Before every summative assessment-there are three of them every year- we receive an email from the school reminding us of the philosophy of assessments at Aurinko. I read the email every time to remind myself how different things are at Aurinko and act accordingly.
Nowadays assessments follow us throughout our life. Gone are the days when one thought that once we finished our school and college we are done with exams. Especially in the technology industry, continuous assessments and certifications are a part of life. If you can’t keep up with the trends, you will soon be left behind. Apart from learning, skills like how to learn, self-learning and the ability to do research become equally important. Believe me, there is nothing more irritating than a fresher right out of college whose favorite response is “Can you show me?!”
When I was at school, there were no grades. It was all about marks, percentages, and a class rank. There would be a small 1X1 inch space in the report card for a qualitative feedback from the class teacher which would have comments like “ok”, “fine”, “good”, “v.good”, “excellent”. Does this ring a bell?
How things have changed! At Aurinko, there are no marks, only grades. Even individual answers are not marked but have only qualitative evaluation like “Pretty Comprehensive” and “Somewhat Okay”. Grading is for personal use. A class wise list is never announced. High grades are not celebrated, and low grades are not looked down upon.
Assessments are not a special event and are part of a natural routine. Parents are reminded not to create an air of fear, anxiety, stress or worry of failure. Parents are also reminded not to react to results. This is something that as a parent it takes some doing and not easy at all, at least for me since I grew up in an environment which was so different.
In the term assessment report, apart from the academic core skills feedback, parents also receive graded feedback from each teacher on qualitative elements like,
- Academic Soft Skills (e.g. Academic independence- follows teachers cue to complete a task),
- Social Skills (e.g. Is friendly and follows appropriate social behavior),
- Teamwork (e.g. Participates in peer feedback),
- Thinking (e.g. Open to feedback),
- Self-management (e.g. Expresses emotions),
- Living in the world (eg. awareness- respects privacy of others),
- Approaches to learning (eg. participation in school- enjoys school)
The whole term feedback stretches over 9 pages which shows the commitment of the school and teachers. The parents can then take this feedback and have a discussion with teachers during the PTM meeting. But that’s a whole another blog post!
Have a nice day!
By Anand Bharadwaj
An Aurinko Academy Parent
Recent Comments