Student Assessment
Assessment of student learning is a critical component of the educational program. Assessment is ongoing and integrated into the teaching and learning process. In archdiocesan schools, assessment goals may be met through standardized testing, together with curriculum-based assessment.
Roles of Principals and Teachers
Teachers will utilize diagnostic, formative, summative, and self-assessment tools to monitor the academic progress of students.
The principal will review curriculum-based assessment data to monitor student progress.
The principal and teachers will use the curriculum-based assessment data and standardized test scores as criteria to select the most effective instructional strategies and resources, and to communicate to parents/guardians key information about student progress in meeting curriculum content standards and grade-level expectations.
Role of Parents/Guardians
Parents/guardians will be expected to communicate with teachers and the administration regarding the children's overall progress.
Standardized Testing
All schools are required to participate in an archdiocese-wide standardized testing program.
School personnel must be appropriately trained to work effectively and responsibly with the archdiocesan assessment instruments and data.
Standardized test results are only one indicator of the students' overall academic achievement. Teachers use standardized test results to identify students' relative academic strengths and weaknesses, design curriculum, and plan for instruction, and principals use the results to evaluate curriculum in order to set instructional priorities and plan appropriate
professional development.
Principals are expected to instruct parents/guardians on how to interpret their children's test scores and evaluate these in light of the overall school program.
The
Department of Catholic Schools will analyze test scores to identify achievement trends and will assist principals and testing coordinators to analyze and use test scores to improve learning.
Curriculum-Based Assessment
Assessment of student learning is an integral part of the instructional process. The purpose of assessment is to guide instructional decisions in meeting goals and to report student progress toward meeting content standards.
Assessment should be frequent, ongoing, varied, multifaceted, and integrated into the teaching/learning process.
The usefulness of assessment is dictated by the quality of the assessment in measuring student progress; therefore, teachers must carefully design appropriate, high-quality measures of student progress.
National Catholic Educational Association Assessment of Children/Youth Religious Education
The
National Catholic Educational Association Assessment of Children/Youth Religious Education (NCEA ACRE) is administered annually to students in fifth grade (Level 1) and eighth grade (Level 2) in archdiocesan schools.
NCEA ACRE is a tool for assessing the effectiveness of
catechetical programs in Catholic schools and
parish-based religious education programs. NCEA ACRE includes questions about faith knowledge and religious beliefs, attitudes, practices, and perceptions. It provides information about a catechetical program's strengths and areas that may need additional attention or improvement. To preserve the integrity of the testing program, testing materials cannot be shared with students and stored securely until the time of testing. Under no circumstances should specific test items be reviewed with students before or after the testing dates.
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