Assessment Committee Reports To SchooI Board

Written by Portage la Prairie News Centre

Friday, 11 December 2009


The Portage School Division Board of Trustees gathered yesterday for their last general meeting before the holiday
season.

The event featured a presentation by the School Division's Assessment Steering Committee, made up of Donna
Mueller, Strategic nitiatives Learning Coordinator for the Portage School Division, and Sandy Shaw-Lyons, English
Language-Arts and reading recovery at Yellow Quill School.

They presented a brief history of the committee, which dates back to a strategic planning session in 2007.
The initial goal of the project was to develop a policy on the combined process of assessment, learning, and teaching
for classrooms within the division.

According to the co-chairs the project focuses on two avenues of assessment.
The first, assessment for teachers and students as the users of assessment information.
The second, assessment of the learning itself, used for reporting purposes.

Mueller notes the most intriguing results of the use of assessment information in teaching practice suggests while all
students show an increase in aptitude, it is the perennial low achievers who show the most improvement.
According to the presentation, the committee's goals for the second half the 2009-2010 school year are to promote
assessment for learning throughout the division, and develop and recommend a division-wide plan involving the
implementation of assessment learning practices.

PD events in the coming year include the High School ELA Teachers MECY on February 12th, the division-wide 1/2
day PD on March 19th, and School Team Facilitator Training on May 4th and 5th.



Assessment Committe co-chairs presenting their report to the SchooI Board. From Ieft: Sandi Shaw-Lyons (EngIish
Language-Arts and reading recovery, YeIIow QuiII SchooI) and Donna MueIIer (Strategic Initiatives Learning Coordinator,
Portage SchooI Division).