Ruthanne Bexton,
   Director, Elementary
   Programs
Julia Kempkey,
   Director, Secondary
   Programs

In This Issue

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

 

 

 

 

New Standards.

Common Core State Standards adopted by California in 2010 requiring students to show they have a deeper understanding of the content.

New Direction. 

To ensure all students no matter where they live are college and career ready. The standards are like those being used in other countries so that our students will be able to compete globally.

 

New Scores.  

The new California assessment known as Smarter Balanced or California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), is an online assessment and cannot be accurately compared to prior year's test results because this is a brand new system.

 

   

    

Raising the Bar in Novato

NUSD Curriculum & Instruction Newsletter
 
September 22, 2015
CAASPP Student Score Reports 


NUSD will be mailing out the individual Student Score Reports on Friday, September 25, for students in grades 3-8, and 11 and science CST scores for grade 10.   
Smarter Balanced Assessment
Keep results in perspective for students, families, and our school community
 
College and Career Ready
California has developed a big plan to give students the knowledge and skills needed in the 21st century.  To this end, the Novato Unified School District has aligned our local priorities, adopted new standards, curriculum, and assessments.  As a school community, we will continue to strengthen programs and meet the needs of every student.
 
The new California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) includes the Smarter Balanced English and Math tests and the Novato Unified School District completed the first administration last spring.  Since this is the first year that results will be provided, the information is considered a baseline for the progress we will be expected to make.  We are confident that as students, teachers, and staff have more experience with the new curriculum and assessments, our students will demonstrate increased 21st century skills.
 
Publishing new assessment results needs to be done with care and attention. The most important priorities are to be sure that students and staff are celebrated and supported for the work they do every day.
 
Priority #1:  The Social-Emotional impact of results on students.
Soon, parents of students who were enrolled in 3rd-8th and 11th grades will receive individual reports on the results from Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC.)  Some reports may indicate that they are not achieving at standard for their grade level.  For many of those students, this may be discouraging and could have an impact on their self-image, attitude and engagement in learning.
 
Therefore, when sharing results with students, educators and parents should emphasize the importance of information from daily learning activities, projects and classroom activities. Teachers and parents should highlight that there are daily opportunities for students to demonstrate their abilities in many ways that every child has a diverse and important set of strengths, and that schools will celebrate and support the whole child, regardless of their SBAC test results.
 
Priority #2:  The Professional and Cultural impact of results on staff and schools.
Districts and schools will also soon receive reports that provide a variety of district- and school-wide reports.  Past experience with high stakes accountability has often led school communities to over-emphasize these reports as highly valid measures of school instructional quality.  Sometimes, the messages are misconstrued, and schools are led to believe that they are not doing their best work.  Other times, there is a false impression of success when, in fact, there are areas that need attention.  Either way, it is important that measuring the quality of a school or district cannot be done using a single measure.
Therefore, in concert with our statewide support for Local Control and Accountability, we are called to use a variety of measures.

Like Driving a Car.
When discussing SBAC assessment results, it can be helpful to think about the dashboard of a car.  There are several different dials, instruments, levers, and buttons that give us good information. The SBAC results can be considered the odometer; they give us periodic information about how far we've traveled, but we don't drive around every day watching the odometer.  The speedometer, gas gauge, temperature and oil levels are all important too.  Good drivers also use their windows and mirrors, listen for traffic issues, and keep their hands on the steering wheel.
 
Next Steps
Please review the information below to 1) celebrate the hard work we have completed so far, 2) understand how to review the individual student reports and, 3) obtain other relevant information and frequently asked questions.
 
#1 Celebrate Learning
The Smarter Balanced Assessments help us redefine what we want students to know and be able to do.  The CA State Standards (also known as "Common Core") are a dramatic shift towards more rigorous critical thinking.  Students must regularly read complex non-fiction, write arguments that include claims, evidence, and reasoning.
 
We are part of an amazing team, and you deserve recognition for your outstanding professionalism and hard work throughout these past few years.  Our transition to the new CA State Standards and the new assessments is a large endeavor.  Teachers and parents are at the heart of the work in their efforts to make significant changes in classroom practices and providing supporting homes.  Support Staff, Principals, Custodians, Office Managers and Secretaries have also contributed in many ways to ensuring safe and effective learning environments, effective 21st century technologies, clear and organized procedures, and specialized instruction and services to students.
 
#2 Understand how to read an individual student report
When we receive the paper reports (Student Score Reports), we will mail them home to parents.  The reports include overall scale scores for English and Math as well as more refined breakdowns within each subject.  5th and 8th grade reports will include a section on Science.  10th grade reports will only provide results on Science.  11th grade will include a report on College readiness as determined by the Early Assessment Program.  For a preview of a sample student report, visit this website:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQi4qlOCrmk&feature=youtu.be.
 
The new individual student scale scores for Smarter Balanced assessments are NOT COMPARABLE to the old scale scores from the CA State Tests in English and Math. Grade level, School, and District Reports have recently been made public and can be found at http://caaspp.cde.ca.gov/.  Principals and other school leaders will receive training on how to review these reports and how to best communicate this information to their school communities.
 
#3 Get more information
Teachers and parents know the most about the daily progress students are making and the particular strengths and needs that each student has.  Therefore, parents should always start with their child's teacher to understand how their child is doing in school. For more information regarding the CA Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, please visit these websites http://www,cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca and http://www.nusd.org/departments/curriculum___instruction.
 
On behalf of the Novato Unified School District, please accept our wishes for a great school year.
 
 
Julia Kempkey                                     Ruthanne Bexton
Director, Secondary Programs              Director, Elementary Programs


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