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Dr. Josh Carpenter
Executive Director of Student
Growth and Accountability
Dr. Art Fessler
Superintendent of Schools
CCSD 59
OurMission:
The mission of CCSD59 is preparing
students to be successful for life. We recognize students in
this era will be entering a workforce that will require a modern
skillset and knowledge to compete successfully in the global
workplace of tomorrow. These skills include the ability to
access, analyze, and apply information, civic and global
responsibility, collaboration, effective communication, critical
thinking, creativity, problem solving, self-awareness, and
determination and perseverance. It is our challenge, privilege,
and responsibility to ensure that every student in every
school leaves CCSD59 with these skills and competencies;
however, developing a comprehensive assessment solution
that measures soft skills, annual growth, and CCSS
attainment in meaningful ways presents a formidable
challenge.
TheChallengeof Meaningful Assessment
An important, yet difficult, factor in ensuring our students
are prepared for the next stages in life is to effectively
assess student growth through multiple measures. Student
assessment, whether by standardized or classroom-based
measures, is an important factor in teaching and learning.
Effective assessments not only provide a reliable and valid
measure of student growth, but also provide important
information to inform
teacher planning and
practice. Teachers
and administrators
must understand the
purpose of four major
types of assessments
related to instructional
planning (screening,
Assessing Student Growth in the 21st Century
diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome), and how the
development and integration of a comprehensive assessment
solution will result in the productive use of data to improve
instruction, reduce the redundancy of assessment, and
create seamless integration of student support (Brooke,
2017). This requires a level of assessment competency and
design that is surprisingly lacking in most school systems.
In recent years, many experts have questioned whether
the current design of assessment systems focuses too
much on measuring students’ ability to recall discrete facts
using multiple choice tests at the cost of not adequately
measuring a student’s ability to engage in and complete
complex thinking and problem-solving tasks (Partnership
for 21st Century Skills, 2014). Outside observers of the
U.S. school system have been quick to note potential
shortcomings, claiming that narrowly focused, high-stakes
assessment systems produce at best only illusory student
gains (Ridgway, McCusker & Pead 2004). The end result
of an over emphasis on any single assessment is an
increasing gap between the knowledge and skills students
are acquiring in schools and the knowledge and requisite
skills to succeed in an increasingly global, technology-
infused 21st century workplace (Partnership for 21st Century
Skills, 2014). In short, standardized assessments are not
designed to measure how
well students apply what they
know to new situations or
evaluate how students might
use technologies to solve
problems or communicate
ideas, but rather, standardized
assessments are designed to
largely summarize information
the current design of assessment
systems focuses too much on
multiple choice tests at the cost
of not adequately measuring a
student’s ability to engage in and
complete complex thinking and
problem-solving tasks.
In short, standardized
assessments are not designed to
measure how well students apply
what they know to new situations
or evaluate how students might use
technologies to solve problems or
communicate ideas.
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