Educational Insights: March 31, 2008
April 01, 2008
High quality education depends on being able to answer the following three critical questions:
1. What do we want students to know and be able to do?
2. How will we know when they know it?
3. What will we do if they have not learned it?
Question #1 is our defined curriculum. This comes largely from state/national standards and current research. Our teachers work monthly reviewing and revising curriculum at each grade level in all core subjects. Gaps or repetitions are discussed and remedied. Question #2 is addressed by our assessment plan. The district uses a variety of assessment types to determine if students have learned. The district’s assessment plan is made up of two main kinds of assessments: formative and summative. Formative assessments guide teaching and are given throughout the school year. Summative tests are traditionally referred to achievement tests and given less frequently.
Last year, our school system began using a new research based norm-referenced achievement assessment produced by Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). NWEA developed Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a state-aligned computerized adaptive assessment program that provides educators with the information they need to improve both teaching and learning.
Our educators use the growth and achievement data from MAP to develop targeted instructional strategies and to plan for continuous school improvement. Garden County Schools administer MAP tests in the fall and spring to grades 2-11. These test results help our professionals make student-focused, data-driven decisions in their classrooms. In April, all three sites will begin our MAP testing and look forward to measuring our students’ academic growth! On April 14th, parents will have an opportunity to discuss formative assessment information with their child’s teachers at conferences. The annual report provides the summative results of achievement test data and ACT scores.
Legislative Bill 1157 currently being debated in Lincoln confronts our state’s assessment system. Garden County Schools readily accept the accountability that all students learn, regardless of the outcome of this legislation. A state test will not necessarily guarantee our students learn more. Increased learning is a result of an unrelenting passion and intentional actions dedicated to answering these three questions.
-Dr. Paula Sissel,
Superintendent/Elementary Principal
