|
Accountability and School Improvement staff provided an update on our district's continuous improvement processes in alignment with our Strategic Plan of Action. In August, Susanne Cramer, accountability and school improvement chief officer, presented to the Board of Education regarding steps our district is taking for continuous improvement. An important step in the process is the assessment for learning and the assessment of learning.
The purpose of assessment is to measure student achievement, provide staff information and evaluate and monitor curriculum and instructional practices. We believe in a balanced assessment system that includes multiple measures to meet the needs of students, teachers, our district and community. Multiple measures include all the assessments, tools and data sources used to gather information to make an informed educational decision. Our district's balanced assessment system has three areas:
-
Formative assessments provide the day-by-day, week-by-week insight teachers need to make adjustments in instruction based on where students are at a given moment.
- Examples of formative assessments: Classroom level assessments, quizzes, checks for understanding, exit tickets, etc.
-
Interim assessments are given at specific times in the school year; the data provide an objective measure of progress toward learning objectives, measure student academic growth and inform instruction.
- Example of interim assessment: MAP Growth
-
Summative assessments, whether given at the end of a unit, a semester or end of the year, demonstrate whether or not students have learned what was taught.
- Examples of summative assessments: NSCAS, ELPA21 and ACT
The Accountability and School Improvement staff shared each assessment given to our students with Board members. They shared information on which students take each assessment, when it is given, how achievement is measured and when results are available.
What is next?
Our district is building a Continuous Improvement Steering Team, which includes principals, district leaders, teachers and classified staff. This group will guide the work moving forward to align continuous improvement processes to a common understanding of effective schools. Staff will update the Board on interim assessment results and the Strategic Plan of Action in October.
| 
