“‘It is not the
test score that should excite us each year. The excitement is the day-to-day
interaction and engagement of students acquiring new knowledge and skills...’ The
superintendent told his school board in a lengthy memo on August 22, 2014…
“…I believe
the conversation regarding testing needs to begin…
I will ask the Board of Education to
request a waiver from the state. The request is:
“To
discontinue Partnerships for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
(PARCC) and the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) as they are
currently administered for a three year period of time.
“To replace
the administration of PARCC and CMAS with a random sample of students in District
11 adhering to the current testing structure from the State over a course of
three years.
“To fully
implement within the three year period of time an annual assessment that is
based on the next generation graduate this is developed through collaboration
with District 11 staff and community with support from experts in the field of
assessment and instruction...
“To fully
implement within the three year period of time an annual assessment that is
based on the next generation graduate and is developed through collaboration
with District 11 staff and community with support from experts in the field of
assessment and instruction. Thus creating what the D11 community would define
as a meaningful and relevant alternative to the current state assessment tool
and process.
“We need to
test less but test right.
“We need to
move from test accountability to instructional accountability in our minds and
in our actions.
“We need to
honor our current work on development of graduation requirements that has led
to the need for a comprehensive view and assessment of the ‘whole child.’
“Our focus
is on building a successful instructional model and assessment framework. The
intention is to build a system that defines the essential components of District
11 learning inclusive of an environment that promotes academic preparedness;
cultural competency; development of highly-skilled team members, innovative
thinkers and problem solvers, efficient and effective users of information
technology, civic responsibility and effective communicators.
“This model
will be learner-centered, applicable to all classrooms, have a focus on
research-based practices, while upholding a teacher’s creativity and ability to
apply the ‘art of teaching.’ We will promote engagement, critical thinking, and
student achievement in relation to Post-secondary and Workforce Readiness.
“The
potential alternative could lead to a K-12 Next Generation Portfolio based on
the D11 Achieve Graduate components or a myriad of components including but not
inclusive of the current ICAP components. The district 11 Board of Education
and I believe that our students deserve the very best…
“Additional
Thoughts Shared:
“…I have
asked teachers and principals to shift from assessment accountability to
instructional accountability. This means by honing our craft, we will strike a
balance. A balance of appropriate progress monitoring and benchmarking will
assist our children with the acquisition of knowledge and result with higher
achievement. Through these actions, we need to continue to balance the
attention to the ‘whole child.’ While assessment is foundational to knowing
what a student has learned, we need to test less, but test right. Assessment
needs to evolve to help establish progress toward ‘whole child’ development.
“…It is not
the test score that should excite us each year. The excitement is the
day-to-day interaction and engagement of students acquiring new knowledge and
skills. The moment when students cross the stage we are sealing the deal
highlighting our commitment to learning and achieving from prekindergarten
through 12th grade. Our purpose is to increase the value of the congratulatory
handshake while being accountable for the ‘whole child.’ My worry is adding a
student performance component on all teacher evaluations needs more thought.
“…Every
classroom, every school, every department within the district plays a role with
this success - a graduate ready for continued learning, the work force, and
life. We need to commit to the development of the ‘whole child’ and be less
concerned about the time taken from direct instruction of tested areas and be
equally concerned about embracing extracurricular activities, elective classes
and special area subjects as they contribute to the foundation of the tested
areas and support the development of the ‘whole child.’
“…We need to
commit to the Colorado Academic Standards. We need to test what is most
important, test right and use observations from our progress monitoring and
benchmarking to guide our instruction. We need to accept the accountability
that goes along with the congratulatory handshake – sealing the deal for our
students when they cross the stage and graduate.”
Nick Gledich, Superintendent, Colorado Springs School
District 11
1115 N. El Paso Street, Ste. 209
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 520-2001
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