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Unit 7 Assessment Information

Guidelines for a Comprehensive Assessment System: These school district assessment guidelines address the philosophical base, focus, roles, and responsibilities for all engaged in assessment in Unit 7 Schools.

Assessment Philosophy: Assessment is central to instruction and is used to enhance student learning. The purpose of assessment is to help students be motivated to learn, reach achievement targets and take responsibility for their own learning. Assessment methods will be appropriate and purposeful, resulting in information that will drive teaching and learning. Students will be full partners in assessment and will come to understand how assessment and evaluation affect their academic success.

Key Terms: In this policy, three key terms are used extensively. They are defined below to promote complete understanding:

• Assessment – the process of gathering information that reflects levels of student achievement
• Communication — the process of transforming assessment and evaluation results into information for decision-making
• Evaluation – judgment regarding the quality of assessment results, set against desired standards; usually based on many sources of information

Comprehensive Assessment System

Focus of Assessment: The focus of assessment in Unit 7 will be student mastery of content knowledge and skills, use of knowledge to reason and solve problems, creation of valued products, and development of positive attitudes. Those successfully completing our program will be able to do the following, and more:

• Communicate both verbally and in written form in school, work-related, and social contexts;
• Read proficiently;
• Solve problems that arise in everyday school, work, and personal life;
• Make safe and healthy choices regarding school, work, and personal lives;
• Learn and contribute productively as individuals and as members of groups;
• Recognize and apply connections of important information and ideas within and among learning areas;
• Appreciate the arts as instruments for human experience;
• Understand and appreciate cultural, ethnic and social diversity.

Faculty and Staff Responsibility

The development, administration, use, and evaluation of assessments in this district shall be guided by these basic tenets: (1) Instruction and assessment will be integrated at all times, and (2) Students will be involved in classroom assessment, record keeping, and communication of assessment results.

All assessments used in this district will meet given standards of quality: (1) Arising from and reflecting a clear and appropriate target, (2) Serving a clearly articulated purpose, (3) Using an appropriate assessment method, (4) Sampling the target appropriately, and (5) Controlling for extraneous factors that can cause the mis-measurement of achievement (bias).