• Assessment and Evaluation

     

    Assessment and Evaluation are an integral part of the teaching and learning cycle. Teachers use a variety of assessments to identify students’ needs as learners. At Park, we view assessment as a tool for understanding the learner and informing instruction. There are four different types of assessments used throughout the school year to gather information about our students’ progress.

     

    Classroom-based Assessments

     

    Teachers utilize assessments on an on-going basis to ensure that students are learning. They also use the data from assessments to plan future lessons.

     

    District-wide Assessments

     

    There are several assessments that are given to all students across the District at specific times of the year. The purpose of these assessments is to provide our teachers with the opportunity to review assessment results with colleagues from other schools and share ideas.  The district adapted the Fountas & Pinnell assessment that teachers use to assess students in November and May.

     

    California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) / Smarter Balanced Assessment

     

    California’s academic standards – the things we want students to know and be able to do – are designed so students graduate well prepared for college and their career path. One way we measure their progress is through the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) assessments. Students across California in grades 3-8 and high school take these assessments each spring. These tests were created specifically to gauge each student’s performance in English Language Arts/literacy (ELA), mathematics, and science. These tests measure the skills called for by academic standards, including the ability to write clearly, think critically, and solve problems.

     

    Conferences and Report Cards

     

    Regular communication between teachers and parents is important to the academic and social development of each child. The school year is divided into trimesters.  At the beginning of November, parents are invited to a parent-teacher conference to discuss their child’s progress during the first trimester. The student receives a progress report at this time. Teachers also send home a progress report in March and June.