2007 / 2008

Student Progress: An Overview

Assessment for students in grades 7 to 9 – key stage 3 – should be consistent with the assumptions made about the maturation of students at this age as this theory informs the foundation of the curriculum for this age group. At Korean International School it is assumed that evaluation – how progress will be measured – is a determining factor in directing student learning and clearly specifying what counts for marks shows what is really valued by the teachers. For these important reasons there should be transparency when teachers assign work – students should know before grading what criteria will be used to measure performance and what different levels of performance are set by the teacher. It is best education practice for teachers to specify the evaluation criteria set in the form of rubrics – a list of what properties will be measured and the relative value of each property. By making the rubrics public, teachers will inform students about where to focus as they perform tasks that have been set.

Assessment: Lower Secondary

The grading system in grades 7 to 9 is qualitatively different from that in the upper high school in that students assessment is based more on performance and its relation to set standards specified in the National Curriculum than it is on a syllabus specifying subject content as is true in the upper grades 10 to 12. The following table gives a general breakdown of the different components that will be measured in the courses offered and the relative importance of each as indicated by the % weight assigned to that component. This is done in the form of weighting ranges to allow teachers to construct evaluation that is relevant to their course. Once this specific breakdown has been determined, each teacher will inform students and parents of the weighting for that course by issuing a printed version of a course outline. Over a term, the weighting may be adjusted to account for changes and revised versions of course outlines will be published on the school website when modifications have been made by the teacher.

The British National Curriculum prescribes the concepts that form the structure of each subject area and what outcomes should result if a student understands and can competently apply those concepts. By selecting course materials that were produced to meet the objectives of the National Curriculum, parents can be assured that Korean International School features a program of studies that is what it claims to be. To ensure that evaluation focuses on the required outcomes, teachers use support materials designed by the Cambridge Lower Secondary Programme as Korean International School is a certified member of that programme and all teacher-designed materials are built from the ground up using the curriculum specified by the National Curriculum. To clarify the outcomes evaluated by each task used by a teacher, these are listed at the beginning of all assessment material given to students.

Grading Student Progress:

Given the Asian context of Korean International School, care has been taken to design a grading and reporting system that makes student progress clear – more detailed and specific than is often the case. This change in reporting grades has been done to meet the expressed demands of our clients who find broad, general descriptions of progress difficult to interpret. A system of grading should reflect the developmental level of students at key stage 3. Consistent with the philosophy of the British National Curriculum and revisions made in other countries, it is now common practice to report student progress in terms that generally outline the competence of students, but at Korean International School this is supplemented with letter grades that have a broad percentage band linked to them, again to meet the demands of our clients. The unique grading system developed for Korean International School is outlined in the table below:

Student Progress: Upper Secondary: A Credit System

From August 2007, students will take subjects In the high school – key stage 4 - graduation from Korean International School is based on internally determined grades in 16 cores subjects – mathematics, science, English and social studies in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. Where students transfer from another school, transfer credit will be issued for any of the first 12 core subjects that have been passed but no grade 12 subjects can be transferred, meaning that the minimum of time a student must spend in the school to graduate is one year and all grade 12 core subjects must be passed for the student to be issued a graduation diploma.

This table clearly outlines the core and optional subjects by grade level that will be offered to students in grades 9 to 12 in the 2007 – 2008 school year.

• ^a 9-1 indicates an advanced level subject at the grade 9 level, 9-2 indicates a normal level subject and 9-3 shows the subject is for students taking English as a Second Language [ESL].

• ^b10-2 indicates an English for Speakers of Other Languages [ESOL] course.

• ^cGrade 12 subjects that follow a curriculum prescribed for the SAT subject tests.

• ^dEnglish combined with TOEFL and IELTS preparation integrated into it.

August 20 2007.