Assessment is seen as an integral element in the teaching/learning process. It is not an end in itself. OSC’s assessment procedures are based upon current educational philosophy and directly related to the school curriculum.

Assessment at OSC is continuous and cumulative. Its purpose is to:

• Enable staff, students and parents to see the degree to which the concepts, knowledge and skills required by various subject syllabi have been mastered with a view towards judging the student’s own progress against his/her own performance on similar tasks.
• Enable the teacher to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of teaching programmes, assist in the diagnosis of student strengths and weaknesses and provide relevant information about the variety of learning situations which are used to help students experience success.
• Encourage students to reach achievable goals and provide them with a sense of success and an indication of their potential in various learning areas.

Click here to learn more about the IB assessment process

International Schools’ Assessment
Standardised testing is used to assess our curriculum against world standards. The school introduced the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) in 2004/05. In October 2010, Grades 3-9 participated in the ISA assessment; the results will be with the school by the end of January 2011. More information about ISA can be found at: www.acer.edu.au

OSC reporting schedule
Our reporting schedule for the school year is as follows:

• November: Three-way conferences
• December: Semester 1 report
• March: Three-way conferences
• May: Student-led conferences
• June: Semester 2 report

Three-way conferences These are usually formal and designed for students to be the centre of discussion involving their progress with their parents. Students focus on what they have achieved and the goal-setting process. Teachers and parents are then given the opportunity to highlight the student’s achievements and to determine how they can best help the student to meet goals at school and at home.

Student-Led conferences These are formal conferences where children are involved in discussing their work and their progress with their parents. The children will, with the support and guidance of the teacher, select the work (based on predetermined criteria) to be discussed. These conferences enable the children to reflect on and consolidate their progress and share the responsibility of informing their parents.

The PYP Exhibition All Grade 5 students engage in one unit of inquiry entitled “The Exhibition” as part of their six units of inquiry throughout the year. The subject of the exhibition inquiry is a real-world issue or problem, local or global, which is of sufficient scope and significance to warrant an extended investigation. The class will generate relevant and realistic proposals for solutions to the selected issue and in doing so students apply their learning of previous years. The PYP Exhibition provides the culminating experience of the learner’s engagement with the PYP and marks a rite of passage, both symbolic and actual, from the PYP to the Middle Years Programme (MYP).