Assessment for Learning (AFL)

Assessment for Learning is designed improve teaching and learning, as both the teacher and the student respond to the information. The key lies in the words for learning rather than of learning.

For Our Ākonga

• We want our ākonga to become more aware of not only what they are learning, but how they are learning it. To empower them to take control of their own learning, by developing their skills of self-regulation, growth mindset and reflection. This includes talking about and sharing their learning journey with teachers, peers, parents and visitors to our school
• Ākonga  will actively participate in assessing their own learning to help them be able to identify their own strengths and needs, and discover how to make ‘where to next?’ decisions and set new learning goals. They will use a variety of tools to support this such as  School TAlk, Engagement Sliders and the ASp  (Learner Agency) tool for assessing the learner dispositions.
• Ākonga  are taught: 
• What quality work looks like through the use of exemplars, models, other forms of evidence in their workbooks and teacher modelling books/ slides
• What criteria defines success in learning through co constructed success criteria 
• How to compare and evaluate their own work against such criteria either independently or with/for a peer and with a teacher 

SchoolTalk 

• This is a platform used at Kohimarama School to support ākonga in becoming more agentic in understanding their learning.  Either ākonga or kaiako upload a variety of evidence to show where they are at in their learning.  This platform also generates our twice yearly reports to parents based on the data within it and the teachers OTJ.

For Our Kaiako

• At Kohimarama School Kaiako use an overall teacher judgement (OTJ), when assessing ākonga.  This requires triangulation of information about the individual student including, standardised testing results (P.A.T), kaiako designed tests, book work, learning conversations with ākonga, workshops, Curriculum Progressions, and kaiako observations.
• Assessment is the process of gathering, analysing, interpreting and using information about ākonga progress and achievement to improve teaching and learning.  Assessment should be part of everyday classroom practice – i.e. informing planning, where to next. 
• Planning needs to be flexible so that it can respond to new information, opportunities or insights. Planning also needs to include strategies to check students understanding of the learning goals/intentions, how ākonga will take part in assessing their learning, as well as provide opportunities for both ākonga and kaiako to obtain information about progress, and use it to direct the learning process.
• Effective assessment should help develop understanding of the strategies and patterns ākonga have constructed in order to make sense of the world.
• At Kohimarama School  we support a culture of professional inquiry where kaiako themselves seek out and learn new ways to support learning as part of our Professional Growth Cycle. Every staff member is buddied up with another staff member who is trained in  Growth Coaching techniques to support them and help them to grow professionally.

Kohimarama School Assessment Overview 

Reporting to the Board of Trustees

The Kohimarama School Board of Trustees receive a variety of reports on overall assessment within the school, in LIteracy (Reading and Writing) and Mathematics which are accompanied by statements of variance.     These include but are not limited to:-  

                  PAT’s beginning of the year in term 2                                        PAT comparative results in term 4 

                  OTJ of student achievement in term 3                                        OTJ comparative results in term 4