Pinckneyville Middle School

IB Assessments

At Pinckneyville Middle School we recognize that students learn in different ways, and in keeping with a holistic view of education, we think it is important to provide a variety of different ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned. This is the guiding principle of MYP assessment.

Assessment in the IB MYP at Pinckneyville is:

1. Varied in approach - Students should be assessed in a variety of different ways: written assignments, oral presentations, field work, practical work, role-play, debates, exhibitions, performance, tests and examinations, research papers, peer and self-assessment.

2. Formative as well as summative - Formative assessment means that students will be given assessed feedback on their work to help them improve it. They will also be involved in this assessment, perhaps through assessing their peers or even themselves. Summative assessment is a terminal activity usually assessed by the teacher, often graded tasks for the report cards.

3. Criterion-related, not deficit-based - Assessment will not be based on how many questions can a student answer or what percentage have they achieved but rather what skills have they learned or what level of understanding can they demonstrate. Assessment is criteria-related so that students are assessed against published, agreed learning objectives.

Awarding Grades
Every subject has four criteria. Each criterion is worth up to 8 points. Descriptions of those criteria can be found below. 

Arts: Band, Orchestra, Chorus, Visual Art

Design: Computer Science, Media Arts, Engineering, Music Tech, Communications

Physical and Health Ed: PE, Health, JLC

For each assessment criterion within each subject, a number of band descriptors are defined. These describe a range of achievement levels with the lowest represented as 0 and the highest as 8. The descriptors concentrate on positive achievement, although difficulty to achieve may be included in the description for the lower levels.

It is crucial for parents and students to discuss each subject area’s individual criteria. Each criterion describes a student’s strengths and weaknesses, facilitating an awareness of where to feel confident or where to strive for better results. At the end of each term, a general achievement level out of 8 is provided for each subject on the IB MYP report card.

Final Grade Descriptors

7-8 = Always produces work of an excellent quality by fully meeting specific subject criteria. A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them almost faultlessly in a wide variety of situations. Consistent evidence of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation where appropriate. The student consistently demonstrates originality and insight and always produces work of high quality.

6 = Always produces work of high quality and meets subject-specific criteria. A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a wide variety of situations. Consistent evidence of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation where appropriate. The student generally demonstrates originality and insight. 

5 = Usually produces work of high quality and meets most specific subject criteria. A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a variety of situations. The student generally shows evidence of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation where appropriate and occasionally demonstrates originality and insight.

4 = Usually produces work of a satisfactory quality and meets some of the subject specific criteria. A good general understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them effectively in normal situations. There is occasional evidence of the skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

3 = Produces work of an inconsistent quality, but there is some attempt at meeting specific subject criteria. Limited achievement against most of the objectives, or clear difficulties in some areas. The student demonstrates a limited understanding of the required knowledge and skills and is only able to apply them fully in normal situations with support.

2 = Generally produces work of poor quality and does not meet specific subject criteria. Very limited achievement against objectives. The student has difficulty understanding the required knowledge and skills, and is unable to apply them fully in normal situations, even with support. 

1 = None of the standards above have been achieved.