Assessment involves both gathering information and using that information as a means to improve teaching and learning at the individual, classroom, school, and district levels. It includes making expectations explicit and public, and setting appropriate criteria and high standards. It centers on gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine set goals for continuous improvement and determine means of achieving those goals. Assessment is not a single set of actions, but an ongoing cyclical process.  Assessment are designed around specific purposes:

• classroom assessments are ongoing and can be summative (end of unit, report card grades, etc.) or formative (ongoing, frequent).
• common local assessments can be standardized assessments or locally developed assessments used by multiple teachers (ex: common midterms)
• state and federal assessments are standardized and are intended to provide a snapshot view to provide program evaluation.

NECAP currently serves as the VT state assessment until spring 2015 when we transition to a new state assessment SBAC (SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium).

News!  Vermont will be transitioning from NECAP as our state assessment to SBAC (SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium) beginning Spring 2015.

The NECAP reading, writing, mathematics and science tests measure students’ academic knowledge and skills relative to Grade Expectations which were developed by teams of teachers from Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Grade Expectations represent the knowledge and skills that students should have achieved by the end of the previous school year (reading and math) or at the end of a specific grade span (writing and science). Reading and math are assessed in grades 3-8 and 11, writing is assessed in grades 5, 8 and 11, and science is assessed in grades 4, 8 and 11. The reading, math and writing tests are administered each year in October. The science tests are administered in May.

Students’ NECAP scores are reported at four levels of academic achievement: Proficient with Distinction, Proficient, Partially Proficient and Substantially Below Proficient. Results are reported for the following student groupings: All students, gender, racial/ethnic group, disability status (IEP), free/reduced lunch status (FRL), English language proficiency (LEP), and migrant students. For more NECAP results and additional information, visit the Vermont Department of Education’s website.

Assessment updates:

• CCSU 2012 NECAP Results Press Release

Fall 2011 Results

• Westford NECAP results 2012 13 testing year
• EJSD Verified NECAP data 2012 13
• EHS VERIFIED NECAP results 2012 13

School accountability (AYP is based on NECAP results.  AYP reports can be found here.

Comprehensive Local Assessment Plan

Chittenden Central Supervisory Union is committed to gathering evidence of standards-based achievement through the use of assessments that both monitor and respond to student learning needs. This commitment is the foundation of the CCSU Common Local Assessment Plan. The Vermont Department of Education provides guidance for all Vermont Schools in the meeting the requirements for A Local Comprehensive Assessment System as described by the Vermont School Quality Standards.

A Local Assessment System must address the following requirements:

1. Enable decisions to be made about instruction, professional development, and educational resources and curriculum.
2. Be consistent with the Vermont Comprehensive Assessment System adopted by the State Board of Education in November 1996, as amended from time to time
3. Align with the Framework (and Grade Expectations).
4. Employ a balance of classroom-based and school-level assessments.

Formative assessment is the practice of frequently monitoring and assessing the learning of all students and adjusting instruction to better meet their needs. CCSU recognizes the critical importance of formative assessment in ensuring that all students make continuous progress in reaching and exceeding standards. By placing an emphasis on formative assessment, or assessment for learning, CCSU works to promote classroom practices in on-going monitoring of student learning by gathering evidence of understanding and misunderstanding on concepts, content, and skills. Providing continual feedback to learners enables both students and teachers to work together to close gaps between current learning and established learning intentions.

Checking for understanding is the hallmark of assessment for learning. Teachers emphasize the use of feedback (both student self-assessment as well as peer and teacher feedback) to monitor progress toward established learning goals for continuous improvement in both learning and teaching. Progress monitoring systems are designed to improve communication about student performance within and beyond the professional learning community. Information from common interim, benchmark, and summative assessments is used formatively to the greatest extent possible.

“The purpose of formative assessment is to provide feedback to teachers and students during the course of learning about the gap between students’ current and desired performance so that action can be taken to close the gap.”

- Margaret Heritage, UCLA

During the 2009-2010 school year, four CCSU schools (Summit, Hiawatha, Fleming, and EHS) are participating in Vermont’s Formative Assessment Project. In Vermont, formative assessment is defined as the gathering of evidence of learning in the classroom to guide instruction and adapt teaching to meet student learning needs. The purpose of the Formative Assessment Project (FAP) is to develop greater capacity for teachers to frequently monitor the learning of all students and adjust instruction to better meet their needs. The Formative Assessment Project, coordinated by Ken Remsen, uses the Educational Testing Service’s, Keeping Learning on Track (KLT) Program along with the formation of small sustainable teacher learning communities (TLCs) in which participants learn and refine the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively implement and sustain formative assessment practices in their classrooms.

CLICK here for information about Standards-based report cards.

Last updated: Feb 6, 2013 at 3:19 pm