​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Since 2017, the British Columbia Ministry of Education and Child Care has included the Core Competencies of Thinking, Communication and Personal and Social Responsibility into the curriculum. These three broad-based Core Competencies are sets of proficiencies that all students need to develop in order to engage in deep and life-long learning (MOE, 2017). As part of these changes, the Provincial Student Progress Report Order was amended to include the requirement of an annual summative self-assessment of student growth in the three Core Competencies. Further information can be found at https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/.

Over the course of the year, your child's teacher has integrated both the Core Competencies and self-assessment into their lessons. Teachers have engaged students in the practice of 'noticing, naming and nurturing' these competencies in all aspects of their learning. Students have learned to identify and assess their strengths and areas of growth, set goals, regularly assess their progress in relation to their goals and establish a plan to reach their goals – all part of the Core Competencies self-assessment process. 

The annual summative self-assessment is not teacher-evaluated or graded, but rather based upon each student's reflections and what they choose to share about their learning journey. The self-assessment is a strength-based reflection connected to curriculum, and is framed in an "I can" statement. Students reflect on all three Core Competencies, describing what they are most proud of, using specific evidence to support their statements.

In past years, students have completed the self-assessment of the Core Competencies with their teachers at school. With the suspension of in-class instruction, students will complete the self-assessment at home, with guidance from their teachers and support, as needed, from their parents. Information regarding the process for completion of the self-assessment will be communicated by teachers in the next few weeks. We hope this additional means of communicating student learning results in valuable conversations between parents/guardians and your children.

In June, we will be sending home instructions on how to access your child's completed self-assessment of the Core Competencies. We encourage parents/guardians to engage in a conversation with your child about "why" and "how" they generated their conclusions and how the evidence they chose supports their reflections. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your classroom teacher.

Please find a video created by one of our staff members to help parents upload their child's self-assessment onto Portal.