Assessments

In the Preschool and Lower Primary years the assessments are formative. These formative assessments are done not through frequent short ‘tests’ but by objective observation of the children’s responses during the continued learning process on a day to day basis. Each child’s responses, level of engagement and ability to express independently are made note of. Facilitators are trained for open ended questioning to support the children’s learning and to extend their thinking. This helps them to assess the quality of learning and gives them a fair idea of the support required by each child.

Formative assessments also take into account students’ collaborative work during class activities and project work. Projects are seen as an opportunity to apply and put into practice all that the students have learnt during a theme. This is also an opportunity to use their creativity and higher order thinking. Projects are done entirely in school. 

Summative assessments begin gradually in the lower primary. Towards the culmination of a theme a recap and reinforcement are done through class discussions, projects, activities and quizzes. A worksheet is attempted by the students without any adult support and the quality of learning is assessed. This not only gives us outcomes of how much the students have retained but also gives us an understanding of how effective we as educators have been.