I. Purpose

The purpose of the assessment policy at AECHS is to establish clear guidelines for assessment practices, ensuring fairness, consistency, and transparency in evaluating students' understanding, progress, and achievement. The policy aims to provide feedback to students, parents, and educators to enhance learning outcomes and promote student growth.

II. Principles

1. Fairness and Equity

Assessments will be fair and equitable, catering to the diverse needs of our student body.

2. Continuous Improvement

Assessment practices will be regularly reviewed and improved based on feedback and best practices.

3. Clear Communication

Assessment criteria, expectations, and outcomes will be clearly communicated to students, parents, and educators.

4. Authentic Assessment

Assessments will be designed to reflect real-world applications and promote critical thinking skills.

5. Inclusivity

Accommodations and modifications will be provided for students with documented learning needs to ensure an inclusive assessment environment.

III. Types of Assessments

1. Formative Assessments

Ongoing oral assessments, quizzes, and class participation are employed to gauge student understanding during the learning process.

2. Summative Assessments

Tests at the end of each chapter or topic, as well as mid-year and end-of-year exams, serve as assessments to evaluate overall understanding and mastery of a subject.

VI. Assessment Procedures

Kindergarten (KG)

1. Assessment Criteria

Kindergarten department does not use grades, instead, letters are used to assess the performance of the students. The criteria are as follows:

S = Performing Successfully

P = Making Progress

D = Needs Further Development

NA = Not Assessed at this time of year

The objectives and standards upon which Kindergarten students are assessed are unique for each level. Standards are detailed in the kindergarten report card, where assessments are conducted and reported to parents, along with feedback from teachers for parental consideration.

2. Feedback and Reporting

At AECHS, Kindergarten students receive feedback through various age-appropriate methods that focus on positive reinforcement and constructive guidance. Some common ways used for our kindergarten students are:

a. Feedback in the classroom

· Verbal Feedback: Teachers often provide verbal feedback directly to students, praising their efforts, acknowledging achievements, and offering gentle guidance for improvement.

· Visual Cues: Teachers use visual cues such as stickers, smiley faces, or other simple symbols to visually reinforce positive behavior or achievements.

· Written Notes: Simple written notes or comments may be included when needed on students' work to highlight specific strengths or suggest areas for improvement. These notes may be directed towards both academic and behavioral aspects.

· Interactive Activities: Feedback can be integrated into interactive activities, where students engage in hands-on learning experiences (both in languages and extracurricular activities) and receive guidance in real-time.

· Praise and Encouragement: Positive reinforcement, such as verbal praise and encouragement, is a crucial aspect of feedback for kindergarten students. This helps build confidence and motivation.

b. Feedback through Report Cards

· Group Discussions: Teachers facilitate group discussions to provide feedback collectively, especially feedback provided in the report cards.

· Individual Conferencing: In some cases, teachers may engage in one-on-one conferences with Kindergarten students and parents, discussing their progress, areas of strength, and areas that may need improvement. These conferences can be personalized and focused on the individual needs of each student.

· Report cards are issued to parents three times a year. Students are assessed based on the standards outlined in the report card, encompassing skills for language, numeracy, social-emotional learning, behavior and attitude, fine and gross motor skills, creativity and imagination, as well as independence and self-care.

3. Grading System

Each subject or activity covered in KG has a specific rubric with age-appropriate skills to be achieved.

KG teachers assist students in mastering those skills through various age-appropriate activities and evaluate them based on the assessment criteria specifically set for the KG.

4. Special Accommodations

The KG department has a full-time special educator, a part-time clinical psychologist, as well as psychomotor and speech therapists. Teachers play an important role in observing students and referring those with difficulties to the Head of Department, who in turn discusses the issue with the special educator and/or clinical psychologist to make the necessary observations and document the results. Afterwards, the HOD contacts the parents to cooperatively have the student join the Special Education Department.

Some of the common difficulties that the KG department observes in students and works on are as follows:

· Stude nts with learning difficulties (specifically in written language) and difficulties in oral language.

· Students with psychomotor difficulties (neurodevelopmental disorders: intellectual disabilities, hyperactivity, ADHD, communication disorder)

· Students with behavioral disorders (aggression, hyperactivity, oppositional disorder, conduct disorder) and psychological disorders.

· Students in need of an individualized educational program (IEP)

5. Entrance Exams for New Students

For the entrance exams, KG students are interviewed by the Head of Department.

Elementary and Secondary Department

1. Assessment Criteria

· The assessment criteria at AECHS for Elementary and Secondary students for academic subjects are as follows:

- Considering that our tests and exams are usually out of 100, a grade of 100 is deemed Excellent, except for Grade 9 and 12 as they follow the government grading system.

- Grades between 90-99 are considered Very Good

- Grades between 80-89 are considered Good

- Grades between 70-79 are considered Fair

- Grades between 60-69 are considered In Need of Improvement

- Grades below 60 are considered a Fail

· The assessment criteria at AECHS for Elementary and Secondary students for extracurricular activities are as follows:

In Sports, Dance, Drawing, Singing, and Robotics, a student is assigned an "A," "B,", "C", or “D” grade, with "A" representing the highest grade. These grades are not factored into the overall average.

A = Excellent

B = Very good

C = Good

D = Need Assessment

· Another criterion considered is the rubric, primarily used for writing practices, projects, oral presentations, and group work. Rubrics come in various forms and include distinct performance criteria based on the specific assignment.

· Assessments will be aligned with curriculum objectives and standards. These will be communicated to students in advance. Before any summative assessment, students will have a revision period during which teachers will outline the objectives and standards against which they will be evaluated.

2. Feedback and Reporting

a. Feedback through Oral and Written Communication (Orals, Quizzes, Tests and Classwork)

· Timely and constructive feedback will be provided to students to facilitate learning and improvement. Quizzes and test papers should not take more than 4 days to be corrected and handed to students.

· Test papers include not only the grade achieved by the student but also feedback from the teacher. Feedback is also given for the effort made by the students, not just the achievement.

b. Assessment Review

· After students receive the test paper, they, along with the teacher, will correct the test in the classroom. This allows students to reflect on their answers and provides an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

· Following the correction in the classroom, tests are then placed in the office secondary assessments and with the Head of the Elementary Department for elementary assessments. This facilitates a review process involving the subject coordinator, Head of Department, Academic Director, and the School Principal. During this phase, the administration examines students' grades, may comment on class averages or the number of students below average, and might inquire with the teacher about reasons in the event of a low average. In such cases, the teacher might be asked to reexplain concepts and repeat the test.

· Students have the right to review and discuss their assessments with teachers for better understanding and improvement. For Elementary students, the review process occurs directly after the test is corrected by the teacher. For Secondary students, the review process takes place after the corrected test is seen and approved by the administration.

· This process takes some time before test papers are sent home. However, parents will be able to view their child's grade on E-skool, where all the grades are reported.

c. Feedback through Report Cards

· Progress reports will be issued to parents four times a year, highlighting areas of strength and improvement. At the end of the first term in November, parents visit the school to receive their children's grade cards. During this time, they have the opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns with teachers. Simultaneously, the Heads of the Elementary and Secondary Departments review the grades and engages with students who may require motivation and encouragement to enhance their performance in the upcoming second term.

· The second term includes mid-year exams. Following these exams, parents receive grades through E-Skool without a general meeting. However, the HODs review the grades and arrange individual meetings with parents of students facing challenges or in need of improvement. The aim is to discuss the reasons behind their difficulties and explore ways in which the school can support the students in improving their academic progress.

· The third term concludes in mid-April, with parents receiving grade cards through E-Skool. Students are motivated by their Homeroom teacher or the HOD to excel, and those performing well are also encouraged.

· By mid-June, the academic year concludes, and the report cards are given to parents in the presence of their children during a general meeting. This meeting also includes the distribution of end-of-year awards. These awards include Top Academic Achievement Award, Service Award and Conduct Award.

· Parents and teachers are encouraged to schedule appointments with the HOD throughout the year to meet with any teacher/parent and discuss their child's progress

3. Grading System

· Oral assessments, quizzes, projects, and presentations are scored at varied levels, sometimes ranging from 10, 20, 25, to 50, based on the content. If the content is minimal, the quiz is scored out of 10, with the value increasing as the content becomes more substantial.

· AECHS employs a standardized grading system for tests and exams to ensure a fair representation of student achievement. All subjects are scored out of 100, except for Grade 9 and 12 students, who follow the government grading system.

· The grades reported on the report cards involve a combination of formative and summative assessments, including oral tests, writing practices, spelling quizzes, general quizzes, tests, and class participation. The percentage by which the grade of each subject is calculated varies across different subjects. Further details can be found in the Departmental Handbook.

· Students at AECHS are also given a qualitative conduct assessment based on a specific set of criteria.

Exemptions from Mid-Year an End of Year Exams

· To encourage students to learn consistently, take their lessons seriously, and strive for excellence, AECHS administration has considered providing exemptions from exams for students in Grades 5 to 8, 10, and 11. This exemption is contingent upon students achieving a specific score unique to each subject. The required scores are listed below.

· It is important to note that students in Grades 1 to 4 continue with their regular classes and do not participate in both exams. Students in Grades 9 and 12 are not exempted from exams as they have governmental official exams at the end of the year.

THE REQUIRED SCORES FOR EXEMPTED STUDENTS

4. Special Accommodations

The school is committed to creating an inclusive assessment environment.

Elementary and Intermediate Departments

Students who have documented learning needs will get the necessary help and support when taking tests. This help is listed on a checklist called "Accommodations in Quizzes/Tests." The checklist is available in the special education department. The teacher responsible for the accommodations fills out the checklist, and after the test, it is attached to the test paper. This way, both the teacher and the parent can see the special accommodations that were provided for that specific test.

Secondary Department

In our school, secondary department does not receive any modification.

5. Academic Integrity 
   Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity, and cheating is strictly prohibited. Any student caught cheating receives a zero on the assessment.
6. Entrance Exams for New Students

For the entrance exams, Grade 1 students are interviewed by the Head of Department, Grade 2 to 11 students will sit for an entrance exam before registration.

For Lower Elementary, the exam will include an oral and a basic written exam.

For Higher Elementary, there will be written exams in the following subjects: Arabic Language, English Language, and Mathematics.

For all Secondary grades, there will be written exams: Arabic Language, English Language, Mathematics, and Sciences (1 questionnaire that has 3 different parts including Biology, Physics, and Chemistry)

Students applying to the Grade 7 will be exempted from the science entrance exam.

Students applying to the Grade 12 will have an entrance exam according to the section they have chosen:

General Sciences: Arabic, English, Math, Physics

Life Science: Arabic, Biology, English, Math

Sociology and Economics:  Arabic, English, Math

7. Credits, Class Promotion and Make-up Exams

The system where students progress from one grade to another is based on the accumulation of credits. If a student fails in more than one subject, so that the accumulated number of credits exceeds 3, they fail and have to repeat their class.

However, failure in less than 3 credits, allows the students to sit for make-up exams.

The credits are distributed as follows:

Math                    1

Arabic                   1

Chemistry            ½

Physics                 ½                ½ or 1, depending on the grade level

Biology                ½

English                 1

Armenian             1

Bible                     1

Philosophy          ½

Economics          ½            ½ or 1, depending on the grade level

Social sciences   ½

This approach allows for more flexibility and recognizes students’ achievements in individual subjects rather than solely relying on overall academic performance.

· A student will repeat a class if failed subjects contribute to a total weight of more than 3 points or if the overall yearly average is below 60.

· Make-up exams are typically conducted in early September.

· The make-up grade will be considered the initial grade for the subject in the following academic year.

· If a student is absent from a make-up exam without a reasonable excuse, he will receive a grade of zero.

· If a student repeats a class twice, they will be required to continue their academic progression elsewhere.

8. Policy Review

The assessment policy will be reviewed yearly to ensure its relevance and effectiveness.