Welcome to Assessment and Accountability where the number one goal is to support and implement the vision, mission, and goals of the district. We continually promote the use of data from varying sources in making decisions about curriculum and instruction, as well as in planning for individual student needs.

***For the latest student achievement data for our schools, please visit http://www.alabamaachieves.org/reports-data/

RECOMMENDED READING

Understanding School Assessment

by Jan Chappuis

Understanding School Assessment will help parents and community members understand the important role classroom assessment plays in school improvement and student achievement. It explains in clear terms what a healthy, balanced assessment environment looks like in schools and classrooms and what you need to know about the wide variety of assessment information coming home today. This book will help you work knowledgeably with teachers, schools, districts, other parents, and community members to create the best educational environment possible for your child and the children in your community.

How to Grade for Learning, K-12

by Ken O'Connor

This new edition of the bestseller demonstrates how to improve grading practices by linking grades with standards and establishing policies that better reflect student achievement.

Transforming Classroom Grading

by Robert J. Marzano

Grading can be an invaluable tool for pinpointing strengths and weaknesses in students' understanding, provide a shared language for discussing learning, and help improve student performance over time. Unfortunately, current practices in classroom grading, such as the use of overall letter grades or percentage scores, are not amenable to this type of specific feedback. In fact, they do little more than label learning at periodic intervals. The antiquated grading system in use today has little or no research to support its continuation and is highly ineffective.

Transforming Classroom Grading presents viable alternatives. It is about designing grading systems that are both precise and efficient. Robert Marzano provides educators with a thorough grounding in grading research and theory. After clarifying the basic purposes of grades, he discusses what should be included in them, how to use a rubric-based approach to assessment and reporting, how to compute final topic scores and final grades, and how technology can streamline the grading process. He also addresses seven types of assessment, which, when coordinated, can provide a comprehensive view of student understanding and skill. Finally, he suggests alternatives to report cards with overall grades and ways to phase in their use.

USEFUL WEBSITES

Problem Based Learning

Resources to design and manage high quality projects for middle and high school students.

http://pbl-online.org/

Assessment for Learning Defined

http://www.assessmentinst.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/afldefined.pdf

Assessment Through the Student's Eyes

Rather than sorting students into winners and losers, assessment for learning can put all students on a winning streak.

http://www.assessmentinst.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Asssessment-Through-the-Students-Eyes.pdf

Enhancing Student Learning

Create profound achievement gains through formative assessment.

http://www.assessmentinst.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/enhancingstudent_dadmn01-08.pdf