Continuity of Catholic Learning

Assessment in Elementary
DPCDSB Mission: Disciples of Christ, nurturing mind, body, and soul to the fullness of life.
DPCDSB Vision: Changing the world through Catholic education.

Seeing through the Eyes of Jesus

As Catholic educators, our vocation is to embrace each student as a child of God, to be educated with
genuine respect and sensitivity, and to create a culture of hope within our classrooms and schools for
our students Christ models an invitation that is unconditional.

In Continuity of Catholic Learning, all are welcome, worthy and capable. Seeing through the eyes of
Jesus enables us to teach with understanding, compassion and empathy. We accept and advocate for
every student, set learning goals, and walk with each student as he or she grows within his or her unique
learning journey. We accept the mystery of God’s creation in each child, accepting the unique gifts and
challenges in all of us, and the opportunity to grow in our skills as educators, and our ability to love
unconditionally.

During this unprecedented and challenging time, educators are demonstrating both compassion and
patience for their students with empathy towards individual circumstances, which may impact student
participation. The loss of the routine of school, the social isolation for many, the cancellation of sports
and clubs, prom and the postponement of graduation, are all unprecedented pressures our students are
now navigating.

Seeing through the eyes of Jesus calls us to a place of compassion and empathy for both our students,
and for ourselves.

Together, we will navigate through these unprecedented times to ensure all learners, are supported
equitably and compassionately.

Communication with Parents and Guardians

Maintain timely and regular communication with students and parents/guardians with the
common goal of supporting overall student achievement while prioritizing mental health and
well-being which is essential in a distance-learning environment.

Adhere to existing privacy policies and practices

Document and maintain a log of all communication with parents/guardians
Utilize DPCDSB platforms including: DPCDSB email, Google Classroom, Microsoft
Teams, D2L
Block personal phone numbers to maintain privacy
Consult your administrator for support in addressing communication challenges
 Continuity of Catholic Learning
Assessment in Elementary
DPCDSB MissionDisciples of Christ, nurturing mind, body, and soul to the fullness of life.
DPCDSB Vision: Changing the world through Catholic education.
Grades K - 8 Student Expectations
K-Grade 3 5 hours of work per student per
week
Focus: Integrated Literacy and
Math (Literacy includes
Religion & Family Life and
integration of other subject
areas)
Grades 5 hours of work per student per
4-6 week
Focus: Integrated Literacy,
Math, Science, Social Studies
(Literacy includes Religion &
Family Life and integration of
other subject areas)
Grades 10 hours of work per student
7-8 per week
Focus: Integrated Literacy,
Math, Science, Social Studies
(Literacy includes Religion &
Family Life and integration of
other subject areas)
Assessment
Timelines and due dates must be fluid
and flexible to allow students to
complete tasks
Educators will use formative assessment
approaches to gather evidence of how
students are progressing in their learning
Educators will provide descriptive
feedback to their students on their
progress
Final Report Cards
Final report cards are required
Educators will use assessment for
learning (formative assessment) to gather
evidence related to how students are
progressing and provide feedback to
students
Educators will provide report card
comments that reflect feedback provided
to students during the Continuity of
Catholic Learning period
Learning Skills will be reported on
No "I"s will be included on the report card.
Subjects and strands not covered will be
left blank. Standard comments will be
provided by the Program and Learning
Services Department.
Collaboration for a consistent grade
experience for students is encouraged.
In determining final grades and
mark for the final report card,
educators should consider:
A student’s final mark cannot be lower
than that of March 13, 2020
Any assessment from now until June
can be used only to improve the
student’s final marks
Kindergarten Communication of
Learning
Based on educator's observations of key
learning and/or growth in learning prior to
March 13, 2020
 Continuity of Catholic Learning
What Does this look like for Distance Learning?
Mission: Disciples of Christ, nurturing mind, body, and soul to the fullness of life.
Vision: Changing the world through Catholic Education.

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them - not
because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be...eager to
serve." 1 Peter 5:2

1. Learning Goals(s) &

Success Criteria

7. Demonstration
2. Select Task(s)
of Learning (Not
& Lesson(s)
Evaluative)

Cycle of
Educator-Led
6. Reflect on & Distance
Re-evaluate
Learning Goals Learning 3. Explicit
Instruction
and Success
Criteria

4. Gather Evidence of
5. Timely Descriptive
Student
Feedback
Understanding
 Continuity of Catholic Learning
What Does this look like for Distance Learning?
Mission: Disciples of Christ, nurturing mind, body, and soul to the fullness of life.
Vision: Changing the world through Catholic Education.

What does this look like for

1. Learning Goal(s) &
Success Criteria
Why are we learning about this? How will I be
successful?
Considerations
Informed by the overall and specific expectations
and big ideas
Written in student-friendly language
Success criteria describes what successful
attainment of the learning goals look like
Describes what students will know and/or be able
to do by the end of the period of learning
What does this look like for Distance
Learning?
Learning goal and success criteria should always
be visible or accessible to students, parents and
educators:
Post learning goal in the feed either daily or weekly
When assigning tasks or independent work,
include the learning goal and success criteria (i.e.
look fors) in student-friendly language
Start with the learning goal in your lessons (live or
recorded)
2. Select Task(s) and Lesson(s) Distance Learning?
What will I use to address the Learning Goal(s)? Pose a question to encourage discussion
Considerations or investigation (Discussion/Chat)
Connected to the learning goal and success criteria Low Tech (paper/pencil or hands on
exploration) vs. High Tech (padlet,
Purposeful open tasks that provide an entry point for all learners
collaborative document, NearPod)
Include a variety of tasks to determine student understanding
Use on-line publishers resources (e.g.,
(e.g., pre-assessment, check-in, purposeful independent practice)
Knowledgehook, My CEC Zone)
Be mindful of the time a task takes to complete (short task or a
Provide an overview of the learning for
task that involves a process over a couple of days)
the week in each subject area
3. Explicit Instruction What does this look like for Distance Learning?
How will I communicate the learning to my
Use pre-recorded video, live video lesson, curated videos, virtual Q
students?
& A session
Select a variety of online tools that can be used to support
teaching and learning (e.g., video, audio, documents, drawings,
Considerations virtual whiteboard, portfolio, collaborative workspace)
Engage students with the
content prior to independent Considerations for live lessons:
purposeful practice Establish norms with your students (i.e. cameras off and audio
Select a lesson that is muted)
representative of the learning Record session and post for all students
goal and the mode of instruction Provide a week-at-a-glance for students so they know the live
lesson time

4. Gathering Evidence of Student 5. Descriptive Feedback

Understanding How will my feedback help improve student learning?

How will I know if my students understand? Considerations

Considerations
Reflect on and share look-fors/criteria that demonstrate student understanding
Provide opportunities for students to complete check-ins/exit tickets
Consider prompts that invite students to share their understanding in a variety of
ways (orally, visually or written)
Connected to the learning goal and success criteria
Descriptive and not evaluative and includes: what the student is doing well; what
needs improvement; specific next steps
Timely, purposeful and relevant to the learning
Opportunities for students to act on the feedback

What does this look like for Distance Learning?

Include the learning goal and success criteria on all tasks (e.g, checklist or list of
look-fors)
Task or independent practice can be gathered using a form of documentation
(e.g., digital portfolios, Google Drive, anecdotal notes in teacher binder/notebook)
Submissions can be in the form of videos, audio files, photos of work, documents
etc.
What does this look like for Distance Learning?
Use “Comment” feature in each of the platforms to share and receive feedback
Written, audio or video recorded
Use a form to create an exit ticket and provide feedback
Provide feedback on work shared through student digital portfolios

6. Reflect on and Re-Evaluate the 7. Demonstration of Learning

Learning Goal and Success Criteria
Where do I go from here?
Considerations
Determine whether my students and I met the learning goal and success criteria
- If YES, what will be the culminating task?
- If NOT YET, how can I differentiate instruction or select new tasks to support
students?
- Do I need to explicitly revisit some of the success criteria? (and learning goal?)
What does this look like for Distance Learning?
Review assessment data to find patterns/gaps to determine next steps (e.g.,
educator notes, student portfolios, Google forms)
Differentiate instruction and/or scaffold learning through virtual meetings (whole
class or small group)
How do I know if my students have consolidated the goal(s) at the end of the
learning cycle?
Considerations
Summarize learning at a given point in time (not evaluative in elementary)
Used to determine if students met the established criteria and learning goal
Engaging task that includes the 4 categories of achievement (knowledge &
understanding, thinking, communication and application)
What does this look like for Distance Learning?
Virtual demonstration task in small groups
Video or audio reflection demonstrating student learning (e.g., Book Creator,
NearPod, Explain Everything, Beautiful Audio Editor)
Use a form to gather and communicate student understanding
Virtual discussion with students

Helpful Link: Overview of Assessment For & As Learning