Stewartville School District Policy 618
Orig. 1998
Reviewed: 12/2014
Revised: 2010,5/2012, 1/2015
618 ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to institute a process for the establishment and revision of assessments to be used to determine how well students have achieved the Graduation Standards.
II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
The school district has established a procedure by which students shall complete the Graduation Standards. This procedure includes the adoption of performance assessment methods to be used in measuring student performance. The school district strives to continually enhance student achievement of the Graduation Standards.
III. DEFINITIONS
A. “Above-grade level” test items contain subject area content that is above the grade level of the student taking the assessment and is considered aligned with state academic standards to the extent it is aligned with content represented in state academic standards above the grade level of the student taking the assessment. Notwithstanding the student’s grade level, administering above-grade-level test items to a student does not violate the requirement that state assessments must be aligned with state standards.
B. “Academic standard” means a summary description of student learning in a required content area or elective content area.
C. “Below-grade level” test items contain subject area content that is below the grade level of the student taking the test and is considered aligned with state academic standards to the extent it is aligned with content represented in state academic standards below the student’s current grade level. Notwithstanding the student’s grade level, administering below-grade-level test items to a student does not violate the requirement that state assessments must be aligned with state standards.
D. “Benchmark” means the specific knowledge or skills that students must master to complete part of an academic standard by the end of the grade level or grade band.
E. “Computer-adaptive assessments” means fully adaptive assessments.
F. “Elective standards” means a locally adopted expectation for student learning in career and technical education and world languages.
G. “Fully adaptive assessments” include on-grade level test items and items that may be above or below a student’s grade level. [Note: Fully adaptive mathematics and reading assessments must be used for grades 3 through 7 beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and later.]
H. “On-grade level” test items contain subject area content that is aligned to state academic standards for the grade level of the student taking the assessment.
I. “Required standard” means a statewide adopted expectation for student learning in the content areas of language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education, and the arts, or a locally adopted expectation for student learning in health or the arts.
J. “Rubric” means the criteria set by the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) that must be used by a district to score student work that meets the specifications of a content standard.
IV. ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT
A. The criteria will be submitted to the school board for approval. Upon approval by the school board, the criteria shall be deemed part of this policy.
B. The school district shall ensure that students and parents or guardians are provided with notice of the process by which program Graduation Standards will be assessed in that school year.
C. Staff members will be expected to utilize staff development opportunities to the extent necessary to ensure effective implementation and continuous improvement of the implementation of the Graduation Standards at all levels and/or transition to assessments under the Minnesota Academic Standards.
V. STANDARDS FOR MINNESOTA ACADEMIC STANDARDS PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS
A. Benchmarks
The school district will offer academic knowledge and skills to allow students to satisfactorily complete a state standard by the use of grade level or high school level benchmarks. These benchmarks will be used by the school district and its staff in developing tests to measure student academic knowledge and skills.
B. Local Assessments
Locally selected assessments are expected to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their achievement of the elective standards or other locally adopted standards.
C. Statewide Academic Standards Testing
1. The school district will utilize statewide assessments developed from and aligned with the state’s required academic standards as these tests become available to evaluate student progress toward career and college readiness in the context of the state’s academic standards. If a state assessment is not available, the school district will determine if a student has met the required academic standards through locally developed assessments.
2. The school district will administer annually, in accordance with the process determined by MDE, the state-constructed tests to all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high school level as follows:
a. annual reading and mathematics assessments in grades 3 through 7 and high school reading and mathematics tests;
b. state-developed grade 8 and high school reading and mathematics tests aligned with state academic standards; and
c. annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 3 through 5 spans, the grades 6 through 8 spans, and a life science assessment in the grades 9 through 12 spans (a passing score on high school science assessments is not a condition of receiving a diploma).
3. The school district will develop and administer locally constructed tests in social studies, health and physical education, and the arts to determine if a student has met the required academic standards in these areas.
4. The school district may use a student’s performance on a statewide assessment as one of the multiple criteria to determine grade promotion or retention. The school district also may use a high school student’s performance on a statewide assessment as a percentage of the student’s final grade in a course, or place a student’s assessment score on the student’s transcript.
5. For students in grade 8 in the 2012-2013 school year and later, the school district must record on the high school transcript a student’s progress toward career and college readiness. For other students, this record of progress must be made as soon as practicable. In addition, the school district may include a notation of high achievement on the high school diplomas of those graduating seniors who, according to established school board criteria, demonstrate exemplary academic achievement during high school.
D. Rigorous Course of Study Waiver
1. Upon receiving a student’s application signed by the student’s parent or guardian, the school district must declare that a student meets or exceeds a specific academic standard required for graduation if the school board determines that the student:
a. is participating in a course of study, including an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course or program; a learning opportunity outside the curriculum of the school district; or an approved preparatory program for employment or post-secondary education that is equally or more rigorous than the corresponding state or local academic standard required by the school district;
b. would be precluded from participating in the rigorous course of study, learning opportunity, or preparatory employment or post-secondary education program if the student were required to achieve the academic standard to be waived; and
c. satisfactorily completes the requirements for the rigorous course of study, learning opportunity, or preparatory employment or post-secondary education program.
2. The school board also may formally determine other circumstances in which to declare that a student meets or exceeds a specific academic standard that the site requires for graduation under this section.
3. A student who satisfactorily completes a post-secondary enrollment options course or program or an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course or program is not required to complete other requirements of the academic standards corresponding to that specific rigorous course of study.
VI. CAREER EXPLORATION ASSESSMENT
A. Commencing with the 2014-2015 school year, student assessments, in alignment with state academic standards, shall include career and college readiness benchmarks. Mathematics, reading, and writing assessments for students in grades 8 and 10 must be predictive of a nationally normed assessment for career and college readiness. This nationally recognized assessment must be a college entrance exam and given to students in grade 11. This series of assessments must include a college placement diagnostic exam and contain career exploration elements.
B. On an annual basis, the school district must use the career exploration elements in these assessments, beginning no later than grade 9, to help students and their families explore and plan for postsecondary education or careers based on the student’s interests, aptitudes, and aspirations. The school district must use timely regional labor market information and partnerships, among other resources, to help students and their families successfully develop, pursue, review, and revise an individualized plan for postsecondary education or a career. This process must help increase students’ engagement in and connection to school, improve students’ knowledge and skills, and deepen students’ understanding of career pathways as a sequence of academic and career courses that lead to an industry-recognized credential, an associate’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree and are available to all students, whatever their interests and career goals.
C. Students in grade 10 or 11 not yet academically ready for a career or college based on their growth in academic achievement between grades 8 and 10 must take the college placement diagnostic exam before taking the college entrance exam under Section VII.D. Students, their families, the school, and the district can then use the results of the college placement diagnostic exam for targeted instruction, intervention, or remediation and improve students’ knowledge and skills in core subjects sufficient for a student to graduate and have a reasonable chance to succeed in a career or college without remediation.
D. All students, except those eligible for alternative assessments, must be given the college entrance part of these assessments in grade 11. A student under this paragraph who demonstrates attainment of required state academic standards on these assessments, which include career and college readiness benchmarks, is academically ready for a career or college and is encouraged to participate in courses awarding college credit to high school students. Such courses and programs may include sequential courses of study within broad career areas and technical skill assessments that extend beyond course grades.
E. As appropriate, students through grade 12 must continue to participate in targeted instruction, intervention, or remediation and be encouraged to participate in courses awarding college credit to high school students.
F. In developing, supporting, and improving students’ academic readiness for a career or college, the school district must have a continuum of empirically derived, clearly defined benchmarks focused on students’ attainment of knowledge and skills so that students, their parents, and teachers know how well students must perform to have a reasonable chance to succeed in a career or college without the need for postsecondary remediation.
Legal References:
Minn. Stat. § 120B.018 (Definitions)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.02 (Educational Expectations for Minnesota’s Students)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.021 (Required Academic Standards)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.022 (Elective Standards)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.023 (Benchmarks)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.11 (School District Process)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.30 (Statewide Testing and Reporting System)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.05050640-3501.0655 (Academic Standards for Language Arts)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.0700-3501.0745 (Academic Standards for Mathematics)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.0800-3501.0815 (Academic Standards for the Arts)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.0900-3501.0955 (Academic Standards in Science)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.1300-3501.1345 (Academic Standards for Social Studies)
20 U.S.C. § 6301, et seq. (No Child Left Behind Act)
Cross References: Stewartville School District Policy 104 (School District Mission Statement)
Stewartville School District Policy 601 (School District Curriculum and Instruction Goals)
Stewartville School District Policy 613 (Graduation Requirements)
Stewartville School District Policy 614 (School District Testing Plan and Procedure)
Stewartville School District Policy 615 (Testing Accommodations, Modifications, and Exemptions for IEPs, Section 504 Plans, and LEP Students)
Stewartville School District Policy 616 (School District System Accountability) |
