Portfolios
Exhibitions
Standardized
Testing
Fenway is a strong advocate
for assessing student performance in a variety of ways: classroom-based
diagnostics, portfolios, project and assignment outcomes, exhibitions, and tests
(standardized and classroom-based). These assessment instruments reflect some
important beliefs about assessment:
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Assessment should be
used for the benefit of the child.
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Assessment should be
intellectually and culturally fair to all students.
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Assessment should
support individual development, not competition for grades.
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Assessment should
reflect the use of good Habits of Mind.
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Assessment should be
based on current understanding of human development, learning styles and
multiples intelligences, and the structure and processes of the brain.
Portfolios
A portfolio is a selected collection of student work, which shows the
student’s efforts, progress, and achievements. Students complete portfolios at
every grade level in all required content areas. Students often participate in
decision-making about the criteria for selecting work to go in the portfolio,
for judging the merit of different pieces, and for evidence of student
self-reflection in the portfolios. The use of portfolios encourages students and
teachers to move beyond a one-shot attempt to come up with a grade, toward
deeper thought about teaching ands learning. Instead of pushing for “one right
answer,” students are asked to think, “What progress did I make in this
area?” and “What do I consider my best work or my greatest challenge?”
Portfolios also show growth over time, provide evidence of rigorous work, and
testify to the development of a student’s individual intellect.
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Exhibitions
An exhibitions is a public demonstrations of a student’s knowledge and
progress in a particular subject area, or the culmination of a project he/she
may have worked on over time, alone or with others. Exhibitions provide
opportunities for students to explain their thinking and actions, and to respond
to audience questions. The interaction with an audience often reveals that
students know more and have done more than they show in the work on display.
An important aspect of the
exhibition process is that it takes the teacher away from the front of the
classroom and puts him/her in the role of coach at the student’s side. In this
relationship, the teacher may discover things about how the student thinks and
works that will prove helpful in building the student’s capacity and
confidence in other classroom activities. Moreover, when the teacher is
supporting the student’s initiative, rather than leading it, the student takes
more responsibility for his/her performance, which makes his/her learning is
deeper, more lasting.
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Standardized
Testing
The standardized tests Fenway students take are the PSAT’s, SAT’s, Stanford
9, the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment), and occasionally, the
TOEFL. Fenway students are given opportunities at the school to prepare for
these tests. Fenway teachers also use a range of classroom tests and quizzes to
check student skills and understanding, and to help in diagnosing learning
styles and challenges.
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