the description of the task in

question appropriate? Do all students

understand what is expected of them? Do

they have the knowledge and skills needed

to carry out the task? Are they motivated to

participate in the proposed activities? Do

they have enough time to complete the

activities? Have they integrated new

learning? By examining these questions,

teachers can adjust their practices and

thereby help their students make progress.

1.2 Evaluation for the Recognition

of Competencies

Evaluation for the recognition of competencies occurs when evaluation is used to

determine the degree to which a competency has been developed, which is

generally the case at the end of each

cycle.

To report on students' competency development, teachers consider all the relevant

information to prepare an end-of-cycle

progress report. This information is interpreted in light of the end-of-cycle

outcomes specified in the Québec

Education Program and the competency

levels (see 4.3).CHAPTER I - THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF EVALUATION 11

The cycle team thus provides teachers in

the next cycle with information that will

help them design appropriate remedial or

enrichment activities for students.

An official document for the recognition of

competencies is also included in the report

card (see Chapter V).CHAPTER II

THE ACT OF EVALUATING

As stated in the first chapter, evaluation of

learning is a professional act that involves

the teacher making judgments about the

competencies that students have developed and the knowledge they have

acquired, with a view to taking decisions

and action. Evaluation of learning is a

complex process that comprises various

stages: planning, information gathering

and interpretation, judgment, and decision.

Although the stages in the evaluation

process are presented in sequential order,

this does not mean that evaluation is a

rigid and linear process. It is possible to

complete some of these stages, return to

one of them to finalize it and continue the

process to the end.

As well, not all stages of the process are

meant to be rigorously applied to all

learning and evaluation situations. In the

case of a spontaneous and informal evaluation, for example, there is little room for

planning, and judgment may take place at

the same time as the information gathering

and interpretation.

2.1 Planning

All of a school's personnel need to

collaborate in planning how to help students develop subject-specific and crosscurricular competencies, while taking

broad areas of learning into consideration.

An overall plan is prepared by the cycle

team or preschool teachers. Then, on the

basis of this initial planning, individual

teachers can plan the specific learning and

evaluation situations for which they are

responsible.

Planning carried out by the cycle team

or preschool teachers

At the beginning of the school year, the

cycle team or the preschool teachers

should schedule general planning

meetings for teaching and evaluation. The

purpose of these meetings is to ensure

collaboration between homeroom teachers, subject specialists, nonteaching

professionals and school administrators. At

the elementary level, in addition to

fostering a common vision and common

goals, this joint planning guarantees

coherence among the various teaching

and evaluation activities aimed at developing the subject-specific and crosscurricular competencies.

While members of the cycle team plan the

teaching (choosing broad areas of learning, and subject-specific and crosscurricular competencies likely to be

required in various situations or projects,

etc.), they must also plan the evaluation of

learning. Making choices among the

subject-specific competencies does not

mean putting some competencies aside:

all subject-specific and cross-curricular

competencies must be taught and evaluated. The choice has to do with which

competencies will be evaluated in each

learning unit.

Whether evaluation by the teacher,

teacher-student coevaluation, selfevaluation or peer evaluation is involved,14 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

the planning meeting is the time to discuss

how information will be gathered. It is also

an opportunity to discuss which evaluation

instruments the team should develop.

Finally, this meeting can also be used to

decide how parents will be informed about

their children's progress. Should students

keep a portfolio? What information will it

provide during the learning process? What

type of information should be communicated? What will the end-of-cycle

progress report look like?

It should be noted that it is very difficult for

subject specialists to be included on all the

cycle teams of the school(s) where they

work. However, a school's subject specialists might get together to decide which

cycle team to join. They could then

become the spokesperson for the other

subject specialists on that cycle team.

Other organizational models would also

allow subject specialists to participate on

the cycle team. What is important is to aim

for a realistic method of sharing evaluation

responsibilities among all the cycle team

teachers.

Essentially, throughout the two years that

students spend in a cycle, the goal should

be on getting them to progress toward the

achievement of the end-of-cycle outcomes

determined for each competency. The

same applies to preschool education in

terms of the outcomes specified in the

Québec Education Program.

Evaluation instruments should be chosen

to take into account students' active participation in evaluation. Evaluation should be

planned without making a distinction

between the time devoted to learning and

the time devoted to evaluation, since

evaluation is embedded in the learning

situations themselves and also allows the

development of competencies.

Readjusting the planning

The overall planning of evaluation should

be adaptable to situations experienced in

the classroom so that evaluation activities

can be used as learning opportunities. The

planning should provide an overview of the

evaluation within the cycle as a whole,

without, however, being constraining. Frequent meetings of preschool teachers or

the cycle team are essential so they can

periodically review and adjust the planning

to ensure the most effective follow-up of

student learning.

By focusing on themes, issues and

projects that allow the pursuit of educational aims associated with the broad

areas of learning, the cycle team can

agree on how to make use of tools to keep

significant records of student learning. This

will allow the cycle team to note the

development of competencies in various

contexts and will facilitate discussion by

the team when the time comes to assess a

student's progress.

Consultation with the school team

It is strongly recommended that members

of the cycle team work together. The

school team, consisting of preschool

teachers, cycle teams, nonteaching professionals (e.g. remedial specialists,

psychologists) and school administrators,

is responsible for the overall planning of

learning and evaluation. The planning

should make it possible to cover all the

elements of the Québec Education

Program (broad areas of learning, and

cross-curricular and subject-specific competencies) in a logical progression.CHAPTER II – THE ACT OF EVALUATING 15

Each cycle team must make use of all the

cross-curricular competencies by exposing

students to learning situations favourable

to the development of these competencies,

and by regularly observing students'

progress.

It is therefore necessary, when planning

activities for a given cycle, to consider the

planning of other cycles so that there is

continuity in the development of competencies throughout elementary school.

Lastly, members of the school team must

work together to decide how to manage

and share resources in information and

communications technologies. Members of

the school team must also select or design

a report card, taking into account the

school board's model, if available.

Planning carried out by the teacher

On the basis of the planning carried out by

the cycle team or by preschool teachers,

each teacher develops a plan of activities.

Teachers define the learning and evaluation situations they will use, in addition

to those selected during initial planning. A

homeroom teacher might decide to use a

logbook with students in reading and to

include excerpts in the portfolio in order to

measure the students' progress with

respect to this competency. A teacher

might also develop a self-evaluation instrument for problem-solving in mathematics

(see example in Appendix II). In preschool

education, teachers can plan specific times

in their schedule for observing each child.

Whenever possible, it is important to plan

complex situations, as these are what help

students develop competencies and enable teachers to evaluate them. Thorough

knowledge of the Québec Education

Program allows teachers to better plan

such situations.

Note that competency levels, which are

presented in Chapter IV, may guide

teachers in their planning and allow them

to adjust requirements pertaining to each

competency during a cycle.

There are several ways to go about this

process. Teachers may develop the learning and evaluation situations themselves

and then share them with their colleagues,

or they may develop others with them.

Teachers may also select situations from

the materials already available and adapt

them to students' needs, or work from the

learning and evaluation situations developed by school boards or the Ministère de

l’Éducation. Provincial examinations at the

end of elementary school may also provide

teachers with examples of learning and

evaluation situations (see Appendix I).

Naturally, in complex situations, teachers

cannot foresee everything that will occur;

the project, research or inquiry can easily

evolve differently from what was initially

planned. As well, because it is difficult to

determine in advance all the resources

that might be used along the way, the

evaluation focuses may have to be

updated. Teachers should therefore be

able to adapt their strategies rapidly in

order to make the most of any situation

likely to promote learning.

Teachers should also plan and design

specific learning activities necessary for

the development of student competencies.

These specific exercises should only be

used insofar as they correspond to a

concrete need. For example, to solve a

mathematics problem, students should be

able to multiply numbers. Evaluation of the

concept of multiplication is not an end in

itself, but is an integral part of the16 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

development of competencies. Complex

learning situations and activities that

involve the acquisition and evaluation of

essential knowledges are therefore

interrelated.

2.2 Information Gathering and

Interpretation

To evaluate student learning, teachers

must gather and interpret a sufficient

amount of useful information to make a

judgment, both during and at the end of

preschool or of an elementary school

cycle.

Information gathering

Because evaluation is integrated into the

teaching and learning process, information

gathering occurs primarily during regular

classroom activities. The teacher must

therefore be available to carry out the

evaluation activities. How the students are

grouped together, the physical arrangement of the classroom and the classroom

atmosphere are all factors that can

influence the time and energy that a

teacher has to gather information, and the

quality of the information gathered.

Gathering information often results in a

change in teaching or learning activities.

On the one hand, the information provided

to students helps them improve their

methods or their work. On the other hand,

teachers may use the information to

modify certain elements of their teaching,

for example, the way the teams are

formed, the time allotted for a task or the

degree of difficulty of a task, so as to better

adapt the activity to the students' needs

and situational constraints.

On the basis of the evaluation targets

established during the planning, the

teacher chooses appropriate methods of

gathering information. Observing, asking

the students questions and analyzing the

students' work are the principal means

used. Information can be gathered informally or more formally, using specific tools,

but a balance should be maintained

between the two approaches.

a) Spontaneous and informal

evaluation

Often, during regular classroom activities,

the teacher simply needs to observe the

students and ask them specific questions

to obtain the information required to

provide them with the appropriate support

and guidance. This form of spontaneous

and noninstrument-based evaluation is

beneficial because it gives students immediate feedback, making them aware of an

ineffective work method, helping them to

improve a process or allowing them to

correct an error. It also gives the teacher a

chance to make on-the-spot adjustments

to the teaching activity or strategy (e.g.

clarifying instructions that have been

given, providing additional explanations to

a small group or to the whole class).

b) Formal and instrument-based

evaluation

While spontaneous and informal evaluation is important, evaluating the development of competencies requires the use

of specific instruments. Teachers should

plan time for using instruments (e.g.

observation checklists or individual conferences) to gather information. By including

these evaluation periods in their schedule,

they can ensure that they will haveCHAPTER II – THE ACT OF EVALUATING 17

sufficient time to devote to each student.

Moreover, since it is essential to foster

students' sense of responsibility for their

learning, the use of coevaluation and selfevaluation instruments is quite appropriate.

For students who are experiencing

difficulty, it is sometimes necessary to formalize the information-gathering process

by using an instrument adapted to their

particular situation in order to isolate

certain errors or identify an erroneous

process. Although evaluation practices

should not be cumbersome, using a variety

of instruments (observation checklists,

self-evaluation, peer evaluation) helps with

information gathering in different learning

and evaluation situations (such instruments are described in Chapter IV).

Interpretation

The information gathered must be analyzed

and compared with a point of reference in

order to understand its meaning. An

analysis of the information leads the

teacher to compare the results achieved or

processes used by the student with what is

expected in the Québec Education

Program. Teachers may also use the competency levels developed by the Ministère

de l'Éducation, which are based on the

outcomes and evaluation criteria related to

each competency in the Program (see 4.3).

a) Interpretation of results during the

cycle

Interpretation with the goal of assessing

the progress achieved often takes place

just before report cards are to be handed

out; however, it can also be carried out at

other times when teachers consider they

have gathered sufficient information. It is

up to each teacher or the cycle team to

decide when interpretation will take place,

according to the learning situations and the

students' rate of learning. For, while

analyzing just one result or just one

observation may prove extremely useful

for making immediate adjustments, relying

on a single piece of information is not

adequate for a judgment or a decision.

Information must be gathered frequently in

order to follow a student's progress and

identify strengths and weaknesses.

For each competency to be evaluated, the

teacher analyzes the examples of the

student's work available and the information recorded. The teacher compares

the results obtained at different times in

order to form a judgment on the progress

made. This analysis involves interpretation

based on the evaluation criteria associated

with the competencies.

It is important to involve the students by

having them analyze their work. Like the

teacher, they compare the processes used

and results obtained at different times,

identify their progress, achievements and

difficulties encountered and compare their

interpretation to the teacher's. For young

children, particularly at the preschool level,

support and guidance are required to help

them analyze their work. They can be

asked to concentrate on a limited number

of competencies, in the presence of the

teacher. Older children who are not used

to examining their work may also benefit

from the teacher's help.

These analysis periods are extremely

valuable: they not only offer teachers an

opportunity to take a step back from their

work so as to better adjust their pedagogical practices, but they also help students

become aware of their progress.18 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Example:

In the daily writing workshop sessions, the

teacher encourages a wide variety of

writing activities that address the writing

competency in English Language Arts: To

write self-expressive, narrative and

information-based texts. The teacher gives

the students opportunities to write

purposefully—a birthday greeting, an

invitation to a class party, a funny comic

strip. Nathalie writes all the time, but

always the same thing, almost the same

words: "Today I got up, I got dressed. . . . I

went to school. . . . I got off the bus." By

now, Nathalie has over ten such pieces in

her portfolio! Upon reflection, the teacher

notes the repetitive pattern and hypothesizes that perhaps Nathalie needs to

spend more time, with some guided

assistance, planning her writing, giving it a

specific purpose. Perhaps Nathalie also

needs to talk first to bring out the details

that go with her writing in order to make it

interesting. The teacher decides to follow

through on this surmise and makes a point

of spending time with Nathalie prior to

writing. This way, Nathalie will no doubt

uncover what she wants to write about and

how to make her writing of interest to

others. The teacher's reflection on

Nathalie's work and her interpretation of

what accounts for the repetitive pattern

serve to nudge this young student along.

b) Interpretation of results at the end

of preschool and at the end of a

cycle

At the end of preschool and at the end of a

cycle, results are interpreted in order to

assess the degree to which the student

has developed the competencies. Observations are compared with what a student

is expected to achieve at the end of preschool or end of a given cycle in the

Québec Education Program. The analysis

is based on information gathered in

complex situations, taking into account the

end-of-cycle outcomes, the achievement

context and the evaluation criteria related

to the competency.

As for cross-curricular competencies, the

Québec Education Program describes their

development throughout the various cycles.

These statements serve as the foundation

for the competency levels. Information

related to the development of a crosscurricular competency can be interpreted

by situating the student's progress with

respect to the major stages in the process

of competency development, as described

in the competency levels.

2.3 Judgment

After having gathered and interpreted

information using various points of reference (evaluation criteria, the student's

results at different points during the cycle,

outcomes for the end of preschool and the

end of a cycle), the teacher now has to

make a judgment, that is, arrive at a

conclusion by considering certain factors

such as the time and resources the student

had available.

A judgment regarding the development of

cross-curricular and subject-specific competencies may only be made to the extent

that the student has had numerous

opportunities to develop them in a variety

of contexts. The teacher should make sure

to have gathered enough relevant information that permits meaningful observations.

Judgment plays a dominant role in

evaluation. It must reflect, as accurately as

possible, the student's progress. During the

cycle, the judgment is temporary, becauseCHAPTER II – THE ACT OF EVALUATING 19

the student is still developing and has the

possibility of improving. At the end of the

cycle, the team of teachers could work

together to arrive at a judgment on the

degree to which a student has acquired

competencies. Homeroom teachers and

subject specialists may collaborate on

cross-curricular competencies and arrive at

a judgment regarding competencies in their

respective subjects.

When making a judgment, decisions are

pedagogical in nature, even at the end of a

cycle. For example, a decision to provide a

student with specific support measures

should be based on an in-depth analysis of

the information available. This is not a

matter of simply adding up the results to

determine the degree to which a competency has been developed. Moreover, the

diversity of the information gathered (examples of student work, observations,

interview summaries, self-evaluations)

cannot be considered by using a mathematical formula, however sophisticated

that formula may be.

Judgment is a professional act that cannot

be completely objective. However, teachers

must take the necessary steps to make an

informed judgment. They must determine

the targets, use appropriate tools, collect

and record a sufficient amount of information, and interpret it in light of relevant

reference points. In some cases, the

information used to make a judgment could

include results of external evaluations such

as end-of-cycle evaluations conducted by

school boards or provincial examinations

(see Appendix I).

Collaboration between preschool teachers

or between members of the cycle team

also allows teachers to compare information, discuss its interpretation and make

enlightened judgments based on a

common understanding of the Québec

Education Program.

2.4 Decision

When a judgment is rendered, the teacher

must make a decision. During a cycle,

decisions focus on the pedagogical process and thus on immediate action to be

taken. For example, the teacher has judged

that although some students are making

progress, they are experiencing some

difficulty with the Geography, History and

Citizenship Education competency To

interpret change in a society and its

territory. The teacher decides to have these

students work together, so he can help

them in this regard.

At the end of a cycle, decisions concern the

recognition of competencies and are recorded in the end-of-cycle progress report

that follows students to the next cycle,

according to the rules determined by the

school or the school board.

It is easy to see that pedagogical or administrative decisions relating to the evaluation

of learning are important. Teachers must

therefore keep information on which such

decisions are based, using the record

keeping tool of their choice (see 4.2).

A decision always leads to the communication of information that fulfills one of the

purposes of evaluation (i.e. support for

learning or the recognition of competencies). This information is intended for

the student, parents or any other person

concerned.CHAPTER III

CLASSROOM EVALUATION PRACTICES

This chapter presents guidelines to ensure

that classroom evaluation practices are

consistent with the Québec Education

Program and the Policy on the Evaluation

of Learning. It covers evaluation focuses,

evaluation conditions, learning and evaluation situations, tasks and evaluation

criteria.

3.1 Evaluation Focuses

Since the main purpose of evaluation is to

assist students in their learning, anything

that helps them to adopt better ways of

learning and allows teachers to adjust their

pedagogical practices may be evaluated.

In a complex situation, many different

evaluation focuses are possible with

regard to the students: the knowledge they

have before beginning a new learning

sequence, the process or strategy they

use, the results, their motivation, etc.

Student productions, in particular, may be

either durable or short-lived. For example,

for a plastic arts creation, the product is

durable and may be evaluated later on.

However, the performance of a piece of

music must be evaluated immediately

(unless it is recorded).

When a student's procedure is evaluated,

there is no final product as such. For

example, the teacher should observe the

student performing a task to evaluate

recognition and identification strategies, or

reading comprehension strategies. The

teacher can also observe the student's

actions, questions and decisions to better

understand how the student learns, even if

this information was not specified as an

evaluation focus.

Competencies

The problems and questions that interest

students are often complex. How can the

ocean be cleaned up after an oil spill?

What is the point of war? Why do we have

to go to school? Does God exist? Finding

solutions and answers to such questions

and problems requires the application of a

range of subject-specific and crosscurricular competencies that will not all be

evaluated simultaneously. Choices need to

be made to gather enough relevant

information on the targeted competencies

and to be able to manage the situation

effectively.

Cross-curricular and subject-specific competencies are presented in the Québec

Education Program as targets to be

attained. As such, they are the focus of

learning prescribed in each of the

elementary cycles.

Cross-curricular competencies are generally developed through learning and

evaluation situations used to acquire

subject-specific competencies. However,

since cross-curricular competencies represent specific learning, observable behaviours related to their development need

to be defined so that their level of

development can be assessed.

Teachers use various methods to evaluate

the development of cross-curricular

competencies, including observation,22 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

questions, conferences, and analysis of

the final outcome. Evaluation methods are

chosen according to the type of competency and are adapted to the age of the

students. For example, in preschool

education and Cycle One, observation and

oral questioning are the best means of

evaluating the competency of exercising

critical judgment, whereas in Cycle Three,

the teacher can ask the students to give a

written explanation.

Unlike the subject-specific competencies,

there are no end-of-cycle outcomes in the

Québec Education Program for crosscurricular competencies. Evaluation therefore consists solely in monitoring student

progress.

Knowledge

For each subject-specific competency, the

knowledge to be developed and evaluated

should be identified. The Essential

Knowledges section of the Québec

Education Program should be consulted to

determine the strategies, concepts and

techniques on which the evaluation should

focus.

For example, for the Science and

Technology competency To propose

explanations for or solutions to scientific or

technological problems, the teacher will

evaluate exploration strategies in particular

(e.g. diagramming the problem, formulating questions) in order to help students

use them properly. For the Catholic

Religious and Moral Instruction competency To appreciate the living Catholic

tradition, evaluation could focus on strategies that will help students grasp the

essentials of a story and tell it (explore,

analyze, narrate, etc.). In the process, the

teacher can also evaluate certain

strategies related to exploring, sharing and

listening for the competency To use language to communicate and learn in

English Language Arts.

3.2 Learning and Evaluation

Situations

Learning and evaluation situations for the

development of competencies take into

account contexts ranging from the daily

experiences of students to broad civic or

scientific topics. Such situations are

conducive to peer interaction, allowing

students to construct new knowledge

based on prior learning and to control the

sequence of actions to a certain extent.

When teachers are required to pronounce

on the progress made during a cycle, or on

the degree to which students have developed certain competencies at the end of a

cycle, they should base their judgment on

tasks that have allowed the students to

demonstrate their overall competencies in

meaningful and complex situations that

require students to use essential knowledges in a variety of contexts. The tasks

to be performed correspond to activities

that the students must engage in at school

or in everyday life. Learning and evaluation

situations can extend over several periods,

days, or even weeks. Often, they involve

making some type of presentation to an

audience of classmates, students from

other classes, or parents. Giving students

opportunities to demonstrate how they

have developed their competencies in this

way increases their motivation.

The starting point for an evaluation situation is a question, a goal to be attained or

a problem to be solved. Students'

concerns and interests are taken into

account, helping them to better understandCHAPTER III – CLASSROOM EVALUATION PRACTICES 23

the world in which they live. Students

should be motivated and inspired to

participate. The choice of a starting point is

an important step in developing a learning

and evaluation situation, because it sets

the tone. In effect, this initial situation is

used to define the educational aim as it

relates to the corresponding broad areas

of learning.

To determine the initial situation, teachers

can adapt topics proposed by students, or

come up with their own topics. At all times,

this situation must generate relevant,

achievable tasks and must bring several

competencies into play. In short, it should

give rise to a complex learning situation.

The situation must be a rich learning

opportunity so as to promote the acquisition of knowledge and the development

of competencies by taking into consideration students' prior learning. To determine the number of competencies to be

evaluated, they should consider several

factors such as the characteristics of the

situation, the degree to which students are

able to pursue their inquiry and the time

available. However, teachers should strive

for balance in taking into account crosscurricular competencies, subject-specific

competencies, related knowledge, and

other resources used by students.

The table on the following page reviews

certain characteristics of a learning and

evaluation situation.24 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Characteristics of Learning and Evaluation Situations

Realistic

Requires that students solve problems related to everyday life, civic life or the world

of science

Involves a production that is intended for a public and whose use is specified for the

student

Promotes the use of a variety of materials to perform the task

Takes into account the time and resources available

Meaningful

and

stimulating

Offers stimulating challenges, adapted to students' needs and interests

Fosters cooperation

Promotes reflection on the processes used

Requires that students construct a response

Takes into account student diversity (learning rates and styles, etc.)

Flexible and

adaptable

Allows for observation of the process and the outcome

Allows for adult support

Shifts according to students' reactions and results

Allows students to explore a problem further

Allows for the possibility of adjusting to time constraints

Coherent

Is consistent with the Québec Education Program (cross-curricular and subjectspecific competencies, broad areas of learning)

Makes it possible to evaluate competencies according to the criteria and outcomes

of the Québec Education Program

Rigorous

Requires students to produce quality work

Clearly presents expectations and instructions to students

Informs students of evaluation criteria and encourages them to take these criteria

into account (self-evaluation)CHAPTER III – CLASSROOM EVALUATION PRACTICES 25

3.3 Evaluation Conditions

An evaluation situation often involves

cooperation among students. When students work as a group to solve a problem

that is meaningful to them, their interest is

sustained and they are motivated to apply

efficient strategies to perform a task or

attain a goal. Collaboration, meaning a

pooling of individual knowledge and competencies, is a determining factor in the

learning process. However, the teacher

evaluates the individual performance of

each student.

As in any learning situation, students have

access to a range of resources: books,

people, and information and technologies.

The teacher specifies what resources may

be used, and makes sure that restricted

access to particular resources does not

give any group of students an unfair

advantage.

It takes time to develop a competency, and

not all students progress at the same rate.

In some learning and evaluation situations,

the students do not yet possess the

knowledge or competencies they need to

perform the required tasks alone. In this

case, the teacher provides an appropriate

and progressive level of support. At the

beginning, the teacher can ask the

students questions and do the task with

them. Gradually, the students will participate more, until they are able to function

in a self-initiated manner. For other

students, a question or a suggestion will

be enough to engage them. When it is time

to make a judgment concerning the

development of a competency, the teacher

should take into account the direct support

the student has received.

3.4 Tasks

The teacher develops or selects tasks as

part of the learning and evaluation situation. The task specifies what students must

do to develop competencies and acquire

subject-specific learning. These tasks are

linked to the subject-specific and crosscurricular competencies described in the

Québec Education Program. Tasks should

not be selected arbitrarily or at random.

They are valid only if they are designed to

contribute to learning or evaluation.

The degree of complexity of tasks must be

adapted to the students. In other words,

tasks should be sufficiently easy for the

students to handle using their current

knowledge, and sufficiently difficult to

oblige them to apply various approaches

and learn something new. The degree of

complexity varies with the number of

constraints involved and the operations

students must carry out, as well as the

scope of the work to be completed. The

document Competency Levels by

Cycle—Elementary School provides

information teachers will find useful in

developing tasks that present students

with a realistic challenge.

Activities relating to specific elements of a

competency and those focusing on

competencies as a whole should not be

separated. Activities for systematically

acquiring essential knowledges in class

have a place among all of the learning and

evaluation situations proposed to students.

Within competency development activities,

teachers plan for the acquisition and

evaluation of the essential knowledges

prescribed by the Québec Education

Program. These specific exercises will only

be used insofar as they are relevant in

allowing students to perform complex

tasks requiring them to use their26 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

competencies. Essential knowledges are

therefore evaluated using a microapproach, because this facilitates the

regulation of learning (by the students

themselves or by the teacher, to verify

what the whole group has learned, for

example, or to pinpoint difficulties encountered by a particular student). Such

evaluation requires the kind of learning

and evaluation tasks that isolate the

elements of a competency. However,

these tasks are used in conjunction with

tasks focusing on competencies as a

whole.

The teacher describes each task and what

is required to complete it, as well as the

appropriate resources. The teacher provides clear, written instructions, taking care

not to limit the students' initiative, since

they must retain a degree of control over

the sequence of actions required to

complete the task. Where possible, the

teacher should leave the students free to

make choices concerning the subject, the

approach used, the way in which the final

results are presented, the physical

resources used, and so on. The teacher

should also specify the sequence and

duration of tasks.

3.5 Evaluation Criteria

Once the task is defined, the teacher

determines the evaluation criteria. These

criteria will allow the teacher to evaluate

either the effectiveness of the process or

procedure used, or the quality of the

student's work. Given the students' freedom to act and the actual process applied

by each, any final product may vary widely

from one student to another, or from one

group to another. There is therefore no

single right answer. Criteria should therefore be developed allowing for evaluation

of the process.

Evaluation criteria for subject-specific and

cross-curricular competencies are chosen

on the basis of those indicated in the

Québec Education Program. They are

adapted to the characteristics of the situation, the time of year, students' prior

learning, and the subject-specific competencies and content targeted by the task.

An example of an adaptation of evaluation

criteria to the characteristics of the situation is presented in Chapter IV. In keeping

with the objective of openness, the criteria

must be made known to the students,

which will contribute to their sense of

effectiveness and their motivation. The

teacher must ensure that they fully understand what is expected of them.

In short, the choice of evaluation criteria is

critical, because the interpretation of results and the judgment are based on them.

The criteria are used to develop the evaluation tools presented in the following

chapter.CHAPTER IV

EVALUATION TOOLS AND MEANS

Evaluation tools are used to gather the

information needed to make a judgment

concerning the development of competencies and acquisition of knowledge. The

quality of the judgment depends greatly on

the quality of the evaluation tools used.

Some tools are more appropriate than

others for giving students the high-quality

feedback that will help them progress.

In this chapter, three types of tools are

presented: information gathering tools,

record keeping tools and interpretation

tools.

4.1 Tools Used to Gather

Information

Information gathering is an important part

of the act of evaluating. Appropriate and

effective means must therefore be chosen.

How teachers decide to gather information

depends on their pedagogical aim, the

competencies to be evaluated, the evaluation criteria selected and the tasks to be

completed.

Appendix II provides several examples of

tools that can be used to gather information. The following pages present some

examples of evaluation tools to encourage

teachers to gradually introduce a greater

range of tools for the evaluation of

learning.

Observation checklist

The observation checklist is a tool used to

record the specific features of an action, a

sample of student work or a process, using

a list of observable elements and a fixed

way of recording the observations made.

The checklist may be used by teachers, by

a group of students jointly evaluating their

performance, or by a student engaging in

self-evaluation.

The observation checklist is made up of a

set of criteria and a progress scale. The

progress scale is that part of the checklist

which gives an indication of the quality or

number of behaviours observed, using a

number of stages.

A descriptive observation checklist is by far

the type that gives students the most

information for deciding on the actions

required to perform a task. In this type of

checklist, each stage describes what has

been observed, a more precise and useful

approach than vaguely formulated stages

(e.g. poor, average, excellent). Since it

provides support for the user, the

observation checklist helps to make the

observation more objective.

The criteria presented for each competency in the Québec Education Program

provide the basic elements for preparing

an observation checklist. Since these are

rather generic, they should be stated as

specific to the task presented.28 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

In Cycle Two of the Science and Technology program, for example, one of the

criteria for the first competency is use of an

approach geared to the nature of the

problem or set of problems. If the situation

the students are given concerns the buoyancy of materials, specific criteria could be

formulated such as use of various solids

and liquids or the collection of the relevant

data. The same approach is taken with the

rest of the criteria in the Québec Education

Program.

Observation checklists may be used

analytically, that is, by gathering information related to each criterion separately, so

that teachers can let students know which

aspects they need to improve and tailor

their support to those particular aspects.

Checklists can also be used for general (or

holistic) purposes, when information needs

to be gathered to support a judgment

relating to a whole competency. This type

of information is used to pinpoint the

students' development in terms of competency levels (see 4.3).

Verification list

The verification list is a set of statements

describing a series of actions, qualities or

characteristics relating to the evaluation

focus. The statements are factual elements and are presented in a well-defined

order. The verification list allows the presence or absence of a particular element

to be noted with a minimum of interpretation, but gives no indication of the

quality or frequency of the characteristics

observed. It is easier to prepare, however,

than a descriptive observation checklist.

The verification list is often used to help

students remember the steps in a process

or procedure. The teacher can use it to

observe students in action or students can

complete them on their own by means of

self-evaluation.

Self-evaluation is one way to allow

students to participate in the evaluation

process and to reflect on their actions,

processes, strategies and achievements.

Whatever tools are selected (checklists,

conferences, portfolios, etc.), they must

relate to the targeted competency and the

teacher's pedagogical aim and they must

serve as support for learning.

Conferences

A conference is a dialogue between the

student and the teacher, structured by a

series of questions that the student must

answer. It is more formal than a simple

questioning of the student by the teacher,

since it is generally designed to permit the

teacher to understand the student's

thinking about a specific aspect of a

competency.

To conduct a successful conference, the

teacher must create a relaxed atmosphere,

since the student must feel comfortable if

the interview is to be beneficial. During the

conference, the student should do most of

the talking. The more the student talks, the

easier it will be for the teacher to understand how the student thinks and what the

student really knows.

Individual conferences take time, but they

are a powerful tool to help students progress. While students are talking, they

become aware of how they do things. The

conference makes it possible to individualize evaluation, since it can focus on

the aspects most likely to promote a

student's competency development.CHAPTER IV - EVALUATION TOOLS AND MEANS 29

The teacher can also conduct group

conferences. The teacher asks the whole

class questions, and the students have an

opportunity to hear about other ways of

doing things. Another possibility is to form

teams and to ask each team to answer

one question. Each student suggests a

possible answer to the team. In both

cases, the students must be able to listen

to the answers given by others, but must

also have an opportunity to make their

individual contribution. Another approach

consists in pairing up the students in the

class with students in a higher cycle, and

having the latter conduct conferences with

their younger peers. Of course, the

students should be prepared beforehand

to ask questions and write down their

observations.

4.2 Tools Used to Record

Information

Since the application of a given competency is strongly dependent on the context

in which it is used, it is important to

evaluate competencies in several different

contexts and to keep significant records of

students' work.

To be able to interpret the information

gathered, teachers record information on a

regular basis. There are different ways of

doing this. Teachers can choose the methods best suited to the group involved and

to their own style. A combination of different methods and tools is often most

effective, but information must be recorded

so it can be consulted on other occasions,

either alone or with colleagues, as well as

used to justify the judgments made.

Tools used by the teacher to record

information

a) Teacher's logbook

The logbook is a tool used by teachers to

record information on a daily basis. It can

be used to note observations concerning

certain students, as well as the context in

which the observations were made.

Observations on the atmosphere in the

classroom or the way students react to

certain activities can also be recorded in it.

Teachers can also include remarks on

their own teaching. The logbook can

combine all these forms of observation.

The logbook is useful only if it is kept continuously. This is essential if it is to be

used to monitor the progress of each

student or to improve teaching practices.

The logbook has been used in preschool

for many years now, and teachers in other

levels of education could benefit from it

too.

b) Anecdotal records

Anecdotal records include a brief description, as objective as possible, of precise

facts observed by the teacher. Recording

the facts allows the teacher to provide a

relatively objective analysis of the situation. This tool is often used with students

experiencing particular difficulties. A series

of facts provides more reliable data for

making a judgment than an isolated observation. Anecdotal records may be included

in the teacher's logbook, although some

teachers prefer to keep both records and a

logbook.30 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

A tool used by the student to record

information: the logbook

The student's logbook is a tool whose

general scope is defined by teachers,

according to the way they intend to use it.

It is mainly used by students to record

questions, difficulties, achievements, opinions, summaries of knowledge, etc.

Teachers regularly enter comments in

each student's logbook. Once students get

into the habit of exchanging written comments with their teacher in their logbook,

many of them begin to enjoy expressing

their thoughts in writing. For some students, this exchange can become an

extremely meaningful experience that has

a positive effect on their writing.

The student's logbook will be useful if the

following conditions are fulfilled:

ß Students are given clear instructions.

ß Each student and the teacher uses the

logbook continuously.

ß The teacher gives regular feedback

(answers to questions, reactions, comments).

A tool used by the teacher and the

student to record information: the

portfolio

The portfolio is an organized collection of a

student's work to demonstrate the development of competencies. The portfolio is

more than just a collection of work,

however, since it also contains thoughts

and comments. Students can hand in the

collection, analyze their work, record their

observations, recognize possible improvements, set goals and challenges, etc. By

getting students to examine their accomplishments critically, the portfolio promotes

the development of metacognitive abilities.

The work included in the portfolio is

selected by the student, or jointly by the

student and the teacher, or by the teacher

alone. The portfolio allows students to reflect and examine their strategies,

strengths and needs. More than just a collection of documents, this type of portfolio

records each student's thoughts, ideas,

accomplishments and progress in relation

to the development of competencies.

Students work on their portfolios on a daily

basis. They regularly add documents, enter comments and reorganize the contents.

Any of these activities may trigger discussions with the teacher or with other

students. From time to time, the teacher

adds a particular piece of work to the

portfolio of certain students or asks the

class to include a piece of work, explaining

why the documents must be added to the

portfolio.

Ideally, the students should be required to

examine their portfolio and reorganize its

contents regularly. The teacher could, for

example, give them time at the end of the

day to add documents and write down

information. The task takes only a few

minutes, and can also be performed during

free time. The students can add comments

to their completed work, add extra pieces

of work, update self-evaluation forms, and

so on. The students review their portfolio

one last time before it is presented. In this

way, students become increasingly autonomous and responsible. Guided by an

adult, they take initiatives, set goals for

themselves and choose activities.

Properly used, the portfolio allows students

to develop more responsibility for their ownCHAPTER IV - EVALUATION TOOLS AND MEANS 31

learning. While encouraging students to

analyze the contents on an ongoing basis,

it requires students to evaluate themselves

and make choices. Students become more

conscious of the processes they are using.

By examining students' portfolios, teachers

can evaluate students' progress and recognize their strengths and weaknesses.

This enables teachers to talk regularly with

the students about the competencies they

are developing, their interests, and their

attitude toward activities. These discussions can take place during regular

classroom activities, but because these

discussions are of limited duration, students and teachers do not have time to

analyze the portfolios in depth. This means

teachers must schedule time to meet each

student individually. These meetings are

essential, because, with the help of the

teacher, students can assess the level

they have reached. The official nature of

the individual meetings, and the need to

prepare for them, forces students to

analyze the content of their portfolio in

more detail and to assemble their

thoughts. The portfolio takes on an importance it would not otherwise have. The

meetings also give the students an

opportunity to share with their teacher

thoughts and questions they might have

kept to themselves.

As part of preparing for promotion to the

next cycle, students could be asked to

choose, with the teacher's help, the

essential pieces documenting their level of

competency. Teachers of the next cycle

may also be consulted for their opinion on

which documents will be most useful to the

students in continuing to develop their

competencies. This ensures continuity in

the progression of learning.

The following table shows the relationship

between various aspects of evaluation and

the characteristics of the portfolio.32 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Evaluation and the Portfolio

PURPOSE Evaluation The Portfolio

Is integrated into the dynamics of

student learning

Involves students in their learning (as

a tool for reflection)

Must encourage students to play an

active role in their evaluation

activities and thus increase their

accountability

Allows students to increase their

ability to self-evaluate

Teaches students to make choices

Encourages students to better

understand themselves and focus on

their strengths

Allows students to reflect on their

procedures, strategies and

accomplishments so that they can

improve and correct them and

ultimately succeed

Must be carried out in a way that

respects diversity and difference

and must seek ways to ensure the

educational success of all students

Promotes feedback during the

learning process, particularly during

individual conferences

Encourages students to reflect on

their strengths, needs, errors,

interests, challenges, objectives, etc.

Involves the collaboration of all

stakeholders, while taking into

account their respective legal

responsibilities

Encourages interactive processes

among students, teachers and

parents

Support for Learning

Constitutes a process that involves

making a judgment about the

development of competencies and

the acquisition of knowledge

Shows student progress because it

tracks performance over time

Is used to assess competencies

developed by students

Adapted from: Utilisation du portfolio au primaire, 1

er

cycle, sous-comité régional de la Montérégie,

June 2001.CHAPTER IV - EVALUATION TOOLS AND MEANS 33

4.3 Tools Used to Interpret

Information in Elementary

School: Competency Levels

Competency levels describe the major

stages in the development of competencies, thereby helping teachers to

interpret information and situate the

student's level of development of a

competency as an integral concept, in

order to orient learning or draw up a

progress report.

Serving as guidelines to recognize certain

stages in the development of competencies, the competency levels fall within

the general field of interpretation by criteria

and provide teachers with a common

frame of reference to help them interpret

their observations and form opinions about

the development of competencies. However, the competency levels do not replace

the Québec Education Program. They

detail, for each competency, different

levels of development along a continuum.

Each level must be understood and

interpreted in light of the descriptions

provided in the Program.

The sets of competency levels present an

overall picture rather than a list of characteristics to be verified separately. Teachers

are encouraged to step back and identify

which of these pictures best corresponds

overall to the various information collected

on the competency of a student during a

given period of time. The competency

levels are references to be used when

interpreting different observations and

when forming opinions on the level of

competency development by the student;

they should not be considered observation

or correction grids.

For subject-specific competencies, there

are two to four levels per cycle. The last

level for each cycle corresponds to the

end-of-cycle outcomes specified in the

Québec Education Program.

For the cross-curricular competencies,

there is no reference to the end-of-cycle

outcomes in the Program. These levels

describe only the developmental trajectory

of the competency. This decision does not

lessen the importance of the crosscurricular competencies; it simply confirms

their distinctive nature. The crosscurricular competencies are composed of

four levels for the whole of elementary

school.

Except for the levels that represent the

end-of-cycle outcomes for each cycle, the

competency levels are not linked to

definite points in the school calendar.

Function of the competency levels and

their uses

a) Support for learning

During the course of a cycle, the

competency levels enable teachers to gain

an overview of the students' learning in

order to situate the development of their

competencies. In this way, they serve as

an instrument for regulating learning.

When a teacher has observed and

gathered a sufficient amount of relevant

information to determine which level best

corresponds to the development of a

student's competency, the levels can be

used to detect difficulties a student is

having in developing competencies and to

decide if the teaching approach needs to

be adjusted.34 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

This use of the competency levels can also

help teachers complete the report cards

that are sent to parents during the cycle.

For example, after determining the

student's level of competency, the teacher

indicates (depending on the form of report

card adopted by the school) whether the

student is progressing well or with

difficulty.

b) Recognition of competencies

At the end of the cycle, information

collected during the course of the cycle is

analyzed to situate the student's level of

development for each of the competencies

at the appropriate level. Therefore, the

competency levels serve to help teachers

recognize the competencies.

The general formulation of the levels

requires persons authorized to work with

the student throughout a cycle to exercise

their professional judgment, based on

pertinent observations, in the end-of-cycle

progress report. If certain aspects of a

competency have been marginally acquired, the judgment may call for finer

distinctions to indicate this. For example, it

could be stated that a student's competency is below a certain level, without

necessarily corresponding to the preceding

level, or higher than a certain level, without

necessarily attaining the subsequent level.

This opinion must then be entered in the

end-of-cycle progress report. For subjectspecific competencies, taking into account

the end-of-cycle outcomes specified in the

Québec Education Program and the form

of report card adopted by the school,

teachers indicate, for example, whether a

student has surpassed the expected level,

attained the level, partially attained the

level, or has not attained the level.

Although competency levels cannot be

used directly in reports to parents, they

can help when communicating information

to parents during parent-teacher conferences. With the help of explanations

and by illustrating aspects of the student's

competency based on examples observed

from activities, the teacher can help the

student and the parents appreciate

progress made in the competencies.

The competency levels also serve as a

communication tool for teachers within the

same school or in different schools. Using

the levels, teachers can determine how

students are progressing in their learning

and more clearly share information that

can support the progress of students within

a given cycle or from one cycle to another.

For example, teachers will all have the

same information on what is expected of a

student at Level 3 in reading. Progress

reports based on the competency levels

allow teachers receiving the students to

continue the work started in the previous

cycle. The competency levels contribute to

continuity between cycles and to a better

adjustment of pedagogical practices to the

needs of students.CHAPTER V

COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS AND STUDENTS

In order to ensure ongoing collaboration

between the school and parents, it is

essential to inform parents regularly about

their child's progress and the degree to

which the child has developed specific

competencies. Teachers must give parents

regular updates, noting the child's

particular strengths and the difficulties

encountered. Information must also be

communicated to students to help them in

their learning process and increase their

motivation and sense of accountability.

Communication can be official and take

the form of a report card. Other types of

communication may be used as well.

5.1 Report Cards and Progress

Reports

As opposed to other forms of communication described later in this chapter, the

report card is an official document

prescribed by the Basic School Regulation.

Report cards generally contain information

in summarized form and an overview of

the student's progress in developing

competencies. In this sense, the report

card does not replicate the Québec

Education Program. It should contain the

essential information needed by parents to

collaborate in their child's success. This is

why it is useful to supplement the report

card with other forms of communication.

In preschool education, the last report card

includes a progress report indicating where

the student stands in relation to the

outcomes specified in the Québec Education Program.

In elementary school, the last report card

of a cycle includes a progress report on

the student's learning and indicates the

degree to which subject-specific competencies have been developed in relation

to the end-of-cycle outcomes specified in

the Québec Education Program. It also

provides information on the development

of cross-curricular competencies. In addition to informing parents, students and

school administrators, the progress report

also provides the teachers in the next

cycle with the information they will need to

offer support measures for students who

need help to continue learning. The report

therefore serves as evaluation for the

support of learning and for the recognition

of competencies.

Distribution of reports

Reports cards must be issued to parents

as frequently as required by the Basic

School Regulation. However, in order to

take into account the learning pace of

students and to provide them and their

parents with useful, meaningful information, the school team may recommend

to the school principal that reports be

distributed at certain key points in the

learning process, depending on the

students' progress. As a result, the report

cards for various classes in the same

school may be issued at different times,

with the exception of the end-of-cycle

progress report.36 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Report card development process

Section 96.15 of the Education Act stipulates that the principal is responsible for

approving, on the proposal of the teachers,

the standards and procedures for the

evaluation of learning. Since the report

card is part of procedures, members of the

school team are responsible for it.

However, a ministerial statement in June

2001 indicated that school boards are

each to establish a framework for the

development of a report card and make it

available to schools in their territory so that

a certain degree of uniformity can be

ensured. The schools may use the report

card as is, or adapt it to suit their needs,

while complying with the Act.

Developing a report card is part of the

overall evaluation process. This is an ideal

opportunity to become familiar with the

Québec Education Program and its

theoretical foundations. Because the report

card must reflect what is learned in the

classroom and must be related to

evaluation practices, this communication

tool should be carefully considered before

it is developed. Time should be set aside

to discuss and think about the new

orientations, based on current practices.

Following are some suggestions to help in

developing a report card.

1. The report card must be complete, but

concise. It should contain all the information called for in the Basic School

Regulation (identification of student and

school, etc.).

2. The report card must be clear and

understandable to parents, teachers

from other schools, and other personnel

in the education system. For this

reason, it may be appropriate in certain

cases to simplify the formulation of

competencies in the Québec Education

Program so that parents can readily

understand what is being evaluated.

Thus, although all subjects must appear

on the report card (as prescribed by the

Basic School Regulation), schools could

decide not to include every competency

in a subject. This approach does

presume, however, that teachers have

evaluated all the competencies.

3. It would be good to provide space for

comments from parents, students,

teachers and school administrators, as

required.

4. Hard-to-read type faces (e.g. very small

type) should not be used on the report

card. Moreover, colour type and symbols or over-size paper formats are not

recommended, because this would

make the report card hard to reproduce

and file.

5. It should be possible to develop a report

card format that can be delivered

electronically.

6. The legend used for report cards issued

during a cycle should reflect the judgment made regarding the development

of competencies.

Examples:

The student is developing

competencies:

1- very satisfactorily

2- satisfactorily

3- with a few difficulties

4- with great difficulty

orCHAPTER V - COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS AND STUDENTS 37

The student is progressing:

A- very easily

B- easily

C- with difficulty

D- with great difficulty

7. The legend used for the end-of-cycle

progress report (last report card of the

cycle) should reflect the judgment made

regarding the degree to which end-ofcycle outcomes have been attained.

Example:

The student:

1- exceeds end-of-cycle outcomes

2- has attained end-of-cycle

outcomes

3- has partially attained end-ofcycle outcomes

4- has not attained end-of-cycle

outcomes

According to the orientations of the

education reform, a descriptive report card

is preferable at the elementary level

because it allows for qualitative judgment.

However, in keeping with a school's environment, grades can be used at the end of

the cycle. Whether students' results are

expressed as grades or ratings, or are

compared to the group, their competencies

must be judged by comparing their

performance to what is expected in the

Québec Education Program. Thus,

whether a student's results fall above or

below the group average does not indicate

whether he or she has acquired the

targeted competency.

Since parents are the main recipients of

report cards, they should be able to

express their opinion on the report card

they receive. Moreover, whatever report

card model is used, it should be considered a work in progress. As understanding

of the new Québec Education Program

grows over the years, report cards should

be modified to reflect improvements. For

this reason, the report card should be

revised after being used for a while. It will

then be possible to identify the strengths

and weaknesses of the report cards and

suggest potential improvements. It is important to revise the model in light of

teachers' experience as well as parents'

comments.

5.2 Other Forms of Communication

Because evaluation is an integral part of

the learning process, students must regularly receive information that allows them

to be aware of how they are doing so that

they can make any necessary adjustments. Parents need to be informed frequently so that they can help in preventing

and correcting any learning difficulties that

may occur. Even when students are

making good progress, regular and

frequent information reinforces student

motivation and allows parents to better

monitor their child's progress.

In the educational policy statement

Québec Schools on Course, it is suggested that schools should have the option

of selecting other ways of communicating

with parents, in addition to the report card.

Similarly, the Conseil supérieur de

l'éducation, in Évaluer les apprentissages

au primaire : un équilibre à trouver,

maintained that report cards cannot

replace regular student work on which

teachers write their comments, parent/

teacher conferences, or any other form of

communication between the school and

students' families. Frequent communication between the school and family38 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

ensures that information contained in the

report cards will not be a surprise to

parents.

Certain forms of communication were

presented in Chapter IV, because some of

them are also tools used to record

information.

Students' logbooks, for example, can be

sent to parents on a regular basis. A

parent can read his or her child's logbook

to better understand the child's progress.

This means of communication provides

dynamic interaction between the teacher,

the student and the parents.

The school agenda may also be used for

communicating with the family, provided

that it has been designed for this purpose.

The best record keeping tool for informing

parents of student progress is without a

doubt the portfolio. When shown to

parents, it serves as a powerful communication tool, particularly when students

are the ones to show it to their parents.

Portfolios allow parents to learn about their

children's achievements and to use them

as a basis for discussion.

Moreover, even when portfolios are not

used, other evaluation tools, as well as

student achievements that include comments from the teacher, may occasionally

be sent to parents. These include student

work annotated by the teacher, selfevaluation checklists, logbooks, etc., which

can help parents to recognize their child's

strengths and difficulties.

Report cards can be supplemented by

using more familiar tools to report on

student learning. The reason for resorting

to less official means of communication is

mainly because they are a way to provide

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Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.GLOSSARY

The definitions that follow are not exhaustive; they give the meaning of the

terms used in this document.

Communication

Transmission to students and parents of

information regarding the development of

competencies.

Competency

A demonstration of learning behaviours

based on the mobilization and effective use

of a set of resources in a given situation. A

competency is the application of prior and

new knowledge and resources to problemsolve in real-life situations. It is progressive, durable and transferable.

Criterion

One aspect of an actual manifestation of a

competency, used as a reference point in

making a judgment.

End-of-cycle progress report

Assessment of the development of competencies provided in the last report card of

the cycle and intended for students and

parents. The progress report is also used

to establish support or enrichment measures for the subsequent cycle for students

who need them.

Evaluation strategy

Set of measures and resources planned for

use in an evaluation process.

Evaluation task

Activities to be performed by a student

during an evaluation situation.

Information gathering

Stage in the evaluation process that

involves the rigorous gathering of a sufficient amount of relevant information, to

support the decisions to be made or

actions to be taken.

Interpretation

Stage in the evaluation process that

involves comparing information to a point

of reference in order to understand its

degree of acquisition.

Judgment

Stage in the evaluation process that

involves a decision regarding the degree to

which competencies have been developed.

Observation checklist

Instrument designed to direct the attention

of the observer to record the observable

elements of a process or product.44 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

Planning

Stated intentions of the evaluation process

to be applied in order to complete the

actions undertaken to promote learning.

Portfolio

Collection of completed works selected by

a student and/or the teacher to demonstrate the development of the student's

competencies, as well as comments on his

or her development.

Regulation

A process related to ongoing evaluation

whereby the teacher or student makes

changes to teaching practices and/or

learning processes so that the student can

continue to make learning progress.

Report card

Official document for parents and students

that presents and records the judgments

made concerning the competencies developed by a student during the course of

learning or at the end of a cycle.APPENDIX I

COMPULSORY PROVINCIAL EXAMINATIONS AT THE END OF

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Among the orientations pertaining to the

evaluation of learning at the elementary

level announced by the Ministère de

l'Éducation in June 2001 are compulsory

provincial examinations in basic subjects

at the end of elementary school.

This measure does not invalidate the

school boards' power under the Education

Act to impose local examinations at the

end of each elementary cycle. These

examinations also do not affect any rules

that school boards may implement concerning promotion from elementary to

secondary school, unless they decide

otherwise.

These examinations will specify tasks to

evaluate the degree to which students

have developed their competencies by the

end of their elementary studies, and this in

terms of the outcomes specified in the

Québec Education Program. These examinations are prepared by the Ministère and

administered to all students in Québec

under uniform conditions and according to

an official calendar.

A sampling of the examinations will be

corrected by the Ministère, making it

possible to verify that students everywhere

in Québec have acquired the knowledge

and developed the competencies outlined

in the Québec Education Program. These

examinations may be corrected by the

schools and the results used as part of the

end-of-cycle progress reports given to

parents.

These examinations will be administered

starting in the 2004-2005 school year.APPENDIX II

EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION

Appendix II provides several examples of

tools that can be used to gather information. These examples are proposed

mainly for information purposes.

These examples have been adapted from

various tools developed by the Ministère or

the educational community. We would like

to thank the following individuals who

contributed to the development of these

tools: Christiane Bourdages-Simpson,

Western Québec School Board; Francine

Giroux, Monique Marchand, Nathalie

Michaud, Commission scolaire des

Grandes-Seigneuries; Pierrette Jalbert,

Société GRICS; Lorraine Desmarais,

Commission scolaire des Patriotes;

Christine Larose, Commission scolaire de

Saint-Hyacinthe; the sous-comité régional

de la Montérégie; teachers in pilot schools.

This appendix includes:

a coevaluation checklist for two crosscurricular competencies (Cycle Two)

an observation checklist for music

(Cycle One)

questions for self-evaluation at the

preschool level

a self-evaluation form for a crosscurricular competency (Cycle One)

a verification list for mathematics

(Cycle One)

a conference outline for English

Language Arts (Cycle Two or Three)48 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

This example presents a coevaluation checklist for evaluating the two

following cross-curricular competencies with Cycle Two students: To use

information and To solve problems. When planning tasks and assigning

them to students, the teacher can decide to evaluate either one of these

competencies, or both of them. Moreover, for a particular competency, it is

not necessary to evaluate each element of a competency at the same time.

It is up to the teacher and the student to judge which elements seem most

relevant. When information on several tasks can be recorded on a single

checklist, it is easier to see a student's progress.

The use of such coevaluation tools encourages an exchange between the

teacher and student. Where the two evaluations differ, the student will have

to explain his or her evaluation.APPENDIX II — EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION 49

COEVALUATION CHECKLIST

Legend

Green: Often Yellow: Sometimes Red: Rarely

Student’s name: ________________________

Dates:

Intellectual

competencies

TO USE INFORMATION Myself The teacher

a) I listen to my classmates and teacher to

obtain information.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

b) I ask questions to get information. ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

c) I consult books, magazines and Internet

sites to get information.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

d) I select the right information to carry out a

task.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

e) I check to make sure the information

obtained is true.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

f) I classify the information gathered. ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

g) I use the information gathered to carry out

a task.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

a) I describe the problem encountered. ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

b) I recognize similarities with problems I

have already encountered.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

c) I find several solutions to the problems I

encounter.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

d) I identify the best solution to solve the

problem.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

e) I apply the solution I found. ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °50 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

This observation checklist focuses on a music competency. Three rating

scales are suggested, depending on which aspect the teacher wants to

observe: frequency of behaviour, quality of work, or degree of ease or

difficulty. The teacher can use different rating scales with the same

observation checklist when focusing on a student's work. This choice is made

depending on what type of information the teacher deems most useful.

To facilitate teachers' use of the checklist, it is recommended that opinions be

given only on the elements in boldface (is familiar with musical content,

applies elements of vocal techniques, etc.). The other elements may simply

be checked off to indicate that the student has exhibited this behaviour.

Moreover, to make the information gathering easier, teachers can decide to

evaluate one or two teams for a given task and evaluate other teams during

another task.APPENDIX II — EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION 51

Observation Checklist - Music Cycle One

Competency 2: To interpret musical pieces

Rating scale for the frequency of behaviour:

1 Often 2 Sometimes 3 Rarely 4 Never

Rating scale for the quality of work:

! Excellent + Very satisfactory = Satisfactory ? Needs improvement

Rating scale for the level of ease:

A Easy B Somewhat difficult C Difficult D Very difficult

THE STUDENT: Team: The Musicians

Student

1

Student

2

Student

3

Student

4

Is familiar with musical content

- works on decoding the score

- uses the score to play or sing

Applies elements of vocal techniques

- articulates clearly

- sings the appropriate sounds

- breathes at the beginning of musical phrases

- uses good posture

Applies elements of instrumental techniques

(percussion instruments)

- holds the sticks correctly

- alternates the sticks

- lets the sticks bounce

- uses good posture

Applies elements of instrumental techniques

(other percussion instruments)

- holds the instrument correctly

- uses an appropriate production mode

- uses good posture

Conveys the expressive elements of the piece

- takes into account indications of slight change

Applies rules for group ensemble work

- remains attentive during the performance

- reacts to sound and visual signals

Shares his/her experience

- describes his/her interpretation experience

- talks about aspects that are meaningful to him/her

Develops other aspects

- takes pleasure in interpreting52 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

The following questions can help a preschooler do a self-evaluation with the

teacher's help during or at the end of an activity (a game, project, etc.). The questions

can be used with numerous learning situations and can be adapted to the teacher's

pedagogical aim. They help preschoolers think about their actions so that they can

become aware of what they have learned, their strengths, their weaknesses and the

challenges they are facing.

The teacher uses a student's self-evaluation to record observations on a checklist or

in a logbook, for example. This information will help the teacher to adjust teaching

practices and to make a judgment on the development of competencies targeted in

the Québec Education Program.

The questions should be used along with visual supports to initiate dialogue and to

allow the child to illustrate his or her responses. Pictures can be show to the child, or

better yet, the child can be asked to draw them.APPENDIX II — EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION 53

Questions for Self-Evaluation at the Preschool Level

Planning

How did you think you would do this activity? What did you want to do first? What materials

did you need? Did you change your mind along the way? Why?

Collaboration

Who helped you? How? Do you like getting help? Why? And how did you help a friend?

Process

How did you do the activity? What did you do first? Second?

Presentation

How did your presentation go? Did you find it easy or hard to do? Why? If you had to do

another presentation, what would you do differently?

Preferences, interests

Did you like doing the activity? What did you like the most? The least? Why?

New learnings

What do you know now that you didn't know before the activity?54 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

This self-evaluation form was prepared in accordance with the evaluation

criteria for the cross-curricular competency To cooperate with others. The first

part presents a short list of statements. The student places a checkmark beside

the statements that correspond to what he or she has done. The second part is

reserved for the thoughts that the student would like to share with his or her

teammates. The teacher must read the statements to the students and help them

write their comments.

This tool is used to gather information during a task that is meaningful to the

student and that requires cooperation with others. As with other types of tools, it is

interesting to note, from one task to the next, whether difficulties that were

observed could be surmounted, and how.APPENDIX II — EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION 55

Self-Evaluation Form

Cross-curricular competency: To cooperate with others

Cycle One

Date: _______________________ Your name: _________________________

Name of teammates: _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Individual Reflection

Put a checkmark beside each of the statements below that describe what you

have done.

Answer the question at the end.

Then, share your thoughts with your teammates.

I expressed my ideas in a constructive way.

I listened to my teammates without interrupting or disturbing them.

I made suggestions that helped my group finish the work we had to do.

What would I like to suggest to my teammates to improve the way our team works?

Next time,

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________56 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

The tool on the next page is a verification list to be completed by

the student for a Cycle One mathematics competency. It contains

statements that encourage students to reflect on their problemsolving procedure in mathematics.

This kind of verification list allows students to formulate an opinion

on a few targeted elements. When using the same tool from one

task to the next, it is important to help students reflect on what they

found most difficult and on the methods they used to improve.APPENDIX II — EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION 57

To solve a situational problem

related to mathematics (Cycle One)

I understand the situational problem

I read the problem.

I know what I'm looking for.

I describe the problem in my own words.

I find information that is useful.

I describe the situational problem

I draw a picture.

I use manipulatives.

I use symbols.

I use words.

I try various strategies to find a solution

I draw a picture.

I use manipulatives.

I make a guess and check it.

I remember similar problems that have already been solved.

I validate my solution

I ask myself whether the solution is what was asked of me.

I compare my result to my estimate.

I compare my solution with that of others.

I communicate my solution

I use mathematical terms.

I use mathematical symbols.

I can explain my solution.58 EVALUATION OF LEARNING AT THE PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS

The goal of the conference outline on the next page is to help Cycle Two or

Three students to develop an awareness of themselves as readers and of the

role of reading in their lives, to react to the content and to acquire the language

they need to explain the strategies they are using.

Since conferences require much concentration, teachers should discreetly take

notes during the conversation, then finish them as soon as possible after each

conference.

Before the questions are asked, students must be told that there are no right or

wrong answers and that they can ask for explanations if they do not understand

a question.

During conferences, when the opportunity arises, teachers can indicate their

approval of what students are saying by nodding their heads or smiling to

encourage them to continue talking. Teachers should avoid discussing a

student's problem areas or giving an on-the-spot lesson. To understand how a

student is progressing, it is preferable to ask questions and focus on his or her

answers.APPENDIX II — EXAMPLES OF TOOLS USED TO GATHER INFORMATION 59

Conference on Reading Strategies (Cycles Two and Three)

Select only the most pertinent questions in order to generate student response.

1. Why did you choose to read this book?

2. What kind of a book is it?

3. What is the book about? What do you think of it?

4. Does this book remind you of any other books you've read? Which ones?

5. Are you like any of the characters in the story? Which one(s)? Why?

6. Which part of the story did you like best?

7. Is there anything in the book that reminds you of something that has happened to you?

Tell me about it.

8. Are there any words or expressions that you didn't know? How did you figure out what

they meant?

9. When you ran into difficult sentences, how did you go about understanding them?

10. What do you think is the most important part of the story? Why?

11. Did you learn anything new in this book? What?

12. Would you recommend this book to anybody in your class? To whom? Why?

13. Was the book hard, easy, or just right? What makes you say this?

14. Did you like this book more or less than the other one you just finished? Why?

15. Would you like to read other books by the same author, or other books like this one?

Why?Notes13-4600A