A Pre-K to Grade 12 Independent Quaker Day School Serving the Greater Durham-Chapel Hill Area

Assessment

Assessment is a daily, integrated practice in our Early School. Teachers observe children closely, document their learning, and reflect together on what each student needs to learn and grow.

To make learning visible for parents, we use portfolios. A portfolio is a purposeful collection of evidence of a child's learning, gathered over time, which demonstrates a child's efforts, progress, and achievement. We collect samples of our students' work and make written notes about what we see the child doing. Observations about how a child plays with others, listens to stories, puts a story in order, works a puzzle, builds with blocks, and uses small and large muscles are also included.

This method of assessment shows your child's growth in a natural setting based on real performance. Portfolio assessment also allows children to participate in their own evaluation. It focuses on what children are doing rather than what they are not doing. Portfolio assessment also helps us plan our instruction and meet our students' individual needs. In other words, observation and assessment drives our planning and the implementation of our curriculum.

I am so impressed by the incredible, inquisitive, kind, and social being my child is becoming. She has learned an incredible set of skills that have grounded her, set her off on the right start, and that will last her lifetime. Durham Early School Parent