1. State of Kuwait
Ministry of Education
Al- Jara Educational Area
Sara Rashid Al- Tawheed Int. School
Developing and assessing the reading skill in a competence based curriculum
ELT General Supervisor :Ms. Huda Al-ammar
ELT Supervisor : Ms. Hanan Anees
Collected by: Ms. Amal Helmy

2. Objectives of this session
What are the Types of Competences?
Developing The Reading Competence
Assessment in the new curriculum

3. The Kuwait National Curriculum operates with three types of competences
Key competences
General competences
Specific competences

4. What are the Key Competences?
key competences(NON-SUBJECT )specific
key competences are supposed to be achieved by the end of the Secondary Education period. They are cross-curricular (i.e. non-subject specific), transferable and multifunctional competences – so that, in principle, all subjects can/should contribute to their development.

5. What are the General Competences?
General competences are subject-specific.
They define the most general subject-based knowledge, skills and attitudes/values embedded/integrated in students’ expected outcomes by the end of Grade 12.

6. What are the Specific Competences?
The specific competences are structured and developed in students during a school year.
Specific Competences define more specific systems of integrated knowledge, skills and attitudes/values.
They can even cover specialized, topic-based competences students are supposed to display by the end of each grade.
The specific competences are clustered in the
following four dimensions:
A range of realities specific to the subject (knowledge);
A range of operations (skills and strategies)
A range of personal and social responses (attitudes, values)
A range of connections with other subjects and domains.

7. Developing Reading competence in a competence based curriculum
We can develop the reading competence through the four ranges of language related to the standards:
• Range of realities specific to the subject (knowledge); • Range of operations (skills and strategies) specific to the subject; • Range of personal and social responses (attitudes, values, beliefs) mobilized by the knowledge and skills acquired in a certain subject; • Range of connections with other subjects and domains.

8. Competences, learning activities and curriculum standards
General Competence
Specific Competence
Learning activities
Curriculum Standards
3. Reading and viewing a range of texts by means of different mechanisms in a variety of contexts
Range of language realities
3.1. Reading to comprehend age appropriate texts on familiar topics for a variety of purposes.
•Read fiction/nonfiction texts in order to answer questions •State if sentences are true or false according to text.
Students are able to: 3.1. Mention the overall idea and purpose of different texts (fiction/ nonfiction) on familiar topics.
Range of operations 3.2. Reading a variety of grade level texts to determine the theme and the main idea of the text and locating pieces of information.
•Determine the main idea of a text, recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. •Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text. •Suggest a suitable title or ending to a story.
Students are able to: 3.2. Determine the theme, the main idea and locate pieces of information in fiction and non-fiction age appropriate texts.

9. General Competence
Specific Competence
Learning activities
Curriculum Standards
3. Reading and viewing a range of texts by means of different mechanisms in a variety of contexts
Range of attitudes 3.3. Willingly engaging in age appropriate reading activities by joining school reading groups and borrowing books from libraries.
•Read to form simple judgements regarding events or characters. •Identify words and phrases in texts that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
Students are able to: 3.3. Present their reading activities in a diary or in oral presentations.
Range of connections 3.4. Identifying information needed from other subjects to understand age appropriate texts.
•Read short different texts in English via newspapers/websites/social networks/advertisements to complete a project.
Students are able to: 3.4. Identify the type of information they need from other subjects to understand the reading materials they work with.

10. Assessment in the new curriculum

11. What is Classroom assessment ?
It is any form of assessment, undertaken by the teacher with the students, related to any teaching/learning situation.
It is undertaken by engaging the students in providing evidence of learning by:
Visual (writing, drawing, typing, video)
oral (verbal interactions)
Actions which the teacher observes
Or a combination of these

12. Why should we assess students ?
- To support students’ progress towards achieving competences described in the ‘curriculum and standards’ for each subject and grade.
- To focus on learning (not ‘scoring’) to develop students’ confidence and commitment to learning.

13. Assessment in the new curriculum
Assessment is a process to obtain a measure of attainment through which teachers seek indicators that tell them to what extent students are attaining the standards.
Assessments show us – based on evidence - how much and how well students have achieved the specific competences stated in the prescribed KNC for a particular grade level and in a particular subject area.

14. When should the teacher carry out classroom assessment?
All the time!
There is no specific time.
It depends on purpose.
Its purpose may be to determine actual attainment of a specific curriculum standard.
To determine student progress towards the standards and hence their achievements, or different levels of achievements, at that point in time.
At the end of each lesson. This acts as a lesson summary.(Wrap-up)

15. Types of assessments Formative
Focus on learners’ progress during the process of achieving competences
On-going recording of progress toward achieving competences
Helps adjust teaching to support more effective learning
Various forms (oral interaction; participation; homework; worksheets )
Summative 
Focus on learners’ results at specific moments toward achieving competences
Periodic recording of results against a fixed schedule (End of learning unit)
Various forms (not only written tests)

16. Summative classroom assessment
Formative classroom assessment
Assessments are undertaken informally at a time and in a manner preferred by the teacher. It can be whole class related, or on an individual or groups of individuals taking place during the classroom session. It is only formative when the teacher directly utilises the feedback obtained to aid learning.
Summative classroom assessment
Assessments are held at the end of a teaching period. This could be a learning unit, end of semester, end of the school year. It is assessment of the learning during the period specified.  The feedback obtained can be utilised, but this is for future changes of context.

17. Formative assessments (40 %) Summative assessment/s (60%)
How to assess?
Feedback & further actions
-Applying it whenever the teacher decides it is necessary.
-Focusing on assessing the development of specific competences along a “period” by means of :
(i) students’ oral interaction
(ii) small assignments/tasks on paper
(iii) student’s general behavior and attitudes.
-observation, oral interactions, presentations etc.
- Smiley faces will be used to report student results.
-Student results should be systematically recorded in a competence-centered portfolio to:
(a) track learning progress
(b) correct deficiencies in concept understanding
(c) prevent school failure.
-Applying it at the end of a learning unit/semester.
-Focusing on specific competences achieved by the end of a learning unit.
-Using pencil and paper tests, as well as projects and portfolios as the most common instrument for summative assessment.
-Summative assessment is corroborated with formative assessment to develop individualized plans for remedial instruction, special programs for advanced students and/or tailored support for improvement in specific competences.

18. Methods
Progress (formative) and results (summative) are measured against curriculum standards which describe the specific competences each student should achieve 
Descriptors are used to show students’ levels of achievement in meeting the curriculum standards, expressed in ‘smileys’ (primary), points/percentages

19. A new marking system for CA
Change of focus: from summative to formative assessment
Standard-based assessment
The marking system will convert results of continuous classroom assessment into a simpler form of quantitative measurement
Assessment and marking should be friendly to students

20. Levels of achievement Mark (Symbol) Levels of Achievement Points
Percentages
Fully achieved the standard 4
80–100%
Mostly achieved the standard 3
60-79%
Minimally achieved the standard 2
40-59%
Did not achieve the standard 1
<40%
Not assessed
*The impact of absence on assessment is discussed in administrative guidelines on excused and unexcused absences

21. Assessment rubrics What is an assessment rubric?
What is an assessment rubric?
A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly describes student’s performance expectations for some learning activity .
It helps teachers to use assessments based on a range of criteria.
A rubric lists the criteria, or characteristics of student work, which are aligned to a standard and describe the specific quality levels for those criteria.

22. Reading skill Formative assessment
General Competence
Specific competence
Suggested activities
Assessment tools
Reading and viewing a range of texts by means of different mechanisms in a variety of contexts
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
•Read fiction/nonfiction texts in order to answer questions •State if sentences are true or false according to text.
-Determine the main idea of a text.
-•Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text. •Suggest a suitable title or ending to a story.
Worksheets
WB exercises
Homework

23. General Competence Specific competence Suggested activities
Assessment tools
Reading and viewing a range of texts by means of different mechanisms in a variety of contexts
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
•Read to form simple judgements regarding events or characters. •Identify words and phrases in texts that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
•Read short different texts in English via newspapers/websites/social networks/advertisements to complete a project.
Worksheets
WB exercises
Homework