Assessment and evaluation at Weston C.I. reflects the Ministry of Education Growing Success document. Students will be evaluated according to Achievement Chart categories: Knowledge/ Understanding, Thinking/Inquiry, Communication and Application/ Making Connections. Each category has four levels of achievement. There are subject specific Ministry curriculum documents which clearly outline the overall and specific expectations for each course by unit/strand.
ACHIEVEMENT & ATTENDANCE
Regular attendance is essential for optimal learning. It is the student's responsibility to inform the teacher beforehand, of any anticipated absences (i.e. field trips, sports, and medical appointments).
REPORTING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
A student's final grade for each course will be obtained by weighing the final evaluations (examinations and/or culminating activities) 30% and the term evaluations 70%.
DUE DATES AND LATE SUBMISSION
The due date is the date that the student’s work must be submitted if it is to be marked without penalty. The ultimate deadline is the day after which the student’s work will not be marked. If an assignment is submitted after the ultimate deadline the teacher will give the student feedback on the work, but the work may not receive a mark. A mark of “0” may be given for student work submitted after the ultimate deadline based on the teacher’s professional judgement and interpretation of evidence. The ultimate deadline will be set using the professional judgement of the teacher(s), and all students taking the same course will have the same ultimate deadline for common assignments.
In accordance with the Ministry of Education‘s Assessment and Evaluation document, Growing Success (2010), consequences will be applied to students for not completing assignments or for submitting late assignments. Teachers are to exercise their professional judgement and work in consultation with administration in exceptional circumstances.
PERFORMANCE TASKS AS A PART OF TERM WORK
Any performance-based task may be given a mark of “0” if the student is not ready at the time of the performance. Penalties for non-performance should be clearly stated in the assignment when it is given to the students. If there are no specific performance-based instructions the school’s regular late submission policy will apply. Any exceptions to this rule will involve the teacher’s professional judgement and interpretation of evidence.
MISSED TESTS WITH ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION
If a student misses a test and provides an acceptable note of excusal (i.e medical note), the expectation is that the student will find the teacher on the first day that the student returns to school, regardless of the day in the school cycle and arrange with the teacher an alternative evaluation date.
MISSED TESTS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION
A mark of “0” may be given to a student who misses a test without acceptable documentation. Acceptable documentation must include the reason for absence and date, as well as specifying the parent/guardian/caregiver is aware that a test has been missed. It is the student’s responsibility to find out what they missed and complete missed work and assignments during their absence.
FORESEEN ABSENCES ON THE DAY OF AN EVALUATION
If a student knows that he/she/they will be missing an evaluation due to a school sanctioned event or for another acceptable foreseen reason, notice must be given to the teacher as soon as the student is aware of the activity/event and an alternative evaluation date should be determined at that time.
FINAL (Culminating) EVALUAIONS
Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation, (performance tasks, in-class summatives, essays, exams and/or other methods of evaluation suitable to the course content) administered at or towards the end of the course. The final evaluation allows the student an opportunity to demonstrate comprehensive achievement of the overall expectations of the course. All missed final evaluations, regardless of format, will require a medical note which will be verified by administration.
In accordance with the Ministry of Education‘s Assessment and Evaluation document, Growing Success (2010), consequences will be applied to students for not completing assignments or for submitting late assignments.
EXAMINATION POLICY
It is the responsibility of every student to write their examination at the time and place stated on the schedule. The only exception to this rule is severe illness, substantiated by a medical note, submitted to the Main Office (the note will be verified), stating the student was too ill to write the exam. For students who legitimately miss exams (due to severe illness, supported with a doctor's note), the missed exam will be subject to a “fair” replacement mark at the teacher’s discretion based on professional judgement in consultation with Administration.
Vacations and other trips are not valid reasons for missing examinations. Failure to write an examination will result in a mark of zero. No examination will be changed from the final printed schedule for any reason. If a student is late, they must report immediately to the examination room. Late students will be given the balance of the examination time only. Students who arrive after the examination time has expired will receive a mark of zero.
REPORTING ON LEARNING SKILLS
In addition to earning a mark on the report card, Learning Skills will be evaluated by each classroom teacher. The Learning Skills are: Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative, Self-Regulation. The learning skills are evaluated using a four-point scale: E for Excellent, G for Good, S for Satisfactory, and N for Needs Improvement. The evaluation of Learning Skills may be derived from the work done on curriculum expectations and/or through measurement vehicles specifically designed for the evaluation of learning skills. Such evaluations are not to be considered in the determination of the final grade in the course, unless embedded as part of the course's expectations, as outlined in the relevant Ministry of Education curriculum policy documents.
ACADEMIC HONESTY (Plagiarism)
Honesty is essential for the academic integrity of our school. One form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Plagiarism is usually defined as presenting someone else’s words and ideas as one’s own. It can take many forms, including the following:
- submitting an essay/assignment written by someone else, e.g., buying an essay online,
- downloading an essay from a website, AI generated, having someone else do an assignment, or copying or using work done by another student (including homework),
- piecing together material from one or several sources and adding only linking sentences,
- quoting or paraphrasing material without citing the source of that material, including books, magazines, journals, websites, newspapers, television programs, radio programs, movies,
- videos, photographs, and drawings in print or electronic form,
- copying and pasting from the Internet or other electronic sites without citing the source; and not providing quotation marks for direct quotations—even if the sources have been cited.
To ensure academic honesty and avoid instances of plagiarism, teachers will:
- define plagiarism, and teach students the research skills that help them avoid plagiarizing (evaluating sources, note making, paraphrasing, proper citing of sources) so that students increase skills and confidence in submitting their own work for evaluation,
- clearly inform students of the consequences of plagiarism in the course outline distributed at the beginning of the course,
- use a variety of resources to assist in the instruction of research skills,
- create research assignments and tests that involve higher-order critical thinking and that engage students, therefore reducing the opportunities for students to plagiarize,
- structure major research assignments so that process steps in completing the assignment (bibliographies, thesis statement, outline, notes, drafts) are required of students and are assessed,
- give students time to work on the assignment occasionally in class so that the teacher can assess, on an ongoing basis, the research skills students are developing, and can provide support as needed,
- apply the procedures for dealing with instances of plagiarism consistently and fairly.
Schools currently have the option of using a plagiarism detection service offered through Turnitin to confirm the originality of the work assignments submitted by students in the classroom. (See Operational Procedure PR.590)
To ensure academic honesty and avoid instances of plagiarism, students are expected to:
- seek clarification from teachers about what constitutes plagiarism,
- seek remediation when their research skills are deficient,
- understand the penalties for academic dishonesty and plagiarism; and
- ensure that all their work is original and that they cite sources accurately and consistently.
CONSEQUENCES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY/PLAGIARISM
When plagiarism is detected, the following process is to be followed:
- When a teacher comes across evidence of plagiarism, the teacher will discuss the matter with the student(s) involved.
- the teacher will inform the Vice Principal with specific details regarding the plagiarized assignment; and the teacher will inform the parent(s)/guardian, document, and inform the Vice Principal
- A mark of zero will be awarded for the assignment in question, as there has been no evidence that the student has demonstrated research skills required to demonstrate achievement of the course expectation.
- At the discretion of the teacher, there may be an opportunity at another time for the student to demonstrate evidence of proper research skills.
- Depending on the nature of the offence, the student’s other teachers should be alerted.
The severity of the offence and the number and nature of previous offences will be considered when determining the consequences of second, and any subsequent, offences. All students accused of plagiarism have the right to appeal the teacher’s decision to the Vice Principal. Students may appeal their case to the Vice Principal only after they have first discussed the matter with their course teacher.
For a copy of the Procedure on Academic Honesty PR613: Go to TDSB website at www.tdsb.on.ca . Click on “About Us” tab. Select and click on “Policies, Procedures and Forms”. Select “PR613”