Assessment and Evaluation of Student Achievement
Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12, 2010 sets out the Ministry of Education’s assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy. The policy aims to maintain high standards, improve student learning, and benefit students, parents, and teachers in elementary and secondary schools across the province. Successful implementation of this policy depends on the professional judgement of educators at all levels as well as on their ability to work together and to build trust and confidence among parents and students.
Major aspects assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy are summarized in the main Assessment and Evaluation section. The key tool for assessment and evaluation in health and physical education – the achievement chart – is provided below.
The Achievement Chart for Health and Physical Education
The achievement chart identifies four categories of knowledge and skills and four levels of achievement in health and physical education. (For important background, see “Content Standards and Performance Standards” in the main Assessment and Evaluation section.)
Knowledge and Understanding – Subject-specific content acquired in each grade (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding) |
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Categories | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
The student: | ||||
Knowledge of content (e.g., facts, definitions, skills, principles and strategies, safe practices and procedures) | demonstrates limited knowledge of content | demonstrates some knowledge of content | demonstrates considerable knowledge of content | demonstrates thorough knowledge of content |
Understanding of content (e.g., processes, techniques, ideas, relationships between concepts) | demonstrates limited understanding of content |
demonstrates some understanding of content | demonstrates considerable understanding of content | demonstrates thorough understanding of content |
Thinking – The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes | ||||
Categories | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
The student: | ||||
Use of planning skills (e.g., identifying the problem, formulating questions and ideas, gathering and organizing information; developing fitness plans; selecting strategies) |
uses planning skills with limited effectiveness |
uses planning skills with some effectiveness | uses planning skills with considerable effectiveness |
uses planning skills with a high degree of effectiveness |
Use of processing skills (e.g., synthesizing information, evaluating risk and determining appropriate safety measures, revising fitness goals, detecting bias) | uses processing skills with limited effectiveness |
uses processing skills with some effectiveness |
uses processing skills with considerable effectiveness |
uses processing skills with a high degree of effectiveness |
Use of critical/creative thinking processes (e.g., goal setting, decision making, problem solving; analysing movement skills, strategizing, reflecting on learning and determining steps for improvement, critiquing) | uses critical/ creative thinking processes with limited effectiveness |
uses critical/ creative thinking processes with some effectiveness |
uses critical/ creative thinking processes with considerable effectiveness |
uses critical/ creative thinking processes with a high degree of effectiveness |
Communication – The conveying of meaning through various forms | ||||
Categories | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
The student: | ||||
Expression and organization of ideas and information in oral, visual, and/or written forms (e.g., demonstrations, role plays, conferences, presentations, posters, pamphlets, journals) | expresses and organizes ideas and information with limited effectiveness |
expresses and organizes ideas and information with some effectiveness |
expresses and organizes ideas and information with considerable effectiveness |
expresses and organizes ideas and information with a high degree of effectiveness |
Communication for different audiences (e.g., peers, teammates, adults) and purposes (e.g., to inform, instruct, promote) in oral, visual, and/or written forms | communicates for different audiences and purposes with limited effectiveness | communicates for different audiences and purposes with some effectiveness |
communicates for different audiences and purposes with considerable effectiveness |
communicates for different audiences and purposes with a high degree of effectiveness |
Use of health and physical education conventions, vocabulary, and terminology (e.g., using and interpreting signals and body language; using correct terminology to discuss parts of the body, health-related components of fitness, phases of movement [preparation, execution, followthrough]) in oral, visual, and/or written forms |
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology with limited effectiveness |
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology with some effectiveness |
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology with considerable effectiveness |
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology with a high degree of effectiveness |
Application – The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts |
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Categories | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
The student: | ||||
Application of knowledge and skills (e.g., movement skills, concepts, principles, and strategies, including teamwork, fair play, etiquette, leadership; training principles; health concepts; safe practices; social-emotional learning skills) in familiar contexts (e.g., physical activities, healthy living discussions) | applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with limited effectiveness |
applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with some effectiveness |
applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with considerable effectiveness |
applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with a high degree of effectiveness |
Transfer of knowledge and skills to new contexts (e.g., transfer of movement skills, strategies, and tactics from a familiar physical activity to a new activity, transfer of planning skills to contexts such as fitness, healthy eating, healthy sexuality, mental health) | transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts with limited effectiveness | transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts with some effectiveness |
transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts with considerable effectiveness |
transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts with a high degree of effectiveness |
Making connections within and between various contexts (e.g., between active participation, learning in the health and physical education program, and healthy, active living; between health and physical education, other subjects, and personal experiences in and beyond school) |
makes connections within and between various contexts with limited effectiveness |
makes connections within and between various contexts with some effectiveness |
makes connections within and between various contexts with considerable effectiveness |
makes connections within and between various contexts with a high degree of effectiveness |
Criteria and Descriptors for Health and Physical Education
To guide teachers in their assessment and evaluation of student learning, the achievement chart provides “criteria” and “descriptors” within each of the four categories of knowledge and skills.
A set of criteria is identified for each category in the achievement chart. The criteria are subsets of the knowledge and skills that define the category. The criteria identify the aspects of student performance that are assessed and/or evaluated, and they serve as a guide to what teachers look for. In the health and physical education curriculum, the criteria for each category are as follows:
Knowledge and Understanding
- knowledge of content (e.g., facts, definitions, skills, principles and strategies, safe practices and procedures)
- understanding of content (e.g., processes, techniques, ideas, relationships between concepts)
Thinking
- use of planning skills (e.g., identifying the problem, formulating questions and ideas, gathering and organizing information; developing fitness plans; selecting strategies)
- use of processing skills (e.g., synthesizing information, evaluating risk and determining appropriate safety measures, revising fitness goals, detecting bias)
- use of critical/creative thinking processes (e.g., goal setting, decision making, problem solving; analysing movement skills, strategizing, reflecting on learning and determining steps for improvement, critiquing)
Communication
- expression and organization of ideas and information in oral, visual, and/or written forms (e.g., demonstrations, role plays, conferences, presentations, posters, pamphlets, journals)
- communication for different audiences (e.g., peers, teammates, adults) and purposes (e.g., to inform, instruct, promote) in oral, visual, and/or written forms
- use of health and physical education conventions, vocabulary, and terminology (e.g., using and interpreting signals and body language; using correct terminology to discuss parts of the body, health-related components of fitness, phases of movement [preparation, execution, follow-through]) in oral, visual and/or written forms
Application
- application of knowledge and skills (e.g., movement skills, concepts, principles, strategies, including teamwork, fair play, etiquette, leadership; training principles; health concepts; safe practices; social-emotional learning skills) in familiar contexts (e.g., physical activities, healthy living discussions)
- transfer of knowledge and skills to new contexts (e.g., transfer of movement skills, strategies, and tactics from a familiar physical activity to a new activity, transfer of planning skills to contexts such as fitness, healthy eating, healthy sexuality, mental health)
- making connections within and between various contexts (e.g., between active participation, learning in the health and physical education program, and healthy, active living; between health and physical education, other subjects, and personal experiences in and beyond school)
“Descriptors” indicate the characteristics of the student’s performance, with respect to a particular criterion, on which assessment or evaluation is focused. Effectiveness is the descriptor used for each of the criteria in the Thinking, Communication, and Application categories. What constitutes effectiveness in any given performance task will vary with the particular criterion being considered. Assessment of effectiveness may therefore focus on a quality such as appropriateness, clarity, accuracy, precision, logic, relevance, significance, fluency, flexibility, depth, or breadth, as appropriate for the particular criterion.