Developing Traditional and Performance Assessments

EdFOCUS helps schools or districts devise common or benchmark grade-level assessments for core subjects.  Administered at strategic intervals, these tests measure student mastery of the standards taught since the last test.  They include multiple choice and 2- and 4-point constructed responses to parallel the high-stakes tests students will face.

Ask yourself: Where are we now? What is our current level of operation, and how effective are we in terms of our student performance, our curriculum and instructional delivery, and our organization and infrastructure?

Organization and Infrastructure

‘Who’ is in charge of ‘what’ and how do our various systems operate within our overall structure? What communication channels are in place, and how well are they working? To what extent do our teachers demonstrate leadership in decision-making and problem-solving?

Student Performance

Student Performance includes academic achievement, citizenship, and attendance. What do our state tests show? How about our district tests? How do these compare with classroom performance? Which staff are really using the data to decide what happens with our students?

Curriculum and Instruction

What is being taught in each classroom? Is it the adopted curriculum? Is it based on state academic content standards?

How is the curriculum being taught? What strategies and techniques are used? To what extent are the ‘best practices’ evident? How is differentiation being provided?

How are the curriculum and the instructional programs being monitored? Are they driven by student performance? How do principals facilitate?