Why the Shift?

As you saw when your child was in primary, proficiency scales are based on communicating and describing each student’s growth and progression along a continuum of learning. All communication will continue to reflect strengths, areas for improvement and ways to deepen learning. Research is clear that a traditional letter grades signal the end of learning by suggesting that a particular subject is mastered or completed. A proficiency scale, as a continuum of learning, is not punitive and instead, fosters a growth mindset for students, empowering confidence that our abilities will continue to develop with hard work, effort, and determination.

We believe it is important for families to receive information about their child(ren)’s learning. The shift to the proficiency scale will:

• Promote student engagement with their own assessment through goal setting and student reflection
• Focus on learning as a continuous process on skill development
• Support a better understanding of learning with a focus on next steps
• Promote a growth-mindset or a belief that we can all get better
• Foster hope and a culture of learning