Assessment
Policy
Dover Elementary
Westlake, Ohio
Table of Contents
Dover Mission Statement
I.
Philosophy
II. Purpose for Assessment
III. Types of Assessment
IV. Response to Assessment
Assessment Policy
Dover Elementary School
Westlake, Ohio
Dover Mission Statement
Dover Elementary educates for excellence by providing a safe, caring and challenging
environment that empowers all to be inquirers, problem solvers, global thinkers, and
life-long learners.
I.
Philosophy
The Dover Elementary Staff believes assessment is an important and integral part of student
learning. Assessment should be varied and conducted to monitor progress and mastery of skill. We
believe that assessment should be used to develop goals and objectives to help meet individual
needs. Assessment will help us gain an understanding of student knowledge which will help us
evaluate our teaching, eventually guiding and driving future instruction.
II.
Purpose of Assessment
The Dover Elementary Staff believes the primary purpose of assessment is to gather
information and to promote student learning. Assessing students regularly allows us the
opportunity to provide regular and prompt feedback on the learning process and individual
needs to students, parents, teachers and administration. Assessment is a means to monitor student
progress, help teachers drive instruction, provide feedback and communicate needs. Assessment is
an on-going process for gathering and analysis of information about students’ skills and
performance. Assessment guidelines are critical to our goal of guiding teachers and students
through the learning and instructional process.
III.
Types of Assessments
At Dover Elementary School we use a variety of assessments to help gauge acquisition of
knowledge and skills gained as well as to provide teachers with data to drive instruction. We use
a variety of assessments to reflect, differentiate and accommodate all student needs.

 Pre-Assessment- Pre-assessment is an instructional strategy teachers use to uncover what
students know about a curriculum unit before they begin formal instruction.
o
o
o
o
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Teacher Observations
K-W-L Charts
Journals
Lists, Surveys
Concept Maps
 Formative Assessment- formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students
during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to
improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.
 Formative assessment is a process, not any particular test
 It is used not just by teachers, but by both teachers and students
 Formative assessment takes place during instruction
 It provides assessment-based feedback to the teachers and students
 The function of this feedback is to help teachers and students make
adjustments that will improve students’ achievement of intended curricular
aims.
o Observations
o Questioning
o Exit Tickets
o Peer/Self Assessments
o Reflection Journals
o Graphic Organizers
 Summative Assessment- Summative assessments are cumulative evaluations used to measure
student growth after instruction and give the students opportunities to demonstrate what
they have learned in a variety of ways.
 District Common Assessment-Westlake City Schools uses a variety of common assessments
at the district level.
o AIMS web Progress Monitoring
o DRA
 State Standardized Assessment- Dover Elementary administers State Standardized Tests
o Ohio Achievement Assessment (Grades 3-4)
o COGAT
o IOWA Testing
 Reflection- Reflection is a continuous process throughout the units. Students are
encouraged to use the PYP transdisciplinary skills, attitudes and Learner Profile to gain
insight to their understanding. Teachers are currently developing a common assessment
tool to the Learner Profile.
 Student Portfolio- At this time Dover Elementary is reflecting on how best to use student
portfolios in the classroom.
 Tools of Assessment-A variety of assessment tools are frequently used in all classrooms.
o Rubrics
o Checklists
o Easycbm.com
o STAR/AR
o Kids College
o First in Math
o Reading A-Z
o WIST
o Jerry John
IV.
Response to Assessment
 Differentiation- Differentiated instruction is a way to reach students with different learning
styles, different abilities to absorb information and different ways of expressing what they
have learned. Differentiation allows teachers the opportunity to tailor instruction to meet
individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning
environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful
approach to instruction.
o Provide Remediation/ Re-teaching Opportunities
o Provide Enrichment
o Allow for Modifications
o Adjust Curriculum
o Provide Flexible Grouping
 RTI (Response to Intervention)-The children in our classrooms are very diverse in both
their skills and their preparation. Students whose early learning experiences did not
prepare them well for learning to read need more intensive instruction to fill in the gaps in
their knowledge and skills. Students with low ability in certain academic domains require
more explicit, intensive instruction because they learn critical skills more slowly than other
students. The range of instructional opportunities must match the range of diversity
among students. Students with intensive instructional needs may require three to four
times as much instruction as the average student. Good classroom instruction should meet
the needs of most students, but an efficient system for providing high quality, intensive
instruction is required to meet the needs of all students. Westlake City Schools has
provided staff with an “RTI Playbook” to assist in the decision-making process.
 Communication/Providing Feedback- Dover Elementary School communicate with the
Westlake Community in a variety of ways.
o Teacher Feedback- Teachers communicate to students and parents by using a district
wide report. The report is sent home 4 times during the school year. Teachers also
meet formally once a year with parents at Parent/Teacher conferences. Teachers
and parents also meet on an as needed basis.
o IB Information- The International Baccalaureate Coordinator holds IB information
nights for parents, the school board and community members. Quarterly
newsletters are also sent home to parents as well as archived on the district website.
The coordinator also maintains a website to inform all key stakeholders of the
happenings with IB in the school.
o Parents are given a district calendar at the beginning of each school year which
informs parents and the community of the happenings in the district throughout the
school year.
o The District Communications Director informs staff, parents and the community
through publications such as Commentary, Key Communique, Around the Schools
and News Releases. Westlake City School District also has an Alert Now system to
maintain communication with parents.
 Development of Assessment Policy
This assessment policy was developed through whole staff collaboration. Teachers gave
input on their philosophy of assessment, beliefs about purpose for assessment, types of
assessment they currently use and how they respond to assessment. From this
collaboration, subgroups drafted sections of the policy and reported out to the whole
group. A final draft of the assessment policy was constructed and present to our
Pedagogical Leadership Team prior to being presented to the whole staff for approval.
V.
Assessment Review
At Dover Elementary we will revisit the assessment policy two times during the school
year. We will review the assessment policy Aug/Sept of each school year. We will reflect
on the assessment policy and revise as needed in May/June of each school year.