08.26.19

2019 CAASPP and ELPAC Student Score Reports

Student Score Reports for CAASPP and ELPAC are now accessible through Infinite Campus.  Follow these directions to access your child’s scores:

  1. Infinite Campus Parent Portal
  2. Menu
  3. More
  4. Assessment
  5. California Paperless Reporting
  6. Select language from the dropdown menu
  7. Click “Generate” box

Here are some resources from the California Department of Education that will assist you in understanding the Score Reports

CAASPP

Sample CAASPP Score Report

Starting Smarter CAASPP Website

 

ELPAC

Sample ELPAC Score Report

Starting Smarter ELPAC Website

 

 

12.02.18

The Most Effective Study Methods

With End of Course Exams right around the corner, many students are preparing and might be wondering what are the most effective methods to learn the content.  This short video is a great summary of the most effective study methods from our the field of cognitive psychology.

 

03.22.17

California Assessment of Science Standards (CAST)

This video provides a general overview of the pilot California Science Test (CAST) and how it is aligned to the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS). This video will also offer testimonies from California educators speaking in support of the CAST. Resources for the CAST will also be recommended in the video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=knwWpNmdvxk

11.04.16

Chronic Absenteeism

The State Board of Education is still grappling with the data that will be included in our new accountability system, yet one data point that is definitely going to be a part of the conversation is Chronic Absenteeism.  NPR has an article on 5 reasons why this is a good idea.  here are their reasons:

  1. It’s measurable
  2. There is lots of room for improvement
  3. Reducing chronic absenteeism improves student achievement.
  4. Rates of chronic absence differ greatly, so any state should be able to see which of its schools are doing well and which ones need improvement.
  5. There’s strong evidence that schools can control and reduce chronic absence

One of the best reasons that we feel that this is a measure that will spur Sweetwater staff and students to improvement is because of our focus on Quality First Instruction.  Students who are missing out on that Quality First Instruction will not gain as much by attending Saturday school as they would if they were in attendance in the first place.  We can also learn some things from this district in Michigan who uses their data to make positive changes in the culture of their district.

 

 

10.24.16

Data Analysis + Protocols = Better Decisions

I recently had a conversation with Mark Patterson, AP at Olympian High School who described his school’s analysis and decisions related  to CAASPP testing.  After the 2015 testing, Olympian High noted that the listening and speaking claims were the lowest area in the assessed English  Language Arts standards (a theme that was repeated in every SUHSD school).  From that analysis they determined to work on the listening and speaking standards as a focus for the 2015-16 school year.  Now that the 2016 results are available, Olympian is taking that analysis a step further to seek to understand the root causes of the areas of greatest deficiency on the 2016 CAASPP data.  This progressive approach to data analysis is a good example of the work that we should all be doing to first describe the patterns and trends we see in the data, then think carefully and deeply about the causes for the results that we observe.  This is difficult work  and is aided by the strategic use of protocols.

Initial data analysis should start with a protocol that guides you  through the data from description, to linking practice with outcomes, to generating possible solutions based on the analysis at hand.  The Root Cause Analysis that Olympian High will be undertaking this year can be supported by this protocol and even deeper thinking around this can be seen here.  I can’t encourage enough the widepsread use of protocols, in particular at the Professional Learning Community (PLC)  level where Common Formative Assessments for a particular course can be tools to unearth data patterns and trends that can lead to more informed decisions by individual teachers, PLCs, site and district teams.   You can see more information about protocols on this page of our R&E website.

Cheers