As we near the midpoint of the school year we are very
pleased at the progress our students are making and I am impressed with the instruction
that our teachers are delivering on a daily basis. We have had some tremendous
professional development throughout the year that teachers are participating in
and they are making tremendous efforts at applying the new strategies that they
have learned. The ultimate winner = our students.
Hopefully you are starting to hear about a number of
different assessments that students are taking. Next week all students in grades
6 through 8 will take part in an AIMSweb Universal Math Screening on Tuesday
and an AIMSweb Universal Reading Screening on Thursday and Friday. These are
very brief, pinpointed assessments that do not have a significant impact on our
building schedule or instruction those days. Essentially it is business as
usual. In addition to those assessments, students are starting to take a number
of interim benchmark assessments in some of their core and special area
classes. This isn’t having kids take a test for the sake of getting a grade.
These assessments are truly about gathering data on student learning to see
where they are. It is a checkpoint during the year which allows us to make
instructional decisions while we still have them in the building. This is true
data-driven instruction: obtain some data, analyze it, reflect on the
instructional practices and make decisions on how to proceed. This is meaningful
assessment. This is assessment that students and teachers benefit from because we
can do something about instruction right away.
On the other hand, the information that we get from state
assessments isn’t timely, it isn’t specific and doesn’t allow us to change instruction for individual students because
by the time we get the information they have moved on to the next grade or even
to the high school. I would also add that
having students sitting in desks for a two to three hour assessment three days
in a row is not going to give me results that necessarily reflect the true
abilities of that student. I’ll get off of my soapbox now.
Whatever reservations you may have when you hear the word “assessment”,
I want to ensure you that the assessments we are using during the school year
are truly for improving student achievement and learning. After all, student
achievement and learning is what schools should be all about.
Our focus has been, and continues to be, about constant
improvement in every facet of what we do. I am going to steal an idea that I recently read about in regards
to feedback. Starting next Friday, and every Friday after that, I will randomly
be calling five households to get your perspective on how you think we are
doing things here at West Genesee Middle School. Don’t be nervous when you see ‘West
Genesee Central School District’ show up on the caller ID. Talking to the Principal
isn’t always a bad thing!
If you have any questions or concerns about anything please
do not wait to be randomly called, I would love to hear from you either by calling me or
sending me an email: sdunham@westgenesee.org
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
