Assessment of students' learning and progress is an integral part of a teacher’s daily work, as students come with a wide variety of needs and skills. Assessment is a complex process that involves teacher expertise, considering curriculum requirements, student engagement and parental expectations. The Seine River School Division has produced a number of assessment snapshots called Changing Learning and Assessment Practice that should help parents make sense of the assessment language:

• What is the Difference between Assessment
  and Evaluation?
• Communication to Improve Student Learning
• Assessment, Grades and Report Cards
• Student Engagement in the Assessment Process
• Written Reporting: The role of parents/guardians in the assessment process
• Improving Student Learning through Descriptive Feedback
• Formative and Summative Assessments
• Grading and Student Motivation
• Assessing all Learners
• Celebrating your Child’s Success

In Seine River School Division, we have three reporting periods for K-8 schools (November, March and June) and four reporting periods for high schools (November, January, March, June). Parent-Teacher conferences, sometimes student-led, take place in November and in March. During student-led conferences, students share their learning progress, and identify and reflect upon learning goals with the support of their teacher and parents.

The provincial report card is used by all schools grades 1-12. Our Kindergarten/Maternelle students receive a divisionally created report card that is modelled after the Gr. 1 provincial report card. The report card is one piece of information about your child’s learning and is meant to summarize some key parts of learning progress in a brief report. Meaningful conversations about a child’s progress should be taking place between parents and teachers throughout the school year. Manitoba Education has developed a website with concise information for parents about expected learning outcomes at each grade K-12. See the My Child in School website at http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/mychild/index.html.For more information about assessment practices in Seine River School Division, parents are encouraged to talk with their teacher or administrator, read our Assessment and Reporting Policy and Regulation under section IK in the policy section of this website or access Manitoba Education information on assessment at http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/index.html. Manitoba Education provides parent brochures for the grades 3, 4, 7, and 8 provincial assessments on their website.