ILA-STUDENT ASSESSMENT/LOCAL ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
File: ILA
STUDENT ASSESSMENT/LOCAL ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
Maine law requires that every school board adopt and fully implement by the end of the 2003-2004 school year a local assessment system as the measure of student progress toward achievement of the content standards of the system of Learning Results.
A “local assessment system is defined as a coordinated collection of assessments administered to students that, as a whole, provides information on individual students, the school, and the school administrative unit with respect to achievement of the content standards of the system of Learning Results.
Through this policy, the Board adopts and directs the Superintendent to implement, the MSAD #11 Local Assessment System. The Superintendent shall be responsible for reviewing the Local Assessment System for compliance with applicable statutes and rules and for certifying to the Commissioner that it is in compliance with Maine Department of Education standards.
The purpose of the Local Assessment System is to provide information that will be used to guide and enhance classroom instruction, monitor student progress, and certify student achievement with respect to the school system curriculum and Maine's Learning Results.
In addition, the Local Assessment System is designed to provide valid and reliable information on student achievement in order to evaluate educational programs and practices and to make informed decisions related to curriculum and instruction, professional development, and the allocation of resources to better meet students needs.
The Local Assessment System may also be used to identify specific learning problems, individual learning styles, and for other purposes related to individual student learning and achievement.
The Local Assessment System may be expanded to incorporate other relevant information that affects the success of students, including student attendance data, dropout rates, student participation in co-curricular and extracurricular activities, and post-secondary survey data.
The following general principles apply to the Local Assessment System.
A. Assessment will be aligned with the curriculum and with the performance indicators of the content standards of the Learning Results.
B . The Local Assessment System will use multiple measures of student learning for each grade span (K-4, 5-8, and 9-12). The assessment measures should be developmentally appropriate for the age span.
C . The System is intended to provide for a fair and equitable opportunity for students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding.
D. The System will include at a minimum classroom, school, school administrative unit, and state levels of assessment. Regional and commercially produced tests may be used, but commercially produced tests may not carry a majority of the weight in determining student performance.
E . Neither the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) nor a commercially produced test may be the only measure of student achievement.
F . Effort shall be made to see that testing contributes to the learning process rather than detracts from it.
G . Accommodations may be made in an assessment based on the needs of a student as established in the student's Individualized Education Plan or Section 504 plan.
The Superintendent, through the Assistant Superintendent and Curriculum Coordinating Committee, will be responsible for the design of the Local Assessment System. The Board expects that there will be input from teachers and administrators in the development and refinement of the System.
The Board recognizes that teachers and school administrators will be primarily responsible for administering assessments and for collecting, organizing, and interpreting information. School personnel should be appropriately trained to develop, use, and adapt assessment data.
The Superintendent will be responsible for ensuring that provisions are made for review and analysis of information obtained through the Local Assessment System and for appropriate instructional intervention when individual students or groups of students fail to achieve performance standards.
The Superintendent will be responsible for implementing a record-keeping and reporting system that will be used to provide understandable information to the Board and to students, parents, teachers/professional staff, administrators, and the community. Data will be presented in a way that conveys school and school unit performance on the content areas of the system of Learning Results and allows for comparison to statewide performance.
The Board will annually review the results of the Local Assessment System.
Legal Reference: 20-A M.R.S.A. 9 6201-6205
Ch. 127 §5 2,4 (Me. Dept. of Ed. Rules)
20-A M.R.S.A. SEC. 6201
Basic School Approval Rules, Chap. 125.15, B
Adopted: MAY 5, 1994
Revised: JUNE 3, 2004