Across Tennessee, teachers and school leaders are using data from assessments to provide individualized instruction to every student. These schools
and districts use information from assessments to ensure all students have
an opportunity for success.
Using Assessment Data and Technology to Support Instruction. Maryville City
Schools, a district of approximately 5,000 students in East Tennessee, is leveraging technology to implement a comprehensive formative assessment
system. The district’s iREACH initiative launched in fall 2013, with the goal
of infusing technology in the classroom to support online assessments and
enhance teaching and learning. Maryville’s technology investments allow
teachers and school leaders to use a robust formative assessment program
to support improved student learning. This technology-based formative assessment program provides teachers with timely and meaningful data that
allows them to shift their instruction throughout the school year to better
meet student needs.
PRIORITIES IN ACTION:
USING DATA AND
ASSESSMENTS TO
INFORM INSTRUCTION
Leveraging Assessments and Data to Implement Response to Instruction and
Intervention (RTI²). Hillsboro Elementary/Middle School, a K-8 school locat-
ed in Middle Tennessee, is serving as a districtwide model for how to incorporate RTI² into daily schedules in middle school. First, the school uses
formative assessments including STAR Reading and Math and AIMSWeb to
identify students in need of intervention or enrichment. Then, the school
uses a second related arts block to provide time for intervention and enrichment for students. Some students may receive enrichment two days a
week, while others may receive remediation-focused intervention three or
five days a week. When students are not in intervention or enrichment, they
are in a related arts “minor,” which includes physical education, computer,
guitar, and other activities.
In addition to the intervention/enrichment block, Hillsboro faculty employ
a number of strategies that leverage the formative assessment data they
collect through RTI². Hillsboro’s strategies include:
› Data meetings every six weeks to review RTI² data and discuss intervention or enrichment approaches.
›
Ongoing intervention and remediation to students identified through
assessment and progress monitoring.
› Ongoing professional learning opportunities for three hours per month
to provide training in best practices for instruction and strategies to improve student learning.
› Administering quarterly benchmarks to monitor student progress.
At Hillsboro, data garnered from formative and summative assessments
guide the school’s individualized approach to student learning.
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