Assessment at High Park Day School is individualized, ongoing and student-centered.

When new students join HPDS they are given a series of formal and informal assessments to determine their abilities in different learning areas (learning style, reading comprehension, spelling and grammar skills, mathematics, oral fluency, social interaction). These snap-shot assessments allow us to begin a personalized program for each new student.

Students are included in the assessment process, and have regular meetings with a teacher to set goals and discuss their progress. We believe that students should be self-aware and know which areas they are improving in as well as those areas still needing improvement.

At HPDS we do not give marks. Since students are in a multi-level and mixed-age classroom, we have taken the focus off of ‘grade level’ expectations and shifted the focus entirely to progress. Students no longer feel threatened by the successes of other students but join in the celebration!

Twice per school year (in December and early June), Progress Reports are sent home. These reports detail the growth and successes of the students (both academically and socially) and offer at-home suggestions for further success and confidence building. The Progress Reports include a comment written by (or scribed for) the student so he/she can share the aspects of school life that he/she is most proud of!