CODE F22

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

Policy
It is the policy of the ________________the School District to maintain an assessment system that continuously evaluates student learning and links curricular, professional development, and budgetary decisions directly to the need for increased student performance.

The goal of student assessment is to understand how students are performing in relation to local and state standards. Based on student assessment information, teachers, administrators and parents will work together to design and implement strategies to meet the needs of individual students as well as the District’s overall goals for student achievement.

Implementation
The Superintendent will appoint an assessment committee consisting of administrators and professional staff, a Board member, parent, other community member and student(s) when appropriate. The role of the committee will be to develop a long-range plan that identifies the types of local assessments in which the school will participate. This long-range plan will be integrated with the school action plan and, where appropriate, link with the recommendations of the District and Supervisory Union strategic plans. The work of the assessment committee will be directed by the Principal with oversight from the Superintendent, and will report progress and resource needs to the School Board (specify when).

Based on the District’s plan, the Superintendent, in collaboration with Principal(s) and teachers, will develop a schedule by (indicate completion date) to assess student performance regularly throughout the school year and from year to year. Assessments will measure student performance against standards outlined in the Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities or comparable standards. The results of student assessments will guide schools in:

1. making decisions about instruction, professional development, educational resources and curriculum; and
2. reporting to the public on student performance measures and progress in the standards outlined by the Vermont Framework.

State Comprehensive Assessment System
The Principal will administer the assessment instruments included in the Vermont Comprehensive Assessment System. All students in the School District will be assessed except for those students with a disability or limited English proficiency whose education plans exempt them. Students who are unable to participate in state assessments will be given an alternate assessment. The school will account for the assessment of 100% of its students.

Local Comprehensive Assessment System
[the system plan must be in place by September 1, 2001 and fully implemented no later than September 1, 2005]
The Superintendent will oversee the development and implementation of a local comprehensive assessment system that includes the state-level assessments, is aligned with the Vermont Framework as amended from time to time or comparable standards and is consistent with the current Vermont Comprehensive Assessment System. Students will be assessed in those standards associated with the Fields of Knowledge, the Vital Results, the arts, health and safety education, physical education, foreign language and applied learning. Local assessments may include a number of instruments and techniques such as standards-based, national norm referenced, local curriculum criterion- referenced, portfolio assessment, exit interviews, senior projects and related supervisory union district assessment processes and systems.

The expectations and performance criteria of the system will be clear and be communicated to teachers, administrators, students, parents and other community members. The local system will employ a balance and variety of assessment strategies, both classroom-based and school-level assessments, in order to develop useful information on student achievement. The school will also provide students with the opportunity to evaluate their own work. The local assessment plan will be fully implemented by (specify locally determined date).

1. School administrators and staff will use the assessment system to determine the answers to questions which include the following and will report to the Board annually in (specify month or date):1. How are the students performing in relationship to local and state standards?
2. Why are the students performing at the level they are?
3. What could the school do differently in order to increase the number of students meeting or exceeding local and/or state standards?
4. How can educators, parents and students monitor progress?