The board's focus has been not to fight testing, because testing provides the input data that can be used to achieve improvement. In addition to helping students as individuals, the district's plan and testing programs offer a visual measure of accountability that can be shared with the community. Hillary said the district is fortunate to have a school board that has allowed the system to grow. Everyone at THSD 214 also realizes the task is never done. The strategic planning necessary to achieve these ends may sound mechanical, Hillary said, but the plan consistently has to be monitored for effectiveness.
Boards always have to be cognizant of the kinds of assessments that are out there.