- How do you currently use assessment data in your school, not just for reporting, but to improve teaching and support learners who may be falling behind?
Our school-based assessment data is being used to identify areas for improvement. After identifying the topics where students have low scores, we make strategies for improvement such as conducting remedial classes or peer coaching for the teacher who needs support or changing the class teacher if necessary.
- Can you recall a time when an assessment strategy either unlocked learning or created a challenge? What leadership decisions shaped that outcome?
Yes, some of the recent National Assessment Test (NAT) results have not been very good. Our students could have performed better. As a result, the class teacher has been changed and we are intensifying extra classes for the concerned students. We are organising free evening classes daily as well as weekend classes.
- What steps can you take to foster a school-wide culture of reflective assessment; where feedback, collaboration, and inclusion guide instructional decisions?
Every school is required to conduct School Performance Monitoring Meeting (SPMM), wherein some of the stakeholders reflect on the performance of the students, make action points or strategies for improving student performance, and work towards attaining the set strategies. Our school is doing this every year.
- How can leadership help reduce assessment anxiety among learners and teachers, especially in high-stakes environments like Grade 9 and 12 exams?
By ensuring that they are well prepared for the test. All the affected teachers have to complete the class syllabi before students sit for such assessments. The school would also conduct a timely trial test and all areas where students performed low in the trial would be properly revised
- Are there digital tools or staff support systems you have used (or would like to use) to make assessment more fair, flexible, and learner-friendly, especially in rural or under-resourced schools?
In our rural schools, digital tools for assessment are lacking, but we are working on the staff support systems. We are ensuring that the teachers taking part in supervising assessments like the NAT are well orientated in order to avoid examination malpractice.