The new 10th grade proficiency in reading and writing doesn t appear to have changed content as much as expected skill levels. Thus the staff is more focused on enhancement of skill levels and articulation of expectations throughout the entire k-12 curriculum. Assessments One of the concerns of staff was the issue of how to assess the progress of students as they proceed through new curriculum realignment, sequencing of courses and the emphasis on mastery learning. The CRT is a locally developed assessment administered to all students, regardless of ability level at the conclusion of an identified piece of the core curriculum. The assessment is given at the end of an academic term, usually the semester or year.
All students take the same assessment.
This allows for monitoring of the curriculum as well as consistent emphasis on outcomes from teacher to teacher. In addition to the CRT s, the Perry Schools have employed the services of Dr. William Sanders, founder of the Value-added model of assessing student achievement at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Sanders has received substantial national attention for his work in helping the state department of education in Tennessee analyze proficiency results and determine the contributions of individual teachers to the achievement of students, regardless of their ability level or socioeconomic background. It is our intent to use the results of Dr. Sanders work to strengthen the delivery of our curriculum to each student in the district. Dr. Sander s research team is currently analyzing Perry data and will share results over the coming year.