Assessments

How will we know you are learning?

Like other students in New York City and New York State and as a student at QSI, you too are expected to take the annual Math and English Language Arts tests; we expect you to achieve either a Level 3 or 4. At the end of 8^th grade, you will take additional New York State exams in both social studies and science, and you will complete Exit Projects in both these subjects. Since QSI is a school dedicated to helping you attend college while in high school, you will have to take some of these tests as soon as you are ready. By the end of 8^th grade, you will be taking your first high school Regents exam in Math. Between now and then, we'll help you work hard and give you extra time for learning so you'll be well prepared to pass all these exams.  

Because we know at QSI that you're an individual with your own learning style and have your own strengths and weaknesses, we've added some other ways of understanding how you are progressing academically, and how we can help you achieve at the very highest level we know you can achieve.

Student Action Plan

Together with your parents and teachers, you'll review your own work, test scores and records from previous years to create a Student Action Plan. This will help us all set goals and offer you ideas on how each of us can help you meet these goals. As we create this plan, we'll include an Interest Inventory so we can help you make connections between what you like to do and what you learn in school. We'll review your Action Plan several times a year so we'll know what steps to take next.

Portfolios

You'll keep two different kinds of portfolios of your work. The first portfolio will contain all your works 'in progress'. The other portfolio will include samples of your best work. This 'Finished Portfolio' will give us examples of how you've mastered certain skills with such items as your memoir or written reports of science experiments. Then, we'll use computers to create a digital portfolio.

Inquiry Projects

Because we believe that people learn best by practicing what they've learned, especially in an area that interests them, every day you'll have time for working on an Inquiry Project. Along with other students with similar interests, you'll work with teachers to identify and solve a real world issue and then give a live presentation for an audience.  Together we'll study what makes a great project and presentation; we'll use online research and real world experts for information; we'll learn how to critique each other's presentations so we can all improve. An example of other students' Inquiry Projects is "A Neighborhood Store Survey" which they then presented to their local Community Board.  Other students started a real business, selling baskets made of rolled newspaper, with a legitimate business plan and budget, and made a profit!  Others wrote and videotaped an original musical titled "Why Aren't You Hearing Me?", a story about teenage life in NYC in the 21^St century. You too will have a chance to select your own topics to research and present to the public. 

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