Consistent and Persistent Assessment
At Aspire Public Schools, assessment is a critical tool for observing individual student progress, understanding the development of individual teachers, and evaluating the success of the program as a whole. Multiple assessments are used to provide more comprehensive information on students’ learning:
- All standardized tests required for traditional public schools that are mandated in the California Education Code (including SAT-9; PSAT, SAT, High School Exit Exam)
- Other nationally recognized norm-referenced and/or developmentally based tests (e.g. Durrell Oral Reading; CAS Problem Solving; Berkeley Readiness Test, Advanced Placement tests)
- Any local district assessments required of other public schools in the chartering district
- Specialized assessments developed by Aspire Public Schools for all areas of the academic core (e.g. project rubrics)
- Day-to-day assessments related to specific content or skills (running record for language arts; math computation quizzes, unit tests)
- Qualitative observations of the process of learning (teachers' anecdotal notes, a child's reflection log, internship mentor reports)
- Examination of final products (a final version of a paper, an interdisciplinary final project, Rites of Passage (ROPES) project) based on criteria and standards clearly communicated at the beginning of the project