Alhambra USD |  9000 |  BP  6162.5  Instruction

Student Assessment   

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The Governing Board believes that the primary purpose of student assessments should be to help students, parents/guardians and teachers identify individual students' academic strengths, weaknesses and progress in order to improve teaching and learning. Assessments should also serve to determine the effectiveness of the schools and the district as measured by students' knowledge of fundamental skills and their ability to apply those skills.

The Board recognizes that a variety of evaluation measures are needed in order to reach the above goals. A single test or testing method cannot be expected to always take ethnic, cultural or gender differences into account or to conclusively identify the academic strengths and weaknesses of each student. To have validity, tests must correspond to the material that is being taught and measure the extent to which students meet clearly specified standards of achievement.

(cf. 0410 - Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities)

(cf. 5121 - Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement)

(cf. 6190 - Evaluation of the Instructional Program)

The Superintendent or designee also shall administer achievement tests to all students in grades 2 through 10 as part of the state's student testing incentive program. The Superintendent or designee shall establish a procedure to ensure that Board members, administrators, teachers and parents/guardians are actively involved in the selection and implementation of these tests. Tests shall be selected among those approved by the State Board of Education.

Upon written request by the parent/guardian, a student shall be excused from any or all parts of student assessments administered for the statewide testing system. (Education Code 60615)

Golden State Examinations

The Board believes that participation in the Golden State Examinations can motivate students to succeed in key academic courses.

Participation in the Golden State Examinations shall be voluntary. The Board strongly encourages students to accept the challenge these examinations present.

Legal Reference:

EDUCATION CODE

51041 Evaluation of educational program

51450-51455 Golden State Seal Merit Diploma

60600-60649 Assessment of academic achievement

60800 Physical fitness testing

60810 Assessment of language development

60850-60856 Exit examination

CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5

850-870 Standardized Testing and Reporting program

880-901 Designated primary language test

1200-1216 High School Exit Examination

Management Resources:

CDE PROGRAM ADVISORIES

Students with Disabilities: Guidelines for Testing the California Standardized Testing and Reporting Program

0327.86 Reporting norm-referenced standardized achievement test scores to parents

CSBA ADVISORIES

0306.01 California Assessment Update

0313.00 Districts must ensure that all required student data is submitted to the publisher, or face financial penalty #00-01

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS PUBLICATIONS

The Use of Tests as Part of High-Stakes Decision-Making for Students: A Resource Guide for Educators and Policy-Makers, December 2001

WEB SITES

CDE: http://www.cde.ca.gov

CSBA: http://www.csba.org

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html

Policy ALHAMBRA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

adopted: September 9, 1997 Alhambra, California