Rondout School District 72

Rondout School District 72 believes that high quality assessment is an integral part of effective instructional processes. Assessment can take many forms from high stakes standardized tests to informal teacher observations. Establishing measurable goals and targeted outcomes provides direction and focus. Our emphasis on the whole child requires a variety of tools including both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Rondout values providing students with meaningful, real-life learning experiences which support students’ college and career readiness, academic, and life success. Common core components, 21st century skills, and new literacies continue to be embedded into the overall curricular experience. The comprehensive assessment framework unique to Rondout is built upon and grounded in reliable and valid measurement tools that provide each child with an individualized learning plan and a strong educational foundation. Time spent on measuring progress is balanced with active learning and research-based holistic approaches to teaching and learning. On a daily basis, teachers use data to inform their practice, evaluate student performance, and guide educational decision making.

Parents receive regular updates about their child’s progress based on data generated by the framework tools that focus on the whole child from social-emotional learning to fitness to academic achievement. Report cards are distributed three times per year. Each school year begins with an “intake” parent conference that sets the stage for Rondout’s important partnership with parents and students. Another check-in conference is scheduled early in December to insure that the learning process is on track. Parents are welcome to reach out to teachers as needed to set up additional conferences and teachers regularly reach out to parents to gather and share feedback about students’ growth, interests, strengths, and needs. Starting in third grade, parents are also invited to a conference to review their child’s Individual Learning Improvement Plan (ISLIP) based on the outcomes of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. These optional conferences review the child’s progress over time including a predictive analysis of anticipated performance and a deep dive into test performance.

Rondout remains committed to excellence and to providing students with a strong educational experience that balances Common Core and fundamental skills. While Rondout believes in the power of assessment, it also believes that each child is more than a sum of his/her test scores. At the same time, Rondout acknowledges that these test scores are often the gatekeepers that open and close doors to opportunities in life. Utilization of our existing assessment framework supports the measurement of both individual student growth and program effectiveness in order to optimize each child’s success as a learner.

Questions regarding the overall assessment framework may be directed to Dr. Jenny Wojcik, Superintendent, jenny.wojcik@rondoutsd72.org.