School or Agency Assessment Program

Goals and Purposes of the Assessment Program/Plan Teachers, counselors, administrators, and parents need all types of information about students. They need to know about their cognitive and scholastic abilities, their interests, their achievement, and their problems. Schools implement assessment programs to provide information needed to improve the public schools by enhancing the learning gains of all students and to inform parents of the educational progress of their children (Drummond & Jones, 2010). School assessment programs are in place for a variety of purposes, such as: 1. Identifying the readiness of kindergarten and first-grade students. 2. Determining whether students have mastered the basic and essential skills required by the school system. 3. Placing students in educational programs. 4. Identifying students with special needs. 5. Evaluating the curriculum and specific programs of study. 6. Helping students make educational and vocational decisions. 7. Assessing the intellectual ability and aptitude of individual students. 8. Measuring achievement in specific courses and subject areas. Types of Information Needed to Make Decisions Accommodation Resources is one type of resource needed to make decisions. Accommodations are changes to materials or procedures that enable students with disabilities or English language learners (ELLs) to participate meaningfully in learning and testing. It is important to keep in mind that while some accommodations may be appropriate for instructional use, they may not be appropriate or allowable on a statewide assessment. ARD Committee Resources is another type of resource needed to make decisions. Admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee members should use the important resources to guide decisions about a student’s participation in the Assessment Program. Decisions should be based upon the student’s educational need(s) and how he or she accesses the state-mandated curriculum as documented in each student’s individualized education program (IEP). Explanation of Test Results is yet another type of resource needed to make decisions. To assist districts with the task of helping parents understand their child's test results, the Student Assessment Division has developed brochures for all of the state assessments administered to students from K-12. Additionally, Special Education Resources are utilized to make decisions in the Assessment Program. The admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee determines which assessment is appropriate for each student based upon his or her individual needs. In order to make this decision, ARD committees must be familiar with the statewide assessment options available to students as well as how their decisions impact a student’s academic future. If the Assessment Program in which the student graduates under is unclear, one must contact the Education Agency’s Student Assessment Division. Furthermore, Progress Measures is an additional resource needed to make decisions. This Assessment Program uses two types of measures to track student progress: projection measures and growth measures. Projection measures predict future student performance from current performance. Projection measures do not specifically evaluate student score changes across past years, although the models are developed based on the score changes of previous cohorts of students. Growth measures, by contrast, track student performance from grade to grade. Types of Instruments and Procedures for Selecting Them School assessment programs encompass several different types of assessment instruments used at different grade levels. For example, state achievement tests are given to students in grades 3 through 8 and one grade in high school to assess their progress in achieving their state’s educational standards. Readiness tests may be administered to preschoolers to determine their readiness to enter kindergarten or first grade. As students reach the middle and high school years, instruments assessing interests, abilities, and values may be utilized to obtain information for post-high-school planning. Achievement Tests, Intellectual Ability Tests, Readiness Tests, Aptitude Tests, Admissions Tests, and Career Assessment Instruments are the types of instruments utilized in the School Assessment Program. Each type of instrument as listed above has procedures for selecting them. Every state requires schools to administer achievement tests that are aligned with their educational standards. On these examinations, students must earn a minimum test score to prove mastery in order to be promoted to the next grade or graduate high school. Test that measure intellectual ability are used in the schools for a variety of purposes. They may be used to help identify students with intellectual disabilities or learning disabilities, or to place students into specialized academic or vocational problems. Schools frequently use the scores from readiness tests to determine whether children are “ready” for kindergarten or are “ready” for promotion to first grade. Four of the most widely used aptitude tests are the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), and the Career Aptitude Placement Survey (CAPS). Some school districts administer an aptitude test in the 10th grade. Readiness tests assess whether children have the underlying skills deemed necessary for school learning. Most high school counselors are in charge of coordinating programs to administer the PSAT, PLAN, SAT, ACT, or other college admissions tests to students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. This can include providing orientation about admissions tests to students and parents, having information about prep classes, and ensuring that students meet the necessary deadlines for complete test registrations. Various career assessment instruments are used in the schools, especially at the middle school and high school levels. General interest inventories are often given at both levels. In addition, school counselors often administer career development inventories that help the school district evaluate the educational and vocational needs of the students.

Responsibilities of the Staff

Responsibilities of the staff include many tasks and duties across the school system. Most clerical work for assessment programs include entering records into a database, collecting documents, processing paperwork and organizing and scheduling meetings. Assessment coordinators are responsible for assessing programs. Administration may often be tasked with developing and implementing assessment plans that are viable and focus on the most important learning outcomes of the program. Teachers may evaluate and improve goals, prepare a plan to gauge whether objectives are being met and demonstrate that assessment outcomes are being used for program improvement, especially in regards to student learning. As the school staff works toward evaluating and improving school programs and student performance, administrators review educational directives with faculty, staff and parents and determine program effectiveness and instituting any necessary changes. Testing coordinators ensure that programs comply with local, state and federal regulations, and they establish educational standards and develop policies that ensure they are met. Teachers must monitor student progress and resolve issues that may arise along the way. Teachers also have the responsibility of teaching methods and content of programs. The PEIMS office clerk is responsible for determining the allocation of funds needed to operate effectively and efficiently and soliciting program funding from external sources, including businesses, local government and the community. To perform these functions, the entire school staff must be organized and possess a keen attention to detail. Analytical aptitude and the ability to interpret data typically are a must, as is a talent for meeting deadlines and managing multiple tasks simultaneously.

Procedures for Disseminating Assessment Results Analyzing data includes determining how to organize, synthesize, interrelate, compare, and present the assessment results. These decisions are guided by what assessment questions are asked, the types of data that are available, as well as the needs and wants of the audience/stakeholders. Since information may be able to be interpreted in various ways, it may be insightful to involve others in reviewing the results. Discussing the data in groups will result in greater understanding often through different perspectives. Disseminating the assessment findings is an important part of a comprehensive assessment process. Programs will need to identify the stakeholders, or audience, interested in the assessment results. After the stakeholders are identified, dissemination strategies will need to be developed. Some examples of how various formats assessment results can be shared include: Final report, Informal or summary reports, Presentations, Upload to website, Offer a workshop, Department meetings, Hold open forum for discussion. The dissemination strategies are determined by what stakeholders want or need to know. For example, if faculty wants to know ways to improve the program, the dissemination strategy may be a report describing curriculum related findings. The following chart is a tool that can be used to help determine what information and what format would be most useful and appropriate for stakeholders. Evaluation Strategy In order to determine evaluation competencies that counselors need, the following must be true. Firstly, school counselors should demonstrate skill in choosing assessment strategies. Along with this, school counselors can identify, access, and evaluate the most commonly used assessment instruments. In addition to this, school counselors are skilled in the techniques of administration and methods of scoring assessment instruments. Also, school counselors are skilled in interpreting and reporting assessment results. Additionally, school counselors are skilled in using assessment results in decision making. Furthermore, school counselors are skilled in producing, interpreting, and presenting statistical information about assessment results. Moreover, school counselors are skilled in conducting and interpreting evaluations of school counseling programs and counseling-related interventions. Lastly, school counselors know how to engage in professionally responsible assessment and evaluation practices.