September 3, 2021

“Data doesn’t belong to the teacher.  The data belongs to the student and is on loan to you.”  --Damen Lopez

Developing a Commitment to Common Assessment Practices

(Damen Lopez)

             The most successful teams display a clear purpose on the way that they take a joint effort to utilize valuable assessment practices.  These teams exhibit the following characteristics:

            1.     Speak the same language, the language of data.  Successful teams continue to go back to the numbers.  While emotion is often an important quality that helps us to nurture and teach from the heart, getting results is the ultimate goal.  If a team is kind and nurturing, but their students are failing then they have not done their job.  Take the emotion out of the situation and look at the numbers.

           2.    Share data openly with one another.    One of the most difficult things for us to do as a teacher is to share our data.  We hide it out of embarrassment or fear of being judged.  Successful teams make commitments to looking openly at their data with the purpose to not cast blame, but to help one another.

           3.    Take responsibility for all students.  The easiest way for teams to get over their fear of sharing data is to decide that they are responsible as a whole for every student.  Being a team means working interdependently.  This starts with the way you collaborate about students.

            4.    Tie assessment to strategies and interventions that work.  It is often said we are “data rich and information poor.”  No one would argue the fact that assessments are crucial to ensuring academic success for students.  However, assessments that are given without plans to turn data into strategies that create success for students are useless.  Simply put:  Once you know where students stand, it is your responsibility to make use of that information and generate academic success as you teach them. The data you collect from MAP testing is your starting point.

It's time to identify students for the GATE program for next school year (2022-23). The GATE testing window will be from December 1 through December 15. We will be blanket testing all 2nd graders this year in addition to 3rd-7tth graders.

 

For all Grade 2  students

Parents should be notified that all 2nd graders will be tested. Parents do not need to submit a Request to Test for Gate form. Opt out letters will be mailed out to all 2nd grade families on November 1 to be returned by November 15 IF parents want their 2nd grader to opt out of GATE testing.

 

Students in Grades 3-7 

Students will be tested upon parent/teacher request as well as those who have met the preliminary criteria based on their academic data. Blake DiModica and Chris Albans will pull this data from Illuminate and will include the students on the master list of students to test for each site. Here is the link to the Request to Test for GATE Form.  The last day to request is October 22nd.  Opt out letters will be mailed out on November 1 to 3rd-7th grade families of whom other than parent requested GATE testing. The opt out letter is to be returned by November 15 IF parents want to opt their child out of GATE testing IF requested by other than parent.  

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Eat lunch virtually with a student that you may have a difficult time with. BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM!

Play:  Loved the staff challenge this morning. Thank you Mr. Kimble.

 Choose your attitude: BE POSITIVE!!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you to everyone for having an AMAZING BTSN!!