I. Evaluation of Instructional Programs for Performance Improvement
The ongoing evaluation of educational programs is essential for improvement of student academic performance and to fulfill the District Mission: To inspire every student to think, to learn, to achieve, to care.
District Programs
In order to implement evaluation of district educational programs, the Associate Superintendent will appoint a member of the administrative staff to be responsible for evaluation of school district programs. This administrator in turn will:
A. Initiate, develop, and maintain Districtwide group assessment and testing programs.
B. Collaborate and assist with studies conducted or sponsored by local, state, or national civic or professional organizations, or accrediting associations.
C. Collaborate with principals, teachers, instructional administrators, and curriculum committees to evaluate district educational programs
The Associate Superintendent through the office of assessment and evaluation shall be responsible for obtaining data regarding educational quality and improvement of student academic performance. Such data shall provide information to evaluate the effectiveness of the total educational program.
Information from districtwide assessments shall be used by principals, teachers, guidance counselors, curriculum committees, and other resource personnel in designing curriculum and programs to meet the needs of students and improve student performance. It also shall be used as a basis for counseling with parents concerning the progress of their children. Districtwide assessment procedures should be varied and include, but not be limited to, locally developed tests and assessments, surveys, interviews, nationally normed tests, observations, and performance-based assessments.
Data from district sources (e.g., student attendance, grades, course history, etc.) should be linked with assessment data to help interpret assessment and evaluation results and plan instructional, budgetary, or program changes to increase student performance.
The district assessment and evaluation program shall be under periodic review by the administration, the office of assessment and evaluation, and members of the teaching staff. A three-to-five year assessment and evaluation plan shall be developed, with the recommended assessment program for each succeeding school year reviewed annually by the Board.
District indicators of educational quality and student achievement shall be prepared so that the data are consistent for comparison purposes within the school district from year to year and with other school districts to the extent required by rules of the State Board of Education. Results of district assessment and evaluation program shall be published annually and reviewed by the Board.
School Programs
The evaluation of school improvement programs and accountability for improvement is the responsibility of building administrators and staff. Each building administrator should develop an evaluation design to accompany school accountability and improvement goals to insure that programs are carefully assessed. A new program should be evaluated at a reasonable point in time to discern the effectiveness of the program.
The superintendent will provide district and outside resources, advice, and services to building administrators and staff as may be required to do an effective job of program evaluation.
Guiding Principles for Evaluation of Instructional Programs
All program evaluation activities should focus on enhancing student performance and progress. Individuals should use data wisely in decision making, to improve student achievement. The following principles should guide the evaluation of instructional programs and the use of results.
A. Multiple indicators are needed to obtain a full picture of quality of education.
B. Effective curriculum and instruction require ongoing assessment.
C. Indicators of educational quality should be understandable and usable.
D. Assessment and evaluation are integral parts of instruction.
E. Multiple levels (district, school, classroom) of data collection are needed to obtain a complete picture of education quality.
II. Assessment and Evaluation of Students for Performance Improvement
The Board, superintendent, instructional administrators, principals, and teachers are committed to assessment and evaluation of student performance necessary to fulfill the District Mission: To inspire every student to think, to learn, to achieve, to care. The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to provide students and their parents with information needed for continuous progress toward meeting the highest level of performance on Board-adopted proficiencies and performance standards, and curricular objectives. In addition, assessment information assists teachers, instructional administrators, the Board of Education, and the community in understanding the quality of education in the Cherry Creek Schools as it relates to student growth and achievement.
Districtwide Assessment Systems
A districtwide assessment and evaluation system should provide information to monitor how well the District Mission is being fulfilled. District assessment information should assist and support, not replace, teacher judgment in the evaluation and monitoring of student progress. The validity of teacher judgment should be strengthened and corroborated through school and district assessments, as well as through state and nationally developed tests. The districtwide assessment system shall enable district personnel to examine the consistency and validity of teacher judgments within and between schools.
The districtwide assessment system is part of a broadly shared accountability system that includes students, teachers, parents, school administrators, and the Board, who are all responsible and accountable for student growth and performance.
Classroom and School-level Grading and Assessment Systems
The district is committed in its instructional program to making achievement targets clear, recognizable, and possible for students. It shall emphasize intellectual achievement in its processes of evaluating student performance.
The administration and professional staff shall devise grading and assessment systems for evaluating and recording student progress on student learning goals and district proficiencies. The records and reports of individual students shall be kept and communicated in forms which will be meaningful to parents and students in evaluating performance improvement, as well as to teachers.
Classroom and school assessment systems shall provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and skills, using a variety of assessment techniques.
Although the Board recognizes that any grading and/or assessment system is inherently based on judgment, a quality control system is needed that uses policy and specific strategies to minimize human error or disagreement in the evaluation of student performance.
Guiding Principles for Student Assessment and Communicating Performance Improvement
All student assessment activities should focus on enhancing student growth and performance.
The following principles should guide the development and administration of student assessments and use of results.
A. Teachers must have a central role in the assessment of student performance and progress. Teacher judgment about student performance and progress is valid and reliable when it is based on data such as in-class performance, grades, homework, assessments, etc.
B. Assessment should be part of an integrated system (curriculum, instruction, assessment, staff development) to make productive instructional changes and enhance student performance.
C. Assessments at all levels (classroom, school, district) should meet appropriate technical standards of reliability, validity, and generalizability, and should be developmentally appropriate and sensitive to equity issues for all students, without lowering standards.
D. District and school level assessments should support teachers' ongoing assessment and evaluation activities.
E. Assessments should mirror the best instructional practices and curriculum, focusing on their essential parts.
F. Students should be presented with opportunities to demonstrate performance in a variety of assessment formats. No single assessment should suffice as evidence of level of performance on proficiencies or curricular objectives.
G. The assessment system should promote school and teacher consistency in assessing student achievement in a fair and comparable manner.
III. Definitions
Assessment
The gathering of data about students or program; the results of several assessments may be combined in an evaluation.
Evaluation
The application of judgment to assessment information, comparing performance to the intended results.
Revised: March 14, 1994
Approved: April 4, 1994
CROSS REFS.: JLCAC, Screening/Testing of Students
LC, Relations with Education Research Agencies
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