| Status | Adopted |
| Original Adopted Date | 03/23/2000 |
| Last Revised Date | 02/25/2019 |
| Last Reviewed Date | 02/25/2019 |
(K–12 Districts)
The district will use high-quality academic assessments as one indication of the success and quality of the district's education program. Further, the Board recognizes its obligation to provide for and administer assessments as required by law. The Board directs the superintendent or designee to create procedures governing assessments consistent with law and Board policy.
In cooperation with the administrative and instructional staff, the Board will regularly review student performance data and use this information to evaluate the effectiveness of the district's instructional programs, making adjustments as necessary.
The district will comply with all assessment requirements for students with disabilities mandated by federal and state law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Participation
In order to achieve the purposes of the student assessment program and comply with state and federal law, the district requires all enrolled students to participate in all applicable aspects of the district assessment program, including statewide assessments.
District Assessment Plan
The superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district has a written assessment plan that will test competency in the subject areas of English, reading, language arts, science, mathematics, social studies and civics, as required by law.
The purposes of the districtwide assessment plan are to facilitate and provide information for the following:
1. Student Achievement – To produce information about relative student achievement so that parents/guardians, students and teachers can monitor academic progress.
2. Student Guidance – To serve as a tool for implementing the district's student guidance program.
3. Instructional Change – To provide data that will assist in the preparation of recommendations for instructional program changes to:
► Help teachers with instructional decisions, plans and changes regarding classroom objectives and program implementation.
► Help the professional staff formulate and recommend instructional policy.
► Help the [[board:start|Board of Education]] adopt instructional policies.
4. School and District Evaluation – To provide indicators of the progress of the district and individual schools toward established goals.
5. Accreditation – To ensure the district obtains and maintains accreditation.
There shall be broad-based involvement of staff and others with appropriate expertise in the development of the assessment program and its implementation. Instructional staff will be given training and responsibilities in coordinating the program. Every effort will be made to ensure that testing contributes to the learning process rather than detracts from it and that cultural bias does not affect the accuracy of assessments.
Reading Assessment
The district will administer a reading assessment to students in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades to determine whether additional reading instruction and retention are needed, as required by law. The district will also administer a reading assessment to all students who transfer to the district in grades four, five or six, and to all students attending summer school due to a reading deficiency, as required by law.
The reading assessment will be a recognized method or combination of methods of assessing a student's reading ability. Results of assessments will be expressed as reading at a particular grade level. The superintendent or designee will determine which methods of reading assessment the district will utilize.
English Proficiency Assessments
The district will annually assess the English reading, writing and oral language skills of district English Learner students in kindergarten through grade 12.
Statewide Assessments
The district will implement the components of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) in order to monitor the progress of all students in meeting the challenging academic standards set forth by the Missouri State Board of Education. The assessments will be the same for all students in the district, including those students identified as migratory or homeless, students in foster care and students with a parent/guardian who is an active duty member of the armed forces or who serves on full-time National Guard duty.
End-of-course (EOC) assessments will be administered in accordance with law and the rules of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). In courses where EOC assessments are given, the superintendent will determine what percent of the course grade will be decided by performance on EOC assessments.
If a student is taking a course that requires an EOC assessment and is failing the course or for some other reason may be required to retake the course, the district may choose to delay administration of the EOC assessment until the student has completed the course the second time. A team consisting of the course instructor, the principal and a counselor will determine when delayed administration of an EOC assessment is appropriate. In the case of a student with an individualized education program (IEP), the IEP team will make the determination.
EOC examinations may be waived for:
1. Students receiving special education services whose IEP teams have determined that the MAP-A alternative is the appropriate assessment;
2. English learner students who have been in the United States 12 or fewer months at the time of administration, in some circumstances; and
3. Foreign exchange students.
The School Board authorizes the superintendent to establish a process designed to encourage the students of this district to give their best efforts on each portion of any statewide assessment, which may include, but is not limited to, incentives or supplementary work as a consequence of performance.
National Assessment of Educational Progress
If chosen, the district will participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress as required by law.
Assessments in Preparation for Postsecondary Education and Work Opportunities
The district encourages students to prepare for postsecondary education or work opportunities prior to graduating from the district. District staff will encourage students to take assessments necessary for pursuing postsecondary education, career training and employment. Such assessments may include, but are not limited to, the ACT, the ACT Plus Writing Assessment, the ACT WorkKeys assessments (WorkKeys) and the SAT. When the district determines it is economically feasible, the district may provide access to assessments at the district's expense. The superintendent or designee will work with testing companies to provide eligible students access to fee waivers and other resources so that all district students may access these assessments.
ACT/WorkKeys at State Expense
DESE may require school districts to administer the ACT as part of statewide testing requirements. When that occurs and the state funds the test, any student who would be allowed or required to participate in the ACT will have the opportunity, on any date within three months before the ACT administration, to participate in the WorkKeys at the state's expense in lieu of taking the ACT. Any student who participated in a state-funded administration of the WorkKeys shall not participate in any state-funded administration of the ACT.
ACT/WorkKeys at District Expense
Students who are required or allowed to participate in the ACT at district expense will have the opportunity, on any date within three months before the ACT administration, to participate in the WorkKeys at district expense. The district may also require the student to take the ACT.
High School Equivalency Examination
The district participates in the Missouri Option Program, a competency-based program that allows eligible students to earn a district diploma if the student passes the state high school equivalency examination.
Parental Notice
At the beginning of each school year, the district shall notify the parents/guardians of each student that the district will provide, upon request and in a timely manner, information regarding any state or district policy regarding student participation in any assessments. Such notice shall include information about state or local policies that would allow students to opt out of assessments. Missouri has no such policy, and the district expects all students to participate in all district or statewide assessments.
The district shall post on the district's website and, where practicable, on the website of each school in the district for each grade level in the district, information on any assessments required by state or federal law, including any assessments required by the district. The information shall include the subject matter being assessed, the purpose for the assessment, the source of the requirement for the assessment, and where the information on the assessment is available. The information shall also include the amount of time students will spend taking the assessments, the schedule for the assessments, and the time and format for disseminating the results, when available.
If the district does not operate a website, the district shall determine how to make the information widely available, including dissemination through the media, public agencies or directly to the parents/guardians.
The district will provide parents/guardians information, if available, on the level of achievement and academic growth of the student on each of the statewide assessments in which the student participates. The district will provide the information in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent possible, the information will be written in a language the parent/guardian can understand. If it is not practical to provide written translations to parents/guardians, the information shall be orally translated for them. Upon request by a parent/guardian with a disability, the district will provide the information in an alternate format that is accessible to the parent/guardian.
Access to Assessments by Students Not Enrolled in the District
In order to foster positive community relationships and to promote the academic progress of all students located within the district, the district may, at its discretion, allow private and home-schooled students who reside within district boundaries but who are not enrolled in the district to participate in grade-level, end-of-course or other assessments if the assessments are funded by the state. These student scores shall not affect district accountability.
5 C.S.R.20-500.330
MSIP
I-2
I-4
JO-1-AP(1)
JO-1-AP(2) STUDENT RECORDS - (Disclosure of Photographs, Images and Recordings Maintained by the District) KB: Public Information Program