Jason Cruz Monday July 31st, 2017

994089561

REPORT CARD for Growing Success

Learning Skills and Work Habits (Pages 10 to 14)

Manageable for Teachers: No (D). Teachers already complain about having to do extra work. I
think that allowing assessment without any overlap between the final grade and the learning
skills/work habits will create more work for teachers. Both must be accurately documented by
the teacher and as a result, will make them spend more time on assessing. Teachers from math
and science disciplines have the learning skills/work habits embedded in the curriculum. This
may result in some teachers having to do more/less work than others.

Feasible for Students: Yes (A). Students are able to obtain a higher overall mark. Poor learning
skills or work habits (except from PE, math and science where they are embedded in the
curriculum expectations) will be given a level instead of a grade. Putting emphasis on a
student’s work being graded instead of their work habits allows for students to concentrate more
on their assessments to succeed.

Powerful for Learners: No (C-). Learning skills and work habits focus on behaviour instead of
cognition. This emphasizes that curriculum expectations align with cognitive development and
learning skills/work habits align with student behavior. Students are able to identify whether
their cognitions or behaviours need improvement, since one cannot impact the mark of the other.
I think that learning skills/work habits should impact a student’s grades. This allows for learning
skills/work habits as equally important as curriculum expectations, achieving more well-rounded
students. Additionally, students who struggle in certain topics can achieve a mark demonstrating
their work ethic and other abilities rather than their knowledge of the material. If we made a
portion of the grade dedicated to learning skills/work habit, but still keeping them separate so a
student knows where they can improve, combining them into a more meaningful mark, then it
would be most powerful for learners.

Overall Grade: C+. Learning skills and work habits need to be integrated into either curriculum
expectations or an overall grade calculation.
Jason Cruz Monday July 31st, 2017
994089561
Performance Standards - The Achievement Chart (Pages 16 to 25)

Manageable for Teachers: Yes (B). Teachers are given a suggested framework (The
Achievement Chart) to guide them in developing their assessments. The document is left open to
interpretation through the use of vague language so teachers can design assessment from the
overall expectations of the curriculum instead of the achievement chart. This freedom of
development allows for teachers to manage their assessment however they see fit, though I do
not agree that this freedom is the best for the students.

Feasible for Students: Yes (B). Bell curves are put in place to bring up the class average to
“standard”. By removing norm-referenced assessment, a student’s mark is reflective of the work
they submit, as defined by curriculum expectations (criterion-referenced assessment). This is
suggested in Growing Success but I think the language use of “must” instead of “should” would
make it more firm.

Powerful for Learners: No (C-). The lack of clarity in the language of the document causes
students to be assessed differently throughout the province. This inconsistency makes some
schools look good and some look bad. Students should not have their grades impacted because
of what school they go to, or what town they live in.

Overall Grade: C+. On page 1 of Growing Success, it is stated that the Achievement Chart
remains in effect, which seems to contradict the vagueness of its implementation in the
document. While this section is feasible, I believe that more definitive language should be used.
Teachers should either assess according to the four Achievement Chart categories or some other
set of guidelines throughout the province, but it must be consistent. An essay submitted for a
Grade 12 University English class should receive roughly the same mark by a variety of teachers.
Jason Cruz Monday July 31st, 2017
994089561
Assessment For Learning and As Learning (Pages 28 to 36)

Manageable for Teachers: Yes (A). Although it is not mandatory, learning goals and success
criteria should be identified for students prior to assigning a grade. So, teachers are not required
to make learning goals and success criteria. Since there is no penalty for not making learning
goals and success criteria, some teachers may decide not to make them.

Feasible for Students: No (F). For a student to do well on an assignment, they should be given
the criteria for success, goals for learning or feedback throughout the process. When a student is
unsure of the marking scheme or how they will be evaluated, they become more anxious and
stressed when attempting to provide evidence of their understanding during assessment.

Powerful for Learners: No (F). Teachers are not required to provide feedback before assigning
a final grade on an assessment. The document uses suggestive language like “should” instead of
definitive language like “must” when speaking to assessments for learning. However, page 6 of
Growing Success states that we need to “provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear,
specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement”. This is very
contradicting in my opinion. Descriptive feedback is more beneficial for students and should be
a requirement before assigning a finale grade.

Overall Grade: D. The loopholes provided to teachers to avoid punishment for lack of feedback
and clarity is inappropriate. This needs to change.
Jason Cruz Monday July 31st, 2017
994089561
Evaluation (Pages 38 to 46)

Manageable for Teachers: Yes (B). Teachers are given the freedom to develop the final
evaluation as they see fit for their course, as long as the weight is within the 30% allotted for
each course. Teachers can assess using test, projects, presentations, or anything they believe
encapsulates the required learning throughout the course. However, definitive language is used
when discussing the 30% weighting of the final evaluation.

Feasible for Students: No (C-). The vague language returns in discussing the application of late
marks to assignments. While earlier in the document, it is stated that learning skills/work habits
should not have any bearing on a mark, late penalties may be (though they recommend not)
applied to assessments. This contradictory language is not feasible for students, who may
receive grades that do not reflect their understanding of the course, but that reflect their learning
skills/work habits.

Powerful for Learners: Yes (B). Peer feedback is encouraged, while peer evaluation is not
allowed. It allows for students to help each other during the learning process, without allowing
them to assess each others’ learning. This emphasizes that feedback is more important to
learning than a grade or mark. The calculation of a mark is done using the most consistent marks
over a period of time instead of averaging everything out. This allows for a student’s mark to
reflect their true ability in the course, removing outliers that would bring down (or up) their
mark.

Overall Grade: C+. This is the only section of Growing Success where clear regulations and
ideas are outlined, making it the strongest part of the document.
Jason Cruz Monday July 31st, 2017
994089561

Overall

We can see an overall trend as we look at the sections of this document - it is feasible for
teachers first and foremost. Having been crafted with OSSTF, we can see a bias here. OSSTF
wanted to provide loopholes for teachers who, in my opinion, are not doing their job to the
highest (and requisite) standard. To improve this document, we need to make teachers more
accountable. We need stricter regulations across the province. These policies need to be
consistent across the province in order to ensure fairness and equity. A student should succeed
based on their ability and learning skills/work habits alone, and not have external factors such as
location, school board, teacher, or school have any effect. A stronger document can be created
by removing the vague language, deciding on clear policy, and holding our teachers accountable.

Final Grade: C-.