Philosophy

The Coppell ISD is committed to providing each learner high quality instruction through a rigorous curriculum. It is imperative to assess that which is written and taught. A comprehensive assessment system affords educators the opportunity to measure learner success and utilize the information to continually improve teaching and learning. Therefore, assessments are the foundation for designing educational opportunities that promote student achievement by allowing educators to meet the needs of all learners and measure growth toward learning outcomes. The use of any one assessment does not provide sufficient information to guide instruction. Both formative and summative assessments must be used in combination with all other available information about a learner to guide instruction.

Guiding Principles of Assessment

• Educators align and design assessments to standards, learning outcomes, and cognitive rigor of instruction to identify if learners are meeting the expectations of the curriculum.

• Assessments used for formative purposes include quantitative and qualitative data, acquired through formal and informal means, to determine where the learner is, where the learner should be, and how to move the learner forward on the learning continuum.

• Assessments used for summative purposes measure learning, the effectiveness of instruction, and the alignment of the curriculum.

• A comprehensive assessment system includes universal screeners, progress monitoring, diagnostic assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments.

• Assessment is:

  • an on-going, spiraling, data driven process that guides instruction.

  • a balance between “of” learning and “for” learning.

  • aligned and integrated with curriculum.

  • essential for learner and educator accountability.

  • more about quality than quantity.

  • a form of communication.

  • a way to ensure that learners have a clear understanding of what they have learned and why.

  • a way to promote greater learning and growth through differentiated, yet respectful, tasks.

• Assessment includes:

  • an alignment between the assessed content and clearly defined learning outcomes.

  • well-designed rubrics, when appropriate, to provide learners with an understanding of where they are on the learning continuum.

  • an appreciation of learner goals, learning modalities, and learner choice.

  • transfer (performance) tasks, when appropriate, to measure deep understandings resulting from the curriculum and elements of cognitive rigor, such as application of knowledge.

  • an opportunity for educators and learners to provide specific, accurate, fair, and timely feedback regarding learner performance.

  • collaboration among educators in the design of common assessments and subsequent use of the data to monitor and adjust instruction.

  • clearly set success criteria that the learner understand and can articulate.

  • opportunities for learner self-reflection.

• Grades communicate student achievement relative to standards.

• Grades clearly reflect a learner's growth rather than average performance.

• Behavior and academic achievement are reported separately.