SMK Sungai Tapang- Assessment Policy
Definition of Assessment.
Educational assessment is the process of gathering, analysing and interpreting students'
progress and achievement in order to improve teaching and learning. It comes in the form of
Assessment as Learning, Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning.
Our Assessment Philosophy
In general, assessment in this school is conducted in the form of diagnostic, formative
(Assessment for Learning), summative (Assessment of Learning) and Reflection (Assessment
as learning).
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Teachers and students must work in partnership to enable students to demonstrate what
they have learned, and for teachers to carry out fair and valid assessments.
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Teaching, learning and assessment are interrelated and have logical connections.
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Assessment methods must be clearly stated and understood by all parties concerned.
Our assessments are guided by the following beliefs:
Our students:
• have varied learning styles and abilities
• view self-assessment and peer assessment as an integral part of learning
• are required to know their achievements and areas for improvement in the learning process
• will receive periodic meaningful and timely feedback.
Our students’ learning is:
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influenced by their preceding/prior knowledge
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affected by the socio-economic, cultural and linguistic factors
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determined in part by effective instructional methodologies used by teachers
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enhanced by meaningful student engagement
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enriched by real life experience and captivating situations.
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Our assessment is:
• criterion-referenced using guiding principles established by the International Baccalaureate
Organisation as well as the Malaysian Ministry of Education and made clear to students by
teachers before assessment begins.
• aimed at evaluating a broad range of concepts, knowledge, attitudes and skills suitable to an
increasingly complex world
• constructed by teachers to integrate a variety of methods
• based on the learning objectives in each subject area prescribed by the MYP
• based on the attributes and desired outcomes of the IB, Malaysian School Based Assessment
(PBS) and other requirements set by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
Types of Assessment
1. Diagnostic Assessment
This assessment is normally carried out to obtain a clearer picture of students’ strengths and
weakness, for instance, their language proficiency level and their literacy level, in order to
identify students who might need remedial programme.
2. Assessment as learning
In the early stage, teachers help students to reflect on their work on a regular basis, either
through self or peer assessment. Teachers guide students in developing internal feedback or
self-monitoring mechanisms to validate and question their own thinking. They monitor
students’ metacognitive processes as well as their learning, and provide descriptive feedback.
They create an environment where it is safe for students to take chances and where support is
readily available.
Through this process students are able to learn about themselves as learners and become aware
of how they learn. Assessment as learning helps students to take more responsibility for their
own learning.
3. Assessment for learning (Formative Assessment)
Pre-assessment may be carried out before the start of a new learning experience, topic or unit
to find out students’ prior knowledge and experiences. Assessment for Learning is infused
into the daily learning activities. The outcome is used by teachers to adjust their teaching
strategies, and by students to adjust their learning approaches. Teachers can plan and change
their teaching and learning styles for the students as they can pin point students’ strengths and
weaknesses, and students can plan and manage the next steps in their learning.
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4. Assessment of learning : Summative Assessment
Summative assessment is usually implemented at the end of a teaching or learning unit/topic
or at the end of a term or a school year. As an IB requirement, each criterion and each strand
must be assessed at least twice a year and preferably at least twice in a reporting period (term).
During this time, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned by
applying their knowledge to answer given questions or complete given tasks.
There are two types of summative assessment: IB assessment, which is carried out during or
after every unit and the national type examination to prepare students to sit for the national
public examination. There are two national type examinations for the Form One, Two and
Four, and there is an extra one trail PT3 (Form 3 Assessment) and SPM examinations for the
Form Three and Five, respectively in a year. Mid year and end of the year tests for Form 3 and
5 students are to prepare them for the PT3 and SPM examinations which will be held
respectively at the end of the academic year.
There are also two types of assessment report: IB assessment report and the National type
examination report. IB assessment report consists of the Students’ Unit Assessment Report
Slip twice a year in April and August, and the End Of the Year Report containing the final
grade all the subject. A separate summary of the student’s achievement grade for each of the
subjects will also be recorded in the Subject Grade Achievement Report slip.
There are two types of summative assessment, one that is carried out after every unit (IB)and
the other is implemented at the end of the term and towards the end of the school year(PT3
and SPM). IB Unit assessment records are recorded in the students’ Unit Assessment
Report Slips while the mid-term and end of the year assessments are recorded in students’
Academic Report Books.
Summative Assessment activities
Unit/topic assessments
This is a summative assessment in the form of written tests, written exercises, demonstrations,
multi-media presentations, quiz, essays or projects carried out by individual student or a group
after every unit/topic to assess students’ understanding. Teachers use IB assessments
methodology by means of the standard criteria and descriptors agreed upon. Each of the
strands in the criterion is assessed at least twice a year and preferably at least twice in a
reporting period (term). Students’ achievement levels are recorded and reported in the form of
different level of achievement in each of the four criteria in each subject. The level
descriptions will be attached with the Unit Assessment Report Slip and the Subject Grade
Achievement Report slip .
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Term tests
Term assessments are formally written tests which cover a range of topics that has been taught
in that duration of time, which is normally a few months. These examinations are carried out
to familiarize students with the PT3 and SPM examination format. The instruments can be in
the form of multiple choice questions, short open-ended questions, short and long essays or
cloze test.
There are four main school holidays in a school year, in March, June, September and in
November. Summative assessments similar to PT3 and SPM are carried out twice a year for
the Form One, Two and Three and three times for the Form Four and Five, respectively. The
scopes covered in the term assessments comprise all the topics taught. For instance, for the
Form One and Form Four, all the topics covered, the Form Two all those topics that were
taught in the Form one until the present Form Two, and likewise, the Form Three students
will be tested on all the topics that they have learned in the Form One, Two and Three, and for
the form Five all the topics covered in the Form Four and Form Five.
National level assessment: At Form Three, every student sit for the PT3 examination in
October. The instruments for this assessment are prepared by the Malaysian Examination
Syndicate, but they are administered and evaluated by the teachers in the school. The results
of this assessments will determine the choice of subjects offered to the students in Form
Four.
Trial examination
This is a trial run of the real PT3 and SPM examinations. These exams are prepared for the
Form Three and Form five students and they are administered a few weeks before the real
PT3 and SPM examinations. Such examinations are necessary for monitoring purposes and
marks are submitted to the State Education Department.
IB Summative Assessment
Except for the personal project which will be moderated by the IB assessors, MYP
Assessment is done internally. The IB has provided fixed and clear assessment criteria for
every subject group. Teachers will have to align their assessment instruments and strategies
with the IB MYP subject objectives as well as other related assessment criteria as stipulated
in the relevant IB subject guides.
To fulfil IB requirement, students will also have to carry out Personal projects in Form Four
and Five. Students who are interested to acquire IB assessment certificate are required to
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apply and sit for the E-Assessment. At the moment, the school will not implement the IB EAssessment.
IB Middle Years Programme General Grade Descriptors.
Grade
Descriptor
Grade 1
Minimal achievement in terms of the objectives.
Grade 2
Very limited achievement against all the objectives. The student has difficulty in
understanding the required knowledge and skills and is unable to apply them fully
in normal situations, even with support.
Grade 3
Limited achievement against most of the objectives, or clear difficulties in some
areas. The student demonstrates a limited understanding of the required
knowledge and skills and is only able to apply them fully in normal situations with
support.
Grade 4
A good general understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the
ability to apply them effectively in normal situations. There is occasional evidence
of the skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Grade 5
A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills,
and the ability to apply them in a variety of situations. The student generally shows
evidence of analysis, synthesis and evaluation where appropriate
and occasionally demonstrates originality and insight.
Grade 6
A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and
the ability to apply them in a wide variety of situations. Consistent evidence of
analysis, synthesis and evaluation is shown where appropriate. The
student generally demonstrates originality and insight.
Grade 7
A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and
the ability to apply them almost faultlessly in a wide variety of situations.
Consistent evidence of analysis, synthesis and evaluation is shown where
appropriate. The student consistently demonstrates originality and insight
and always produces work of high quality.
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Standardization Of assessment
The standardization of Summative Assessment will be carried out in February before the
assessment of the first unit. This is to ensure that teachers understand and are able to
standardize the marking and the score based on the level descriptor and task clarification.
After the assessment, the Head Of Department (HoD) will carry out random check on 10% of
the answer scripts or a minimum of 10 sample scripts from the total students’ scripts assessed
by the individual teacher. These scripts are chosen randomly from students with different
scores. If more than 50% of the students’ sample scores differ from the scores given by
HoD, the teacher will have to re check all the answers scripts. The second moderation will
be scheduled within two weeks.
Standardized testing nationwide
At the end of Year 5 (Form 5) students will have to sit for the standardized national
examination, the SPM (Malaysian School Certificate examination). This assessment is aligned
with the national curriculum and teachers will have to get the students adequately prepared to
sit for and do well in this examination.
Recording of students’ progress.
Students’ progress, after every unit assessment, is recorded in their Unit Assessment Report
Slips, and in the end of the year, the final grades of all their subjects are recorded in their
Year End MYP Report Slips. Non IB assessment results, such as the term tests are
recorded in their Academic Report Books. Teachers are required to keep records of the
students’ assessment grades in their files and these are to be accessible to parents or the
school administrators whenever required.
Assessment reporting
Students and parents are informed and updated on the students’ performance and progress.
To implement this, the school provides various avenues to ensure that the information is
disseminated to the parties concerned. This is done through:
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Unit Assessment Report Slips
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Year End MYP Report Slips
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Academic Report Books (for non IB assessments)((f(999(
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Parent-teacher conference/discussion
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