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Contact Chris Westphal, Director of Accountability and Organizational Development cwestphal@sanjuan.edu 916.971.7200 Demographics Summary San Juan Unified School District has a well-established assessment system. It uses a formula to combine multiple measures based on state tests, district assessments, and "classroom work." The combined score yields an overall performance level. Assessments are identified for each grade level. District assessments do not measure specific content standards because there tend to be too few items for reliability and validity. San Juan uses assessments to measure "global" standards, what the state calls substrands. The Accountability Department maintains the database and produces student, teacher, and school/district reports. School and district reports show the percentage of students at/above proficiency for each grade level for each standard. Academic Standards Full Description Standards-Based Assessments San Juan Unified School District has a well-established assessment system. The district has defined multiple measures for grades 1-12 that measure standards in language arts, mathematics, history/social science, foreign languages, and physical education. Assessments measure "global" content standards and yield performance levels (Advanced, Proficient, Approaching, Below). The "global" content standards match the state's substrand categories. This approach maintains fidelity between what is reported and what can be reliably assessed. The SAT-9 is administered in grades 1-11 in San Juan. District-developed assessments in language arts are administered at grades 1-5, 8, 10, and 12 and in mathematics at grades 1-5 and for selected courses in grades 6-12 (e.g., Algebra 1, Geometry). Teacher judgment based on classroom work applies to all grades or courses being assessed. Composite Index A composite index score is derived from a combination of state and district scores. Three basic measures -- SAT-9, district assessment, and classroom work -- are combined to form an overall measure. Classroom work is defined as ongoing informal assessments, and the district provides scoring guides for teachers. SAT-9 will likely be replaced by the California Standards Tests in language arts and mathematics as they become available. Cutoff scores on each assessment define performance level "scores." Composite performance levels are computed as follows:
Reporting and Using Results The Accountability Department produces three basic types of reports:
Principals are trained to involve teams of teachers in using results to evaluate schoolwide program effectiveness. The reports help school staff identify success and areas for improvement -- both in terms of specific content standards and student groups (i.e., narrowing achievement gaps). The district's central office also engages in using results to make districtwide program decisions. For example, results indicated a gap in achievement for student groups, especially for African American students who tended to perform lower than the white majority A Blueprint for Success that specifically targets improving services to close the achievement gap was developed. |
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