Assessment Philosophy and Policy:
The Hebrew word tfilah (to pray) literally means “to judge oneself.” Inner reflection and self-feedback are at the core of what it means to be a Jew. Every day we look inside ourselves to see what we have accomplished. We evaluate our strengths, weaknesses and what we hope to achieve. As MJDS parents and educators, we value constructive feedback to promote the growth of students, faculty and families. This assessment philosophy provides a foundation for a formal structure of the school’s assessment processes.
Teachers and administrators will use the following information as a resource and foundation to demonstrate that the different dimensions of assessment are based on a well thought-out philosophy established by teachers, administrators, parents and board members. This document will be used to educate parents and the MJDS community regarding the variety of assessment tools and processes used to evaluate a child’s achievement. It also will serve as a guide to the entire faculty, as they continue to develop new and varied assessment strategies. In turn, administrators will use this document as a basis for discussions with teachers to facilitate a varied approach to assessment.
Tools of Assessment: Assessment is ongoing, takes a variety of forms, and looks at the whole child.
- Performance-based Evaluation – Teacher evaluation of a student’s writing, projects, math, reading strategies, presentations, tests, etc. provides each student with immediate feedback regarding their understanding of new material and their ability to apply what they have learned.
- Informal Observation – Informal observation by professional staff provides a valuable tool in assessing students’ performance. It should occur throughout the year and be incorporated into a student’s portfolio.
- Self Evaluation – Student reflection about strategies for studying, approaching projects, and knowing how they learn is an important part of assessment. Self reflection provides students the opportunity to evaluate their awareness of where they are in the learning process and demonstrate their strategies for problem solving.
- Portfolios – Student portfolios provide students an opportunity to evaluate their own work and reflect upon their accomplishments.
Progress Reports: Progress reports integrate information from performance-based evaluation, informal observation, self-evaluation and student portfolios to describe where a student is on a developmental continuum. Each student’s achievements are measured against age appropriate benchmarks specific to each grade level.
Additional Assessment Tools: Other forms of assessment are used at the school to measure our students’ achievement relative to other student populations and to identify students with special needs.
- Standardized Tests – Standardized tests provide a means to measure our students’ abilities and how their achievements compare to other student populations. The test should be as closely aligned to our curriculum as possible, without sacrificing its applicability as a measure of MJDS student performance relative to other populations.
- Child Study – Feedback from assessment will be used to evaluate each student’s strengths and weaknesses and determine the need for individual education plans and resource support.
Student Performance Will Be Communicated Using The Following Mechanisms:
- Goal setting conferences will be held early in the academic year. Progress towards attainment of a student’s goals will be reviewed during conferences and at other times during the year.
- Parent/Teacher and Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will be held during the school year to evaluate a student’s performance.
- Progress reports will be sent home during the academic year to communicate a student’s achievements.
- Students will create portfolios and exhibitions of their work during the school year, which will provide them the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate the quality of their own work on a regular basis.
- Teachers and parents will be provided and opportunity to review student portfolios and exhibitions at conferences.
- Informal parent/student/teacher interactions will be conducted throughout the year.
- Students will be provided opportunities to demonstrate proficiency during school programs that grow out of the curriculum.
- Standardized test results will be communicated by a home report that includes appropriate explanations to help parents and students interpret the results and put them in context.
- For students with Individualized Plans, conferences will be held with appropriate professionals during the school year to track a student’s progress.
Calendar for Reporting Progress:
- Fall Conferences will be held in mid-October. At this time parents will review portfolios and will be able to hear about their child’s initial progress. Together with teachers who have begun to know your students, goals for the coming year will be established.
- In January, progress reports will be mailed to families.
- In March, Spring Conferences will be held. Grade 1-6 parents will again review portfolios and will speak with teachers about progress towards goals set in the fall. Final plans for the last quarter of the year will be set.
- In April, standardized tests will be administered in grades 3-6.
- Following the end of the school year, final progress reports will be mailed to parents.
Age-Based Developmental Benchmarks:
In Kindergarten, students gain confidence, learn to respect others, and develop a love for learning. Our classrooms are nurturing, child-centered environments where learning is hands-on and creative. Our curriculum integrates all areas of study including math, language arts, science, social studies, Hebrew, and Judaica.
Five Year Olds:
- Like routines and rules
- Learn best through play and action
- Do not use logic in their thought processes
- Are literal; there is often only one way to do things
- Are seldom able to see things from another’s point of view
- Think out loud
- Develop language through dramatic play
Five Year Olds Transitioning to Six:
- Test authority and limits, yet are tentative
- Can be wonderful at home and terrible at school, or vice versa
- Learn well from direct experience
- Need time to try out their own ways of doing things
- Are physically restless
- Can be oppositional; are not sure whether to be good or misbehave
The mission of the Grade One-Two Team is to nurture the intellectual, emotional, social, and physical growth of each child. Our responsibility is to create a developmentally appropriate setting that prepares students for success in school and active participation in their communities. Our two-year curriculum cycle teaches the skills of reading and writing (in both English and Hebrew) and math while exploring the exciting topics listed later in the curriculum maps.
Six Year Olds:
- Thrive on encouragement; failure is hard
- Want to be first; are competitive and enthusiastic
- Like surprises and treats
- Learn best through discovery
- Enjoy process more than product
- Often try more than they can accomplish yet are proud of how much they get done
- Are extremely sensitive
- Can be bossy, teasing, and/or critical of others
- Use tantrums, teasing, bossing, complaining, and tattling as ways of trying out relationships with authority
Seven Year Olds:
- Like one-on-one conversation
- Are precise talkers and good listeners
- Like to work slowly and alone
- Enjoy repeating tasks
- Want to discover how things work; like to take things apart
- Feel more comfortable when they can finish work they begin
- Want their work to be perfect
- Love to ask questions
- Like new games and ideas
We believe that 3rd and 4th graders are “works in progress.” These students have already learned to read and are now reading to learn. During these two years, students develop and demonstrate growth in organizational skills, independent learning, and becoming more responsible members of their classroom communities. At the same time that we cultivate academic and moral growth, we still see and appreciate the innocence, excitement, and love that these students bring to the classroom.
The interdependence of climate, living things, and the environment is a focus of study for the third and fourth grade team. In third grade the focus is phenology and in the fourth grade it is geography. These themes are integrated into our literature, writing, science, math social studies, Judaic, and Hebrew curricula.
Eight Year Olds:
- Are humorous and gregarious
- Like to work cooperatively
- Are industrious but often work quickly
- Listen, but are so full of ideas they cannot always recall what others have said
- Possess a growing sense of moral responsibility; fairness is becoming a crucial issue
- Have trouble knowing limits; exaggerate their own ability
- Are talkative
- Enjoy responsibility, though they are not always successful with responsibility given to them
Nine Year Olds:
- Are descriptive
- Are highly competitive
- Are industrious and self-critical
- Take pride in finished work; show attention to detail but jump quickly between interests
- Like to negotiate
- Can be impatient, self aware, and anxious
- Begin to form cliques
- Have a tendency to give up; second chances are very important
- Often have physical complaints; some are real and some are exaggerated
In Grades Five and Six, we address student needs as they make the transition from concrete learning to abstract thinking. We emphasize research and study skills, which are critical to life-long learning. In fifth grade, the main theme in both social studies and Judaic studies is, that while we have many rights, we also have great responsibilities and the two go hand in hand. The two main themes in sixth grade are freedom, both spiritual and physical, and ecology.
Ten Year Olds:
- Are expressive and talkative; they like to explain things
- Generally like rules and logic
- Need outdoor time and physical challenge
- Are able to concentrate (read) for extended periods of time
- Are good problem solvers
- Are both cooperative and competitive
- Are quick to anger and quick to forgive
- Love serving in the role of teacher for younger children
- Enjoy being noticed and rewarded for their efforts
Eleven Year Olds:
- Prefer new tasks and experiences over reflection or revision of previous work
- Love to argue
- Are better able to think abstractly
- Possess an increased ability to see the world from various perspectives
- Can be impulsive, rude, unaware, and self-absorbed
- Have a great desire to test limits
- Love the challenge of competition, prefer team sports
- Are restless and in constant motion
- Like work that feels grown up
