The Board of Trustees believes that effective instruction depends on high-quality assessment, and therefore expects all assessments to provide accurate information about student achievement. Each assessment must adhere to standards of quality that all staff know and follow.
The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. It is the expectation of the district that all assessment will be directly linked to specific instructional targets, use assessment methods appropriate for the type of instructional target, have proper design features, and allow for effective communication of results. Student assessments should help students, parents/guardians and teachers identify individual student's academic accomplishments, progress and areas needing improvement in order to enhance teaching and learning. Assessments shall also be used for determining students' eligibility for and appropriate placement in district programs, need for supplemental instruction and eligibility for graduation.
The Board desires to use a variety of appropriate evaluation, including the following:
* Selected response (multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and fill-in)
* Written response (essays, reports, summaries)
* Performance assessments (based on observation and judgment)
* Direct personal communication with the student
Any classroom assessments that cannot be linked specifically to student learning expectations should be avoided. Further, the district will create an assessment and communication system that permits continuous and thorough tracking of student progress.
To have validity, tests must correspond to the material that is being taught and reliably measure the extent to which student meet specified standards of achievement.
(cf. 5121 - Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement)
(cf. 6011 - Academic Standards)
(cf. 6142.7 - Physical Education)
(cf. 6162.51 - Standardized Testing and Reporting Program)
(cf. 6162.52 - High School Exit Examination)
(cf. 6162.54 - Test Integrity/Test Preparation)
The effectiveness of the schools, teachers and district shall be evaluated in part on the basis of these student assessments.
(cf. 0500 - Accountability)
(cf. 0520 - Intervention for Underperforming Schools)
(cf. 0530 - Awards for School Performance)
(cf. 4115 - Evaluation/Supervision)
(cf. 6190 - Evaluation of the Instructional Program)
When districtwide and school-level results of student assessments are published, the Superintendent or designee may provide supplementary information to assist parents/guardians and the local community in interpreting test results and evaluating school performance.
(cf. 0510 - School Accountability Report Card)
Individual Record of Accomplishment
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that each student, by the end of grade 12, has an individual record of accomplishment that includes the following: (Education Code 60607)
1. The results of the achievement test administered under the Standardized Testing and Reporting program pursuant to Education Code 60640-60647
2. The results of any end-of-course examinations taken
3. The results of any vocational education certification examinations taken
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
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
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 CENTRAL UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: March 14, 2006 El Centro, California