Monitoring & Evaluation of Student Progress
Last Update 12/19/2011
Introduction: The implementation of the CAT (Child Assistance Team) has been an integral part of the evaluation process. The team meets twice monthly to discuss both academic as well as behavioral issues.
1. Briefly describe the uniform local assessments the school will use to monitor student academic progress during the school year for each grade level.
5th Grade
Student progress for 5th graders is tracked in several ways. Idaho Standards Achievement Test scores give a broad view of the growth of our students from Fall to Spring, as well as from year to year. Intermediate assessments, generally 4 to 6 weeks apart, will be given to assess essential skills in both language art and math. The Direct Writing Assessment is another tool that helps us get a big picture of how our students are progressing in language arts.
Our language arts program gives weekly assessments that can then be used to make valuable decisions regarding reteaching, grouping, and pacing within the classroom. These weekly assessments come together in a broader Unit Test. Using a combination of these assessments allows us to implement classroom interventions to better assess a student's strengths and weaknesses. Saxon math offers a similar format for measuring student achievement, assessing strengths and weakness both weekly and monthly.
6th Grade
Student progress for 6th graders is tracked in several ways. Idaho Standards Achievement Test scores give a broad view of the growth of our students from Fall to Spring, as well as from year to year. Intermediate assessments, generally 4 to 6 weeks apart, will be given to assess essential skills in both language art and math. The Direct Math Assessment is another tool that helps us get a big picture of how our students are progressing in math.
Our language arts program gives weekly assessments that can then be used to make valuable decisions regarding reteaching, grouping, and pacing within the classroom. These weekly assessments come together in a broader Unit Test. Using a combination of these assessments allows us to implement classroom interventions to better assess a student's strengths and weaknesses. Saxon math offers a similar format for measuring student achievement, assessing strengths and weakness both weekly and monthly.
2. Describe how the school will identify students experiencing difficulty mastering skills and standards so that they can be provided with timely assistance and support. How do you use data to qualify students for tiers 2 and 3? Include:
Intervention begins in the classroom for all students. Madison Middle School utilizes the teaming concept common to other schools, and this is the first group that meets to discuss student needs and concerns. Teams consist of two to five teachers (depending mostly upon grade), and develop consistent discipline, homework, and other general classroom policies. If there are concerns regarding a student's performance, the team meets with the parents and an administrator, counselor, or other appropriate office personnel to discuss possible solutions. The team decides which in-class interventions are used, and student progress is tracked. If the aforementioned interventions do not seem to result in student progress, modifications are made and student progress is again tracked.
The main reasons for this approach are 1) to provide support to the classroom teacher, 2) encourage teachers to use a variety of approaches before referring a student to special education, and 3) to guard against misidentification of students as having a disability. If necessary, qualified personnel such as school psychologists, social workers, administration, or counselors will provide assistance in the form of formal and informal observations, tracking, or research. Documentation of this process and the interventions is recorded in the form of a "General Education Intervention Tracking Form."
If, in the opinion of the team, a student needs to be referred for a special education evaluation, the following procedures are implemented:
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Referral to consider a special education evaluation is submitted to a team of professionals including special education teachers, school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, school counselors, social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and administrators.
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Parents are provided with a Procedural Safeguard Notice, and their input is sought after in the form of a meeting.
. The evaluation team determines whether to conduct further assessments on the student.
. Written Consent is provided to the parents.
. Evaluations and Eligibility Determinations are made by the team.
. Evaluations and Eligibility Determinations are discussed with the parent, and determinations are made regarding eligibility. An Eligibility Report in completed. The parents are provided with a copy of this report
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At a meeting composed of the parents and other team members an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed and students are placed in the Least Restrictive Environment. Consent for placement must be given by the parents.
. A copy of the IEP is provided to the parents, and the IEP is implemented.
. The provisions of the IEP are reviewed at least annually with team members (including parents), and a full review of the student's eligibility for special education is conducted on a three-year basis.