Visions sent out a notice last week about the new school-wide (K-11) learning assessments that will begin next school year. Here is the link on the Wire.
Why is Visions doing this?
All charter schools are coming under increasing scrutiny from the state. All charter schools will need to prove that they are a valid schools worthy of state funds, and that their students are progressing each year. They need to prove this in order to keep their charters and keep being able to provide a flexible option for home school families. It isn't just Visions. All charter schools will need to begin regular learning assessments.
Visions has invested considerable research, planning, and expense to find the best assessment tools possible for our students. And Visions is paying for them, so the cost of these assessments will NOT come out of your student funding.
You work hard. You spend countless hours choosing curriculum, planning lessons, and monitoring learning. You invest time and effort in making sure your student has the best education possible. But how do you know if your student is mastering the concepts that they need in order to succeed? How do you know what your student knows and is ready to learn next? How do you know when your student is truly succeeding, exceeding, or falling behind?
The great thing about these assessments are that they will help you, as the parent educator, choose curriculum, target learning and know what to focus on. They will help you find the gaps (if there are any) in your child's learning and also help you find ways to fill them. They will help you feel confident that your student is progressing the way you work so hard in helping them to do.
This is a good thing.
But what does it actually mean?
Things are still in the early stages, and more information will be coming soon. But what I can tell you is that all students in grades K-11 will be taking Language Arts and Math assessments at the beginning and end of the 2021-2022 school year.
From what I can gather at this point:
- Students will be able to take these assessments at home
- If your K-8 student has learning gaps, the iReady curriculum to address them will be free to you
I will keep you updated as new information comes in. Meanwhile, feel free to contact me with any questions you have.
