Policy Statement

The Board of Directors of Seattle Public Schools, in alignment with Policy No. 0010, Instructional Philosophy, believes that assessments are a critical component of our education system to inform instruction through the identification of student strengths, assessment of learning growth, and diagnosis of barriers and areas of support.

Definitions

Four general types of assessments within the balanced assessment framework are used in Seattle Public Schools:

• Formative: A range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted on a short-term and frequent basis during the learning process in order to modify teaching activities to improve student learning. Formative assessments are generally classroom-based and integrated into the instructional process. (e.g., exit slips, observations of students, teacher questioning, short quizzes)
• Interim/Benchmark: Administered periodically at set intervals during the school year to evaluate where students are in their learning progress toward attaining end-of-year learning standards. Interim assessments are more formal than classroom assessments. However, interim assessments play a formative role in helping educators make decisions about instruction. Interim assessments demonstrate which standards have been learned over time, and may be predictive of performance on summative assessments. Interim assessments may be standardized, normed against a comparative population, or judged against a set of criteria. (e.g., formal assessment of oral reading or computer scored assessment administered at the end of a quarter or trimester)
• Summative: Used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement of learning standards at the conclusion of a defined instructional period such as the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year. Summative assessments may be standardized, normed against a comparative population, or judged against a set of criteria. (e.g., end-of-year state-mandated assessments)
• Performance: Typically require students to complete a complex task. Performance assessments measure the acquisition of large bodies of diverse knowledge and skills over a period of time. (e.g. rubrics to assess writing assignment, science experiment, speech, presentation, performance, or long-term project)

Considerations

• Classroom assessment involves collecting high-quality evidence of learning, calculating it accurately, and reporting it clearly. Learning requires clear targets, plenty of practice, and helpful feedback.
• Teachers create learning targets so students know where they are going. The learning targets are the learner outcomes defined by the Washington State learning standards.
• Students need clear feedback about how they are doing in relation to the learning targets. This comes in the form of verbal and written feedback, class discussion, feedback on assignments and formative assessments. Report cards provide a summary about how each student is doing in relation to the learning targets.
• Students need helpful advice and strategies to hit the expected learning targets.  This learning advice is given in conversations, as verbal or written feedback on assignments, and in communication to parents (e.g. Parent/student/teacher conferences, report cards).
• Teachers have a legal responsibility to teach and assess the learner outcomes.  Measuring learning is a significant responsibility; it is also complex work, enhanced by nuanced decision-making.
• Teachers’ professional judgment is a vital ingredient in effective classroom assessment.

Implementation

A. Selection, Approval, and Communication of Assessments

• Assessments administered to students in the system will be on the approved assessment list. 
• Assessments are placed on the approved list according to the following guidelines:
  • State-mandated assessments are automatically placed on the approved assessment list;
  • District-selected and district-designed assessments will align with current SPS initiatives and Superintendent Goals. 
• At the outset of an assessment adoption process, key stakeholders including the School Board, district staff, SEA and PASS should be informed of the following:
  • Intended purpose of the assessment
  • How results of the assessment will be reported/utilized
  • How families/community members will be engaged throughout selection process
• An Assessment Steering Committee comprised of Seattle Education Association (SEA) and District administrators will use, but are not limited by, the following criteria for evaluation and selection of approved assessments:
  • Alignment with the Washington State learning standards;
  • Support attainment of goals outlined in the SPS strategic plan and Continuous School Improvement Plans (CSIPs);
  • Validity and reliability of the assessment;
  • Alignment to Board Policy No. 0030, Educational and Racial Equity;
  • Number of students impacted by the assessment;
  • Time and resources required for administration;
  • Effects of the assessment on delivery of instruction;
  • Cost of the assessment; and
  • Feasibility and utility of the assessment data.
• The Assessment Steering Committee’s recommendations will be presented in writing to the Superintendent or designee for review and approval. School staff and administrators may adopt additional assessments as identified in their Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP).
• All assessments for district-wide use will be reviewed by the School Board’s Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee, with the exception of any test that is mandated for state or federal accountability. District-wide assessments are those that are funded centrally and used by all district schools for which they are intended.  All assessments that have contracts exceeding the threshold set forth in Policy No. 6220 will be reviewed for approval by the School Board.
• A communication plan will be implemented to notify district employees, families and students about any newly approved assessments prior to implementation.

B. District-Wide Assessment Calendar

• District-mandated assessments are identified from the approved assessment list and scheduled within the District-wide annual assessment calendar by the Assessment Steering Committee. 
• The Assessment Steering Committee reviews the District’s annual assessment calendar, range of offerings within a balanced assessment framework, ease of application (i.e., logistics, technology, procedures, etc.), impact on instructional time, and utility related to informing instructional decisions.
• The calendar should include anticipated timelime for receiving results.

C. Assessments that are not governed by these procedures

• Teacher-made assessments (classroom-based assessments) designed to assess achievement in individual classrooms;
• Assessments provided with approved SPS instructional materials or curricula;
• Assessments designed and selected by the teacher aligned to specific unit and learning outcomes (progress monitoring assessments, summative assessments); and
• Diagnostic tools administered by Special Education and Student Support Services.

Roles and Responsibilities

A. The Superintendent or his/her Designee will:

• Appoint a central office administrator who serves as the Assessment Development Program Manager, and is responsible for the oversight of the implementation of state and local assessment administration and data reporting policies within SPS.

B. The Assessment Development Program Manager will:

• Be the sole individual authorized to procure assessment materials for SPS;
• Create and publish the SPS assessment calendar which will include all testing windows for assessment administration and serve as the official document to guide school planning for such administration;
• Make available to the public the approved assessment list annually and no later than August 15th of each year;
• Coordinate all state-mandated assessments and related activities at the district level;
• Direct and coordinate the distribution of assessment materials to, and collection of assessment materials from, schools;
• Develop implementation procedures for state-mandated and district-selected assessments; and
• Investigate and report testing violations.

C. School Leaders will:

• Ensure that teachers are aware of and adhere to the guiding Principles of Effective Assessment as described in Board Assessment Policy No. 2080, Assessment; 
• Implement school and site level practices that ensure parents receive regular communication and timely access to information about student growth and achievement;
• Implement school and site level practices that ensure the assessment policy and procedures are communicated to parents/guardians and students;
• Designate a site-level assessment coordinator;
• Release the assessment coordinator to attend required training meetings;
• Distribute testing results as required and safeguard electronically stored data and assessment items within their schools;
• Provide ongoing notification to the school staff and community of the school’s assessment calendar/schedule;
• Ensure that teachers receive training, professional development and support regarding assessment purposes, practices and application of assessment data to inform and tailor instruction; and
• Develop a plan that provides learning activities for students who do not participate in an assessment.
• Students shall not be subject to punitive or exclusionary treatment for non-participation in assessments.

D. Teachers will:

• Communicate regular and timely information to parents and students regarding growth and achievement of students;
• Maintain confidential and accurate records documenting student progress;
• Use assessment results to modify programs and instructional strategies and approaches in response to student needs and abilities;
• Engage students in the assessment process; and
• Provide learning activities for students who do not participate in an assessment.
• Students shall not be subject to punitive or exclusionary treatment for non-participation in assessments.

Policy Cross References

• 2080 – Assessment

Approved the Board

• July 5, 2017