School Assessments Used

http://prezi.com/4eoeqaeedufm/data-collection-and-analysis/

Those Interviewed
Superintendent
Curriculum Director
Elementary Principal
Middle School Principal
High School Teachers
Middle School Teachers
Elementary Teachers

Questions Asked
What assessments do you feel benefit the student body most?
Based on our Ohio State Report Card do you feel we have room for improvement?
What are we doing well when looking at our districts assessments?
Is their consistency by the teachers within all three schools?
Are we as a district using our data correctly and most effectively?

Analysis:
This informal interview was conducted at a Resident Educator meeting that is held monthly with year 1 and 2
teachers and mentors. Further, the superintendent, curriculum director, elementary principal, and middle school principal
were all in attendance at this meeting. It is important to note that there were teachers represented from all three buildings.
Many grade level and subjects were represented when speaking of assessments.
Rootstown Local School District serves approximately 1,322 students in total and is divided between three
schools: Rootstown Elementary School, Rootstown Middle School, and Rootstown High School. The elementary schools
houses students K-5 and has approximately 52 staff members including an intervention specialist for each grade level.
The middle school houses grades 6-8, while the high school houses students 9-12. Across the street on State Route 44 is
the Northeast Ohio Medical University ( NEOMED), students in grades 9- 12 may attend the Bio-Med Science Academy a
STEM+M ( Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine) Academy instead of the public Rootstown High
School. According to the Rootstown Elementary School report card for the 2012-2013 school year, the student enrollment
is 553 students. The population is comprised of mostly Caucasian students totaling 515 students or 93.2%. There are
154 students or 27.8% who are considered economically disadvantaged making this schools poverty level low. The
minority of this school is 3.7%. Of our minority students, the 3.7% is made up of 20 multiracial students. Students with
disabilities total 11.7%. English is the primary language of 100%.
The interview process began by discussing our schools report card and our rating of excellent. Rootstown Local
School District was given a B based on performance index and an A for indicators met, while this is pleasing for many and
the superintendent was proud, the principals were quick to begin discussing each schools individual grades and our
overall progress grade of C. It is apparent that one of the districts greatest downfalls is the subgroupings; students with
disabilities, students who are gifted, and students who are in the lower 20% of achievement. This began discussion began
the informal interview process and a look into the assessments used within the district.
Throughout the 2013-2014 school year each school has been working on improving their focus of the subgroups
which greatly hurt the overall rating of the district. Many professional development sessions were held on formative and
summative assessments and proper ways in which to use data obtained from these assessments. Teachers should never
stop learning, and professional development is one of the most important tools teachers can use according to Grant
Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2006) who state in their article, Examining the Teaching Life, A school is in business to cause
and promote learning. It should therefore model for all institutions what it means to be a learning organization. A school is
not merely a place that expects students to learn; it must encourage and support everyone's learning [including the
teachers] (p. 26). As the interview process began, it was held more as a round table discussion, it became obvious that
the administrators concerns were strictly with the report card grade. The administrators concerns revolved solely on their
desire to see our subgroups score higher than the year prior, thus improving the overall report card grade. I can say with
confidence that a great number of teachers were enraged by this answer. Many teachers addressed the fact that this
exact thinking, state ranking, is what makes education and assessments so difficult; we are creating them for the wrong
reasons. In an article written by Thomas R. Guskey (2003) entitled, How Classroom Assessments Improve Learning,
Guskey discusses why only using assessments for ranking is a mistake to not only students but teachers as well,
Assessments can be a vital component in our efforts to improve education. But as long as we use them only as a
means to rank schools and students, we will miss their most powerful benefits. We must focus instead on helping
teachers change the way they use assessment results, improve the quality of their classroom assessments, and
align their assessments with valued learning goals and state or district standards. (p.11)
Although this subject was not resolved, it was agreed upon that one of the greatest issues within the district is the goals
each school sets to achieve, versus the goals that the district wishes to achieve. Further, we discovered that many of the
teachers throughout all three schools may not be utilizing the assessment process as well as we should. One reason for
this lack of achievement is the number of times we allow students to take the assessment. Guskey (2003) believes that if
a student does not show achievement the first time the assessment is given, that it should be given again, to become an
integral part of the instructional process, assessments cannot be a one-shot, do-or-die experience for students. Instead,
assessments must be part of an ongoing effort to help students learn (p. 6). Some teachers express concern that giving
students a second chance might be unfair and that life isn't like that; however, as teachers we have taken on the
responsibility to help the student learn and be an active participant in their learning. We found that almost all participants
in the interview often did not give students another opportunity to retake larger assessments, but rather make corrections.
After discussing this issue further we agreed that all three schools should work on rectifying this situation and allowing
students to retake assessments after remediation has been given.
After speaking with all members of the Resident Educator team, it became clear to me that our greatest strength
was using assessments to guide classroom instruction, creating unique assessments, and communicating results of
assessments to all parents within the district. However, one recommendation is to help parents understand the shift from
old standards to new common core. Many of us have found that parents cannot help their students with homework
because they do not understand the new ways we are teaching old strategies. Weekly newsletters, important letters,
websites, and practice sheets are important to helping parents connect to what their children are learning. As one of the
leading childrens websites PBS has a section devoted to helping parents connect to their childs school work. One of the
first points made to the parents is how parents, attitudes about education can inspire their [children] and show them how
to take charge of their own educational journey (p.1). Additionally, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
(2002) found, When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do
better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more (p.1). If we want our children to enjoy learning then we must
teach the parents the importance of all assessments, lessons, and assignments made within our classrooms.









References
Arellano, B., Baldwin, M., LaTurner, J., Mabus, J., Wade, S. M., & Times, C. (2012). Southeast comprehensive center
briefing paper. Improving Family and Community Engagement Through Sharing Data, 5, 1-12.

Eat Smart for a Great Start Newsletter. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved March 29, 2014, from
http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/going-to-school/supporting-your-learner/role-of-parents/ References

Guskey, T. R. (2003). How classroom assessments improve student learning. Educational Leadership: Using Data to
Improve Student Achievement, 60(5), 6-11.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2006). Examining the teaching life. Educational Leadership: Improving Professional
Practices, 63(6), 26-29.