Student Assessment Inventory for School DistrictsInventory Planning Training

Session goals

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Provide an opportunity for district leaders to work together to reflect on their local assessment context and clarify goals and strategies to complete the assessment inventory process.

Identify common and district-specific needs around communications and messaging.

Develop an inventory timeline through back-mapping activities.

Build a shared vision of success.

There are legitimate concerns from parents and the public about too much testing.

The volume of testing goes well beyond those required by states, and the layers of state, district, and school assessment do not always add up to a cohesive, aligned, informative whole.

The Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts is designed to assist district leaders in taking stock of their assessments and assessment strategy.

The assessment inventory is designed to spur action to address these valid concerns.

Why is an assessment inventory needed and what is it designed to do?

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The objective is to determine the minimum testing necessary to serve essential diagnostic, instructional and accountability purposes.

Taking stock and then taking action requires significant district commitment.

The inventory tool is only one element of a thoughtful longer process that both engages productively with concerns about testing and leads to real changes in testing time.

The inventory is not a one-time event. Districts should regularly re-examine their assessments in light of changing district needs and improvements in available assessments.

The inventory and related resources are free to use and adapt.

What is the Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts?

District context

District context

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What is the district context in which the inventory is being considered?

Current district assessments

Implementation of new statewide standards and/or assessments

Parent or school board concern about testing load

Other district initiatives

District leadership turnover

Teacher unions

Funding

District strategies to complete the assessment inventory process

Objectives of the inventory process

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What are the objectives of the student assessment inventory?

What individual or entity has the authority to act on the results of the inventory? Who will be making the recommendations?

District strategies to complete the assessment inventory process

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Which individual or individuals are responsible for the success of this process?

Will the district bring in an external party/consultant to assist with the inventory?

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What is the scope of the inventory? Which assessments should be included and excluded from the inventory? Based on this scope, what information is needed?

What groups should be convened or surveyed to help provide answers (e.g., groups of teachers and other assessment users? How will they be convened (e.g., in focus groups by grade level or subject) and/or surveyed?

Data collection scope and strategies

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Who will collect the information needed for the inventory table? How will they access this information?

How will the district communicate to necessary parties that these individuals will be collecting this information?

Conducting the review

Collaboration

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Are there other districts with whom it would be useful to collaborate during this process?

Communications and messaging

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Identifying those stakeholders who are most critical in your district to the assessment inventory process.

Determining the current level of support and criticality of support for each stakeholder.

Identify and map your stakeholders

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Stakeholder mapping 2 x 2 matrix

Stakeholders recommended to be part of a leadership team and/or consulted during the process

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District leaders should ensure that they have the necessary district and school staff involved in an inventory leadership team and/or consulted during the process. Districts should think about the role of the following stakeholders:

District Assessment Director/Coordinator

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

District financial staff

School board members

Data Coaches or other role that works with school-based staff around data

School leaders including principals, instructional coaches, and lead teachers

Teachers

School counselors

Parents

Students

Given that assessment decisions have often been made

in silos, it is particularly important that the team crosses offices and responsibilities to

ensure a holistic approach

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Sites need to identify an individual or two to take the lead on developing – and even implementing – the plan and identify who will be the spokesperson(s) for results.

Who is the key individual developing and implementing the assessment inventory process?

Who is the spokesperson for the results?

Communications and messaging: Identify key leaders

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What are the site’s goals and anticipated outcomes around conducting the assessment inventory?

What are the site’s goals and outcomes around releasing the results?

Communications and messaging: Goals

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Who are the target audiences/groups you want to engage around your efforts to address testing in the district?

Who do you need to have in your tent to make progress to change what tests are given and change the perception of testing in the district?

Communications and messaging: Key audiences

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What are the three key messages you want to convey to all stakeholders (e.g., “we reviewed all tests given in the district, we give too many, we have a plan to improve”)?

What are the additional messages, building on your key three, that you may want to use with specific audiences?

Communications and messaging: Key messages

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What communications channels do you plan to use to deliver the message (e.g., earned media, paid media, PSAs, social networks, etc.)?

What other activities are worth investing in order to reach key audiences (e.g., roundtables, forums, or press conferences)?

What types of advocacy materials should you create (e.g., executive summary of results, fact sheets, etc.)?

Where will you publicly post the results of the inventory?

What are the additional messages, building on your key three, that you may want to use with specific audiences?

Communications and messaging: Communications channels and activities

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Your communications and outreach plans should include various phases of work to ensure a smooth rollout of messages, materials, and targeted outreach, aligned with major milestones in the process.

What are the key phases of the district’s communications and outreach plan?

When will materials and messages be developed?

How will the communications and outreach timeline be aligned with the overall assessment inventory process?

Communications and messaging: Timeline

Next steps

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Overall assessment inventory process

Communications and messaging plan

Reflect and plan Identify communications goals and key audiences; announce assessment inventory process publicly; align overall process to communications plan

Conduct the inventory Support inventory leadership team to gather input from multiple stakeholder groups.

Analyze the inventory

Make recommendations Develop key messages for public.

Take action Use communications channels to spread message about outcomes of inventory process.

Sample timeline

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Beginning with the end in mind, when would you like to have a new system of assessments in place?

Working backwards from that point, when would recommendations or policy changes have to be made?

Continue working backwards to identify key milestones required to complete the inventory process. Some of these key milestones might include completion of basic assessment information, completion of user feedback (e.g., from surveys, interviews, focus groups, forums, etc.), analysis of the inventory information and feedback, and recommendations.

What will be your immediate next step?

Are there any questions that have not been addressed?

Next steps and remaining questions

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For more information and resources: www.achieve.org/assessmentinventory

Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts

Student Assessment Inventory overview

Sample teacher, parent, and student focus group and survey materials

Student Achievement Partners assessment evaluation tools

Additional related resources