ESSA Assessment Workgroup

October 11, 2016

1:00-3:00 PM

Agenda

ESSA Workgroup - Assessment

Second Meeting

1)  10 min. Welcome and outstanding business

2)  100 min. Work session

3)  10 min. Wrap-up / next session October 18, 2016

Essential Question

How do we ensure alignment of assessments across grade spans that will provide teachers, parents, and both local and state level decision makers with the data to support students to be college and career ready by the time that they graduate?

Strategic Questions

1.  1st meeting - What is the current state of Nevada’s assessment system?

(homework for second meeting) What should be the ideal state of Nevada’s comprehensive assessment system to meet our statewide goals?

Strategy question: What are the requirements of ESSA relating to this workgroup and how can we use these requirements to empower our state goals?

2.  2nd meeting - Do the assessments that we give provide any predictive value to progress towards college and career ready targets (or high stakes assessments)?

a.  How does Nevada’s current system align to the state’s college and career ready standards at each level?

3.  3rd meeting - What should be the ideal state of Nevada’s comprehensive assessment system to provide meaningful college and career readiness indicators?

3rd meeting - Do the assessments provide essential information for teachers to meet the differentiated needs of their students?

a.  Is there another purpose that the assessments should provide? If so, what is it and why?

b.  How does the assessment system allow us to identify focus areas and drive towards gap closure?

c.  Workgroup Recommendation(s)

Each workgroup will prepare answers to the following questions for each recommended strategy.

  1. What are the requirements of ESSA relating to this workgroup and how can we use these requirements to empower our state goals?
  1. Based on your analysis, what strategy/strategies do you recommend for aligning assessments across grade spans that will provide us the data to support students to be college and career ready by the time that they graduate?
  1. How does that strategy meet the state goals (listed below)?

·  All students are proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade.

·  All students enter high school with the skills necessary to succeed.

·  All students graduate college, career, and community ready.

·  All students learn in an environment that is physically, emotionally, and intellectually safe.

·  All students served by effective educators.

·  Efficient and effective use of public funds in service to students.

  1. Why this strategy?

·  What is the biggest reward of this strategy?

·  What is the biggest risk?

·  What are the benefits of choosing this strategy over another?

·  How do the results we could expect from this approach compare to the results we could expect from other approaches?

  1. What is the best way to communicate this strategy to the greater Nevada education community, if approved by the Advisory Group?

·  Who are the right audiences?

·  Who can serve as a surrogate for message delivery?

·  What are the most effective mediums for delivery?

6.  What are the key intersections with other ESSA workgroup efforts that should be considered?