February Board Meeting Follow up

The Braymer C4 School District is providing the following information concerning questions asked at the February 2021 School Board meeting. 

A list of the assessments and benchmarks the district uses at different times during the school year is provided below. The information gathered through each assessment is used to guide future instruction for each student. Assessment data is provided to parents during the parent teacher conferences offered in the fall of each school year. Parents are also welcome to discuss this information with their child's teacher anytime during the school year. The school district utilizes a variety of assessments based on which measurement tool is determined to provide the most reliable information for a given content area. The preferred measurement tool can change overtime as new and more innovative tools become available. The district works to stay current in these areas which maximizes each teacher effectiveness.

The most widely known assessment tool is the annual Missouri State assessments given each Spring. The Missouri Assessment Program or MAP is used for students K-8. The End of Course exam or EOC’s are taken by students 9-12. The resulting information is used by the school district staff in the Fall of the following school year. The school district administration and faculty use this information to guide and make adjustments to district essential learning standards to continually improve future instruction. 

The ASVAB is also taken by our Junior class every year and the ACT is taken by most Juniors and Seniors, especially those who intend on pursuing a four year post secondary degree. These data points help provide a longitudinal look at areas of strength and needed improvements in our K-12 curriculum as a whole.  The school district uses information from these assessments in combination with other exam data (MAP, EOC, Local Assessment data) to continually improve district curriculum and instruction.

Local Assessment tools utilized:   

• Developmental Reading Assessments
• DIBELS
• IXL Diagnostic Assessments
• IXL Skill Plans
• Really Great Reading Benchmarking Assessments (K-2)
• End of Chapter/Unit Assessments
• Classroom Formative Assessments

AIMSweb-The district is no longer using AIMSweb, but is now using DIBELS. DIBELS stands for  Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Learning Skills and is given three times a year, just like AIMSweb. All K-6 students have already taken the Fall and Winter benchmarks this year. The Fall benchmark results were discussed with parents at Parent Teacher Conferences via zoom.  Winter Benchmark data has been collected and parent information will be going home soon.  

*The district had to upgrade in order to get a parent friendly report that could be sent home.  

The testing calendar for DIBELS is similar to AIMS.

Fall Benchmarking is done August through October

Winter Benchmarking is done December through February

Spring Benchmarking is done March through May

 

The district has never utilized the AIMSweb Math assessments. Currently we use IXL Diagnostic Assessments and summative assessments to monitor growth and guide future instruction.

More Information:

We continue to monitor state standards through summative assessments. All subject areas are taught and assessed according to the Missouri Learning Standards. The IXL Diagnostic Assessment is given, which is also aligned to MO Learning Standards. This assessment tool provides the teachers and parents with a Real Time Diagnostic Action Plan, which informs all stakeholders what students already know. This action plan also informs parents and teachers what to do next to help the student improve.

Interventions:

Elementary:

Due to the pandemic, the classroom protocols had changed and as a result this halted our intervention and enrichment schedule (these are scheduled to resume the week of March 1). We still provide interventions to students in need through Title I push in and pull out minutes. Teachers are still working in the classroom with small group interventions and one-on-one when needed. The district is currently working on a plan to provide after school tutoring to students in need.

High School:

Students continue to be assessed and evaluated by teachers to identify students in need of interventions.  While these interventions are often done on an individual level with the classroom teacher, we continue to assess and have conversations as a staff regarding students in need of additional support. We continue to run 2-week grade cycles to track student progress while identifying our most at risk students. Students placed on the ineligible list are ineligible for extra-curricular activities for a two week period, to help emphasize the significance of academics. The administration and teachers (both classroom and special education) continue to work closely together to identify students in need of more support than can be provided in the regular classroom.  As noted above, we are currently working on a plan to begin after school tutoring for students in need.

Corollary Questions

The district has identified essential learning skills. These skills are the focus for our curriculum and are based on the Missouri Learning Standards as well as other skills the district determines to be critical. The essential learning skills are taught then measured within each classroom's regular instruction. The classroom teacher makes determinations based upon each student’s in class assessment information. From that the teacher determines whether to proceed, reteach or provide other strategies.  

The Braymer C4 School District On-line instructional Platforms:

K-4-Seesaw

5-12-Google Classroom (3rd and 4th grade embed Google Classroom within Seesaw)

As the field of education has evolved there has been an increased emphasis on the need to tailor instruction and assessments to fit the diverse needs of students. This push has led, not only our district but the vast majority of school districts to employ a variety of assessment tools and strategies to monitor student progress. The Braymer C4 School District’s instructional staff works tirelessly to provide a high quality education, meeting the diverse needs of our student population who vary widely in intelligence, home support, and socioeconomic status. These ongoing efforts have been rewarded over the years as recognized by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s “Annual Performance Report”. The Braymer C4 School District administration is extremely proud of the Bobcat faculty and staff and their continued dedication they demonstrate towards ensuring the success of the Braymer C4 students. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Wade Schroeder

Braymer C4 School District, Superintendent