IB MYP Assessment Policy

At Restoration Academy, grading is not seen as punitive, but informative.   Grades alert students, parents/guardians, and internal staff of individual and/or school-wide progress on prioritized skills and selected criteria.  Grading communicates two main aspects of student learning:  

• student engagement and effort in the learning process; and
• student progress in mastery of skills demonstrated in the learning product 

 

A. Grading the Student Learning Process

When assessing student learning through classwork and homework, teachers utilize a variety of tools.  Some grading is based on student accuracy and demonstration of understanding particular skills, using answer keys, rubrics, observation, etc.,

B. Grading the Student Learning Product/Project

When assessing the learning product, teachers base their evaluations on standards outlined in learning objectives and/or task specific rubrics, all of which anchors on the criteria emphasized in the MYP. *see Alignment with MYP below

C. Final Grading/Marking Period Grades

Marking period grades are reported five times a year.  The first four marking period grades reflect learning process and learning product grades as averaged using our school-wide weighted grading scale (see below). To incorporate a competency approach, teachers also consider the performance levels of the most recent assessments where students have exhibited significant growth.  The fifth marking period is a cumulative grade of the first four marking periods. All marking period grades reflect the teacher’s judgment of the students’ progress on each strand of subject-group criteria. 

 

Weighted Grading Scale

 

Projects	35%
Classwork	35%
Tests/Quizzes	15%
Class Participation	15%

 

D. Grading Alignment with MYP

The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) approaches to learning is centered on the fundamental belief that “learning how to learn” is essential for student growth.  This is emphasized through the five categories of skills:  thinking skills, research skills, communication skills, social skills, and self-management skills.  Each of these skills is reflected in the Assessment Criteria used to evaluate student performance.  *see chart below

 

Assessment Criteria for each MYP Subject Area

 

	Criteria A	Criteria B	Criteria C	Criteria D
Language And Literature	Analyzing	Organizing	Producing a Text	Using Language
Language Acquisition	Listening	Reading	Speaking	Writing
Individuals and Societies	Knowing and Understanding	Investigating	Communicating	Thinking Critically
Science	Knowing And understanding	Inquiring and designing	Processing and evaluating	Reflecting on the Impacts of Science
Mathematics	Knowing and Understanding	Investing Patterns	Communicating	Applying Mathematics in Real-Life Contexts
Design	Inquiring and Analyzing	Developing Ideas	Creating the Solution	Evaluating
Arts	Knowing And Understanding	Developing Skills	Thinking Creatively	Responding
Physical and Health Education	Knowing And Understanding	Planning for Performance	Applying And Performing	Reflecting and Improving Performance
Personal Project	Investigating	Planning	Taking Action	Reflecting
Interdisciplinary Learning	Disciplinary Grounding	Synthesizing	Communicating	Reflecting

 

Each subject’s criteria is based on achievement levels of 1-8.  The teacher is required to use the combined score of the four criteria to determine an overall number out of 32 for each subject. The total is converted into a single overall performance level between 1 and 7 (7 being the highest level).  

 

 

IB-RA Assessment Conversion Chart

 

MYP Final Grade	Restoration Academy Letter Grade	Restoration Academy Percentage Scale	Performance Descriptor
1	F	59%⇣	Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys many significant misunderstandings or lacks understanding of most concepts and contexts. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.
2	D	60%-69%	Produces work of limited quality. Expresses misunderstandings or significant gaps in understanding for many concepts and contexts. Infrequently demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, infrequently applying knowledge and skills.
3	C	70%-77%	Produces work of an acceptable quality. Communicates basic understanding of many concepts and contexts, with occasionally significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical and creative thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, requiring support even in familiar classroom situations.
4	B-/C+	78%-80%	Produces good-quality work. Communicates basic understanding of most concepts and contexts with few misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often demonstrates basic 6 critical and creative thinking. Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in familiar classroom situations, but requires support in unfamiliar situations.
5	B	81%-89%	Produces generally high-quality work. Communicates secure understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar classroom and real-world situations and, with support, some unfamiliar real-world situations
6	A-/B+	90%-100%	Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative work. Communicates extensive understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, frequently with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world situations, often with independence.
7	A		Produces high-quality, frequently innovative work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of concepts and contexts. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical and creative thinking. Frequently transfers knowledge and skills with independence and expertise in a variety of complex classroom and real-world situations.

 

E. Grade Reporting:What the Caregivers Can Expect

 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Formal Parent-Teacher Conferences are held three times a year. The first is a Welcome Back to School event.  The other two are scheduled in accordance with the release of first and second marking period report cards.  Parent-teacher conferences are typically held in-person, yet can also be scheduled as phone or video conferences.  As we move toward facilitating student-led conferences, it will be essential that students are also in attendance to speak about their learning experiences. 

Progress Reporting

Progress reports will be sent to caregivers of students who are identified as promotion-in-doubt.  These reports are delivered twice a year and serve as a springboard for teachers and caregivers to discuss interventions to support students' growth.  

Online Reporting

Parents can access student’s grades to monitor progress on Google Classroom, at any time. 

Regular informal contact

Teachers are available to schedule meetings upon request and are always available during Parent Engagement Office Hours on Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30.   

 

*The Restoration Academy MYP Assessment Policy was written by the IB Coordinator (SNSimpson), IB Committee, and Instructional Leadership Team, drafted April, 2022. Review and updated, May 2022; October, 2022