Hi,  I hope everyone is well!

 

I have a seminar regarding assessment and I would like to bring up some examples from current foreign countries.  This may help me compare and contrast the type of assessment held by several countries. 

 

I need some information about when students start to be formally assessed at your schools.  Also I�d appreciate it if I get  to know the type of assessment used.

 

I would appreciate some examples of testing used for students in their first years of primary school.

 

much obliged

 

best regards

 

carmen sammut

 

In Canada, each province is responsible for its education system. 

 

In Quebec, kindergarten is not mandatory but almost all kids that age go. The report card is mostly an assessment of social skills more than knowledge. They don �t have exams.

 

When they enter grade 1 (6 years old), students are officially assessed 3 times a year: November, March and June. 

Hi Carmen,

 

In Poland, children start education in schools at the age of six (this year it will be back to seven due to nut case conservatists in power). For the first three years they have one teacher who teaches them everything plus a foreign language teacher (in most cases it �s English language). Assessment would initially be related to recognition of words, reaction to commands (TPR) etc. , only later to their production as in the first grade many children will not read or write. So assessment will be of oral skills, coloring, joining etc. Later on perhaps range of vocabulary could be judged. Even later on in primary school, free writing will not be evaluated harshly as the students are expected to produce only short texts like notes, short emails, announcements etc.A2 level.

 

The only official state exam at English primary school students take is the school leaving exam at the age of 12. It �s kind of similar to YLE Flyers (since the instructions are in Polish it is probably not much use for you). Some teachers also encourage students to take YLE exams in Poland at lower levels (Starters, Movers) - they are quite popular  easpecially in big cities.

 

As far as feedback that students and their parents get, the youngest ones (during the first three years of their education) don �t get numerical grades throughout the semester, but whatever the teacher sees fit - so "smileys", "suns" etc" and at the end of the semester and of the year the parents get descriptive feedback. Older students - classes 4 to 6 - get numerical marks from 1 (the worst/F) to 6 (excellent).

Hope that helps :)