Appendix D: Evaluation Example

Sample 1: Grade 8

Topic: Being a Teenager

Comprehend and Respond (Comprehension)

It is expected that students will:

• demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas, events, or themes of a variety of novels, stories, poetry, other print material, and electronic media
• locate and interpret details in stories, articles, novels, poetry, or non-print media to respond to a range of tasks
• organize details and information about material they have read, heard, or viewed using a variety of written or graphic forms

It is expected that students will:

• identify and explain connections between new ideas and information and their previous beliefs, values, and experiences

It is expected that students will:

• analyse stereotypes and other distortions of reality in music videos, song lyrics, prime-time TV serials, and other aspects of popular culture

It is expected that students will:

• use grammatically correct language when writing and speaking

• identify the purposes and audiences for their communications
• apply various strategies to generate and shape ideas

It is expected that students will:

• create a variety of academic, technical, and personal communications, including poems, stories, personal essays, oral and written reports, group presentations, and informal dramatizations

It is expected that students will:

• use various strategies to prompt and support others
• evaluate group processes and their own contributions to them by using established criteria

The unit involved students in a series of activities related to reading the novel The Outsiders. Evaluation was based on:

• a response journal
• an oral presentation
• visual aids for oral presentation (chart or collage)
• speaking and listening in a small-group discussion
• self-awareness of speaking and listening in a small-group discussion

• The unit started with students brainstorming the characteristics or qualities of a teenager from their perspective, as well as from the perspective of a child, a parent, and a media reporter. Students then read brief newspaper and magazine articles about teenagers that they discussed from these different perspectives.
• Students began reading The Outsiders. Initially, the teacher read segments of the text aloud, and students predicted what would happen next. As a final activity, students predicted how the novel would end.
• Reading of the novel took place in class and at home over several days. During this time, students added a number of entries in their response journals. The format of the response-journal entries was flexible. It included student-generated questions, based on quotations or favourite words; concept maps; visual images; and writing from an alternative viewpoint. The teacher read the response journals regularly to provide constructive feedback. Evaluation was generally based on completion, although the quality of the entries was sometimes taken into consideration.
• When students finished reading the novel, they met in small student-led groups to discuss it using ideas from their response-journal entries. After each small-group discussion, students came together as a whole class, and the groups presented reports according to the guidelines established by the teacher.
• The teacher asked students to determine how the media portrays teenagers, and the class brainstormed how they were going to gather this information. Students decided to watch TV news shows and popular sitcoms, and read community and regional newspapers as well as local and national magazines. They used response-journal entries to record their media analyses.
• Students then met in small groups to plan how they would use their analyses to try to alter public perceptions about teenagers. The groups decided to use oral reports to present their findings to a panel of people from the community (e.g., principal, RCMP officer, city councillor, school clerk). The oral presentations included visual aids in the form of charts or collages.

The teacher reviewed with students the learning outcomes for these activities and explained the requirements of each task. The teacher and students decided that the following key criteria should be demonstrated in the assigned tasks.

Response Journal

• personal and thoughtful responses that make connections with personal experience and other texts
• specific references to the text
• revisits and revises original responses
• explores more than one interpretation and considers diverse perspectives
• interprets and analyses characteristics of genre, purpose, and technique

• voice is easily heard and understood
• may use non-verbal cues to respond to and shape communication
• chooses clear and precise words and uses specific language appropriately
• varies language for effect and audience
• works comfortably with group and helps develop and sustain group's interactions
• offers clarification, elaboration, explanation, feedback, suggestions, hypotheses, questions, and synthesis as needed

• refers to specific strategies and analyses how they worked
• generalizes beyond immediate situation
• is insightful about personal intentions and those of others
• understands personal preferences and how they affect interactions and understanding

• message is understandable and based on accurate information
• includes relevant and interesting features that connect logically with visual aids
• logical organization
• aware of effect on audience and uses language appropriately
• voice has clear tone and volume

• message and topic are understandable and thought-provoking
• uses colour, space, shape, and mood to convey personal message
• refers to the novel and to newspapers, magazine articles, and TV shows that convey media attitudes about teenagers

The teacher and students used criteria lists and rating scales to evaluate student performance.

Rating	Criteria
Outstanding	innovative, personal, and thoughtful responses that make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts provides specific evidence that demonstrates close familiarity with and understanding of reading selection interprets and analyses genre, technique, and purpose of selection shows evidence of reflecting on and revising initial responses
Very Good	personal and thoughtful responses that make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts provides specific evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection often interprets and analyses genre, technique, or purpose of selection shows evidence of reflecting on and revising initial responses
Good	personal and generally thoughtful responses that often make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts provides some specific evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection sometimes interprets and analyses genre, technique, or purpose of selection may show evidence of reflecting on and revising initial responses
Satisfactory	personal and sometimes thoughtful responses that may make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts may provide some evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection may attempt to interpret and analyse genre, technique, or purpose of selection may show evidence of reflecting on initial responses, but rarely revises them
Minimally Acceptable	personal responses that may make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts limited evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection little or no attempt to interpret and analyse genre, technique, or purpose of selection generally does not revisit initial responses
In Progress/Failure	extremely limited and unclear responses that seldom demonstrate evidence of meeting the criteria no response attempted

Rating	Criteria
Excellent	Entertaining and informative. Evidence of careful planning in terms of material, organization, and language. Includes interesting detail and examples through content of speech and visual aids. Shows awareness of audience's response and successfully maintains their attention. Voice has effective and clear tone and volume.
Very Good	Interesting, informative, in logical sequence, and easy to understand. Includes interpretations and conclusions supported by appropriate detail, examples, and visual aids. Clear awareness of audience in material, language, and presentation. Generally successful in maintaining audience's attention. Voice has clear tone and volume.
Good	Relatively easy to understand and follow. Presents information clearly and in some detail. Includes adequate examples, explanations, and interpretations. Has clearly selected material and visual aids with audience in mind, and makes a definite attempt to engage their interest and attention, although this may not be completely successful. Voice has generally clear tone and volume.
Satisfactory	Presents information in some detail, but may occasionally be difficult to understand. Appears to follow a planned sequence, with unclear or awkward transitions at times. Uses visual aids. Demonstrates awareness of audience but may not always be successful in engaging their attention. Voice has inconsistent tone and volume.
Minimally Acceptable	Presents information, but may be difficult to understand. Often difficult to follow. Attempts to use visual aids, but they may not clearly connect to the content or purpose of the presentation. Limited awareness of audience. Voice is often difficult to hear.
Unsatisfactory/In Progress	Little or no information. Appears unprepared. May decline to participate.

Rating	Criteria
Strong	uses voice and physical expression, and may use non-verbal cues to build communication chooses clear and precise words and uses specific language appropriately varies language for effect and audience, using tentative and inclusive language works comfortably with group and helps develop and sustain group's interactions offers clarification, elaboration, explanation, feedback, suggestions, hypotheses, questions, and synthesis as needed
Good	voice easily heard and understood and may use non-verbal cues for effect chooses clear words and may occasionally experiment with more subtle or specific language may use some tentative and inclusive language works comfortably with group and contributes to social dynamics often makes suggestions and asks questions or adjusts his or her thinking after listening to others
Competent	voice can be heard and understood, tries to make eye contact, and occasionally uses body language may have difficulty using complex or unfamiliar language may use some inclusive language takes part in group discussion and follows basic rules for working with others contributes some ideas and suggestions to the group
Developing	voice unclear or difficult to hear at times, with little variation in tone and expression little eye contact relies on familiar language and often uses vague or general words shows some awareness of the responsibilities of contributing to a group offers ideas that may not connect with those of others, and may not be able to explain or clarify ideas

* Based on the reference set Evaluating Group Communication Skills Across Curriculum.

Rating	Criteria
Strong	independently plans, monitors, and analyses interaction refers to specific strategies and incidents to analyse how they worked generalizes beyond immediate situation insightful about personal intentions and others' intentions or perspectives understands personal biasses and preferences, and how they affect interactions and understanding
Good	analyses key features of interaction refers to specific features of group or individual activity with prompting analyses what worked and speculates about other choices that might have been more effective may make inferences about others' feelings and behaviour, but has difficulty generalizing from one situation to another recognizes group identity and personal responsibility for making a group work
Competent	aware of simple strategies for improving communication aware of a few strategies that tend to be suggested for all situations talks about group activity in a general way, but has difficulty identifying specific features that were effective or ineffective may identify with the group and take some responsibility for group's successes and problems
In Progress/Developing	recognizes effects of words and actions generally unable to discuss behaviour without prompting takes little or no responsibility for problems or conflicts shows little evidence of making deliberate choices as a speaker or listener

* Based on the reference set Evaluating Group Communication Skills Across Curriculum.

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