A Superintendent Writes... Common Assessments - A Teacher Who Gets It

A LYS Superintendent submits the following:

SC,

I was recently talking to a principal about common assessments.  Of course, anyone familiar with the Foundation Trinity knows common assessments are instructional assessments, not teacher assessments. So, this principal has a teacher who fully understands this.  The teacher has a phenomenal relationship with his students and prior to every assessment he reminds his class of the following:

“I want you all to relax. This is not a test of you, this is a test for us.  This test lets us know how well I taught YOU.  So please, do your best, and we will see how well we have done.”

From what I am told by the principal, the common assessment results are always encouraging.  It is amazing what happens when students start to apply themselves FOR THEIR TEACHER!

SC Response

Thank you for sharing. I have witnessed what you have reported numerous times. Once a teacher positions a group of students to give an honest effort, then the resulting valid data informs that teacher’s next cycle of instructional decisions.  Do this a couple of time and real separation from the pack begins to occur.  For a teacher working alone, the separation is from other teachers on the campus.  Get a group of teachers working together (a PLC) and the separation is from peer campuses.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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