This was the consensus of discussions among faculty, staff, and parents at Balmoral Hall School, as they met with educational consultant Ken O'Connor on September 28. Specializing in assessment research, he shared his perspectives with us throughout scheduled professional development exercises last Monday. This was an excellent opportunity to think critically about assessment and its purpose at a university preparatory school for girls.
According to O'Connor, assessment allows educators, students, and parents to gather information that guides the teaching and learning process. Grades, meanwhile, communicate (in summary format) student achievement, and student achievement is evaluated through learning outcomes in terms of proficiency. Accordingly, we may conclude that accurate, meaningful assessment fosters a learning culture rather than a grading culture.
In fact, O'Connor's research indicates that grades interfere with learning, whereas descriptive feedback helps us better understand student achievement.
Implementing assessment practices that take professional judgment, motivation, and fairness into account will lead to greater opportunity for improvement regardless of a student's proficiency.
Balmoral Hall School educators believe in inspiring girls to excel, to reach, to lead.
Together, we are committed to developing self-directed, independent learners.
Thank you, then, to those who have joined our ongoing conversation about assessment, with much gratitude and appreciation to Ken O'Connor for his insights.