Trending
Summer is teasing us as we are wrapping up another successful school year while starting to make plans for next year. There are many end-of-year activities going on right now at all our sites and before you know it, we will have consistent 90° days and will be enjoying summer.
In the meantime, one key activity that marks the end of the school year is our annual testing. Each grade level has its own testing regime, each specific to what data we need to be able to best meet individual needs as we "prepare all learners for success."
One of the first assessments we give this time of year is the statewide MCA tests. These are given to every student in grades 3-8 in Reading and Math, grades 5, 8, and 10 in Science, plus grade 10 in Reading and 11 in Math. The MCA test is given to all students in the state and comes with specific guidelines for administration to ensure consistency in all districts and validity of results for all students. For students needing additional support, an alternative version with accommodations is available as appropriate.
The MCA measures student progress against the academic standards and the data is used by the district as we review our programming and to communicate student progress with families. There is a lag in the data collection, so this spring's data will be available to distribute at the start of school this fall.
Another assessment we participate in is the NWEA. This is administered to all K-11 students up to three times each year in Reading and Math but is offered most frequently as a fall and spring benchmark comparison. We set building and district goals using NWEA data and look at both the percent of students meeting or exceeding the norm score data and the percent of students meeting or exceeding their annual projected growth scores.
NWEA data is also useful as an additional data point when we are determining if a student is needing additional enrichment or intervention.
With our K-4 students, a newer assessment we are now using is the DIBELS. This is a quick one-minute per student assessment that helps us measure the development of early literacy and early reading skills. Teachers work together to give this to classes with little interruption to instructional time, and the data helps us identify students in need of additional support in a timely manner. This data is used with classroom assessment data as we monitor progress for all students.
All these data points are gathered and reviewed regularly by classroom teachers, interventionists, and instructional coaches who work closely with our administrators to help prioritize needed supports and resources for our classrooms and students.
It seems like a lot of moving parts, but each has a specific role and in our continuous improvement processes that are all driven by data. We work to intentionally identify and meet the individual needs of all students at all grade levels.
-- Jeremy Williams is superintendent of the Marshall Schools District