Student works, such as oral presentation or research projects, is evaluated using state scoring guides. Classroom work samples are collected over time and provide ongoing evidence of student learning. In addition, teachers use a variety of other assessment strategies to track student learning from day to day. These may include classroom tests, essays, interviews, journals, oral exams and informal teacher observations. Teachers use this information continually to adjust instruction to meet student needs and to ensure that students are making continual progress.
Schools provide parents many options for learning about their child's progress.
Starting this year, all parents who have children in grades 5-9 will receive a report on their child's progress toward meeting CIM standards. Many teachers also collect a portfolio of each student's work, which parents are welcome to review upon request. Parents also can always call their child's teacher to check on progress. Beginning in the 1998-99 school year, high school sophomores will have the opportunity to tear a Certificate of Initial Mastery, or CIM, which demonstrates through classroom assignments and state tests that they have met or exceeded state standards for learning. Benchmarks describe the smaller steps students work on all through their school years to reach the standards.