Isa Parent Letter

Busan International Foreign School
50 Gijang-daero, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan 619-902 Ph: +82 51 742 3332 Fax; + 82 51 742 3375 Email: [email protected] Website: www.bifskorea.org
Friday, 24 January 2014 Dear Parents/Guardian, As you should be aware students in Grade 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 will be taking part in The International Schools Assessment (ISA). The tests this year will take place on February 12th and 13th. Below is some information concerning this test that you may find useful. The Introduction of The International Schools Assessment at Busan International Foreign School One of the most important questions for parents is always, How is my child doing? A related question is Compared to what? This is a particularly critical question for families away from home, where it is hard to know how systems, and standards, compare. Until recently it has been difficult for any international school to answer these questions in a really substantial way, because the international school network has not had access to a form of external assessment normed on international standards. This changed, with the development of The International Schools Assessment (ISA). What is ISA? International Schools Assessment (ISA) is an annual assessment programme that has been specially developed to measure skills in mathematical literacy, reading and writing of students in international schools. ISA is based on the internationally endorsed reading and mathematical literacy frameworks of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It is designed and developed in Australia by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The ISA reports provide descriptive information about what students know and can do. The results are equated from year to year so they can be used to track changes over time at individual and school level. What is ISA NOT? ISA is not a competitive or comparative test, such as the IB Diploma or AP. It is not a test that students pass. It will not be used for purposes other than providing data to us, you, and your child, about his/her learning. While we give opportunities for practice, students do not prepare for the tests, since they are consistent with what students learn on a regular basis.
Who uses ISA? A growing number of international schools now use ISA, including many of the acknowledged world leaders in international education. How do the assessments work? Students complete a reading literacy test, a mathematical literacy test and two writing tests, each of which takes between 45 minutes and one hour to administer. The tests include both multiple-choice and open-ended tasks. The tests will be taken on February 12th and 13th. They will be taken in normal school conditions e.g. in homeroom groups, in conditions that are familiar to our students. How will BIFS use the results? As a school, we will analyse all data about the general patterns of performance and use these as another of the ways in which we monitor and modify our educational programme. These data will be one of the success indicators to which we pay attention each year. What information will I receive as a parent? We will pass on all information about your child to you in the form of an individual report. These reports are provided by ACER and are very comprehensive. They will give you a detailed record of your childs performance in relation to scales that describe increasingly advanced skills in mathematical literacy, reading literacy and writing. You will receive them by the end of May. It is entirely your decision as to whether you pass on this information to another school when you leave BIFS. In ConclusionIf you have any questions about the introduction of ISA at BIFS, please feel free to contact me directly. You may also wish to visit the websites of PISA (www.pisa.oecd.org) and/or ACER (www.acer.edu.au), for further information. Jeff Blackband Exams Coordinator

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