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Over the past month, we have been sharing a summary of each major section from the WASC Visiting Committee report, the feedback from the team, our action plan, and opportunities/ways to support moving forward. We were overjoyed to share the news of our 6-year accreditation last week. We will wrap up our summaries next Friday with Section E. We appreciate your voice, so please feel free to share any feedback or questions you have here.
In this week’s newsletter, we are focusing on WASC feedback to Section D: Assessment and Accountability
Here’s an excerpt from their report:
The Winston School (TWS) administration and teachers meet regularly to analyze assessment data with the goal of refining its programming and curriculum to meet the current and most pressing needs of its students. Multiple formal and informal assessment practices are utilized schoolwide. TWS sees this year as an opportunity to continue analyzing the impact of their goals and programs and to refine and create systems of impact to analyze student achievement and social and emotional learning. While some departments use their assessment data to monitor student learning and increase achievement data, most departments are still in the process of creating those assessments. A platform and schedule need to be established to share assessment results with parents.
The Winston School teachers have provided a system of supporting students' awareness of their growth utilizing immediate written feedback, personalized one-to-one or small groups. The positive of this integrated approach is linking the established information based on the new information supports a student’s retention and identification of needs to review/clarify a student's understanding. This feedback loop is forward-thinking as teachers prepare the students for post-secondary options.
An area of growth for the staff is to consider how to integrate the academic progress measured by these tests into the overall profile of the student progress. The use of Star Math and Reading assessments meet one level of supporting the students’ path forward. Staff recognize the processing challenges. Integration of how the student learns into the review of academic progress may offer a more robust analysis of growth as well as for adjusting each student's academic program.
The Visiting Committee commends TWS for identifying and implementing effective grading policies, streamlining content alignment across all grade levels, and analyzing standardized testing data. The Visiting Committee recommends continued effort towards adopting consistent practices for grading student daily participation and effort among staff members.
Areas of Strength
● TWS utilizes a variety of formative and summative assessment strategies to measure student achievement.
● TWS implements standardized assessments three times a year to measure student achievement in reading and math.
● Assessment results are regularly shared with the student body.
● Most grading policies are implemented consistently.
● School personnel frequently collaborate to review curriculum effectiveness.
● Members within each academic department meet regularly to evaluate curriculum pacing, content areas and consistency and make the necessary modifications.
● TWS connects families and students with assessment results and academic content reviews via an online platform.
● TWS recognized the need, and then adopted, additional professional development to ensure the success of the Renaissance Star program.
Areas of Growth
● Additional professional development for consistent adoption of the participation/grading policies.
● Continued efforts to ensure that assessment data drives targeted interventions.
● Frame the inclusion of language of “ targeted intervention updates” within the conversations collaboration of staff
● Based on conversations with the teaching and leadership team, continued focus on continuity, upgrading, and overall management of each of the students' progress would benefit the commitment to progress.
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