MasteryConnect in Elementary School Reporting 小學部評量系統—MasteryConnect

As was mentioned in the Elementary School Teas earlier this quarter, our elementary school assessment practice, in addition to that of our middle school, will also be changing at the end of the first quarter. At our coming Parent-Teacher-Student conferences, parents will receive both a more traditional report card (for all classes) and a MasteryConnect report card (for core classes only). Next fall, all elementary school reporting will be done nearly entirely in MasteryConnect. While the best explanation for how this new reporting system works will come from each classroom teacher at our upcoming conferences, I’d like to present an explanation here as well so that parents can feel a little bit more ready before conferences begin. So what does MasteryConnect offer as a grading and reporting system? 

誠如小學部先前在第一季的班親會中所提及的，小學部以及國中部的學校評量作法將在第一季結束時有些許的改變。在即將到來的親師座談會中，家長們將會收到一份所有課程的傳統成績單，還有一份針對核心課程的MasteryConnect成績單。明年秋季，所有小學部的評量系統將會全面使用MasteryConnect。這套新的評量系統的運作將在即將到來的座談會中，由每班導師為家長們一一說明。在座談會開始之前，我想在這裡簡單地說明，好讓家長們能多了解一點這套系統。MasteryConnect是怎麼樣的一套評量系統呢？

First, MasteryConnect offers teachers the capacity to enter and interpret data about student learning in a very meaningful way. Below is an example of the teacher’s view of their class in a particular subject area. Pretend for a moment that you are the teacher, and consider the data. Green represents ‘mastery’ (已達標準), yellow represents ‘near mastery’ (接近標準), and red is ‘remediation’ (待加強). The letters and numbers at the top of each column represent different learning benchmarks. These ‘benchmarks’ are the desired outcomes for each curricular area. For example, in fifth grade language arts, one of the benchmarks is “I can read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.” In the sample ‘grade book’ below, which standard clearly needs a little extra review in this class?

首先，MasteryConnect讓教師們能夠輸入並理解資料，讓學生用一個相當有意義的方式學習。下面的範例是一個從教師觀點來看該班在某個特定科目的表現。假定你現在是位老師，並正在研究這些資料。綠色表示「已達標準」，黃色表示「接近標準」，而紅色則表示「待加強」。每個欄位最上方的英文字母與數字是代表不同的學習基準。這些「學習基準」是每個課程範圍所希望呈現的學習成果。舉例來說，五年級的語言課中，其中一個的學習基準為「我能夠以足夠的準確度與流暢度進行閱讀並能加以理解」。在下方的評分系統樣本中，這一班的學生需要在哪個基準上特別加強呢？

This type of grading layout also helps our teachers to quickly recognize which students are struggling and in which areas. Again, take a look above and consider: which students are in need of extra help from the teacher?

這樣的評分設計可以幫助老師快速地分辨哪位學生在什麼區塊努力著。我們再來看看上面的資料並思考：哪些學生需要老師的額外協助？

What is unique about this grade book layout is its ability to use grading data to clearly portray specific student performance on specific benchmarks. The learning goals are the primary focus.

這份評分系統設計的獨特之處，在於它可以透過成績清楚地反映在特定的學習基準上，某個學生的表現為何。學習目標是首要的焦點所在。

Another benefit of MasteryConnect is the potential speed of assessment. The program offers the unique feature of using a computer’s camera to capture student performance on quick assessments, automatically pumping them into the grade book. Students can even do this themselves by bringing their completed assessment up to the computer and getting an instant score. Imagine the benefit of immediately knowing whether or not a class understands a benchmark goal. If the class already knows it, it’s time to move on. If they don’t, teachers now know immediately which kids are struggling. Again, data can better inform instruction.

MasteryConnect的另一個優點是具潛力性的評量速度。這套程式有個特色是可以使用電腦的相機來擷取學生在即時評量中的表現，自動地將資料轉進評量系統中。甚至，學生也可以將自己完成的作業放進電腦中，並馬上獲得成績。想像一下，你能立刻知道一個班級是否理解某個學習基準的好處是什麼？若該班學生已經知道了，而老師就能繼續進行教學活動；反之，老師則能馬上知道哪些孩子仍在努力學習中。我想再次強調的是，這些數據能給予老師更好的指導方向。

In the form of reporting, our use of MasteryConnect marks a change in our elementary school grading scale. In the past, we have used E (Excellent), P (Proficient), B (Basic), and U (Unsatisfactory). MasteryConnect’s scale of M (Mastery, 已達標準), NM (Near Mastery,接近標準), and R (Remediation,待加強) removes the often-confusing differentiation between Excellence and Procidiency. This confusion can be seen in the following math benchmark from Kindergarten: “I can count to 100 by ones and by tens.” What is the difference between excellence and proficiency in this benchmark? It’s quite difficult to determine! The concept of Mastery, Near Mastery, and Remediation, then, offers a clearer paradigm.

至於成績單格式方面，小學部的評分級距改為採用MasteryConnect的方式。過往，我們使用Ｅ（優異）、Ｐ（熟練）、Ｂ（普通）以及U（不滿意）等四種級別。MasteryConnect 的評分等第則分為Ｍ(Mastery已達標準)、NM (Near Mastery接近標準) 以及R (Remediation待加強)三種等級，取消了常令人混淆的「優異」與「熟練」。在幼稚園的數學學習基準中會出現這樣的令人困惑的情況，比方來說，「我可以用個位數以及十進位的方式，從一數到一百。」。在這條學習基準下，我們如何辨別「優異」與「熟練」的差異？這非常難以界定！然而，Ｍ(Mastery已達標準)、NM (Near Mastery接近標準) 以及R (Remediation待加強)的概念卻提供了比較清楚的範例。

MasteryConnect also offers parents a clearer picture of a child’s performance. Rather than a traditional mark for the whole course (in the past, EPBU), MasteryConnect offers insight into students performance on each standard assessed so far. The report card, then, is made up of scores for each subject’s standards (see below).

MasteryConnect能提供家長們一個較清楚的孩童學習概況。與整體課程的傳統評估相比，MasteryConnect 可以透過每一個學習基準，檢視學生目前的學習表現，之後在成績單上顯示每一科目的學習基準的分數。（請見下圖）

In the top right corner, MasteryConnect lists the overall performance. It’s important to note that this, again, is not an overall letter grade. Rather, it uses a ‘donut’ to describe the percentage of standards that a student has mastered, come close to mastering, or is in need of remediation or intervention from the teacher. When viewing this report then, the teacher, parent, and student all know more precisely which areas need work and which don’t.

在右上角，MasteryConnect列出了總體表現。很重要的是，這不是以A、B、C等字母所做的總體評分，而是以「圓餅圖」來描述在某一學習基準中，學生已達標準、接近標準以及有待加強或是需要老師的介入所佔的比率多寡。當看到這份報告時，老師、家長和學生三方都知道學生需要在哪方面更加努力，而哪方面不需要。

Shortly after Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences, elementary families will receive an email with instructions for how to set up a parent portal account. This will allow parents to see student performance up to date, as they have in the past.

在親師座談會結束不久後，小學部的家長們將會收到一封關於如何設定家長帳號的郵件。如此一來，家長們可以看到學生最新的學習狀況，就像過去我們使用PowerSchool一樣。

Hopefully, this provides some clarity into what MasteryConnect is and how it is beneficial to our elementary students and staff. Again, our transition will be gradual as this year we will offer scores in both reporting formats. Be sure to bring any questions to your upcoming conferences so that these data can be best used and so that our transition to this new reporting style can go as smoothly as possible.

希望這篇文章能夠讓您對於MasteryConnect 有些瞭解，同時也能明白它對小學部的學生與老師的益處有多大。再者，因為希望有個平順的過渡期，所以今年我們的成績單樣式採用PowerSchool與MaestryConnect兩者並陳。若是您有任何的疑問，請務必出席座談會，以便我們與您能善用這些資訊，並在新舊系統轉換的過渡期間能盡可能地順利。