Standards-Driven Assessments
In the summer prior to the beginning of the school year,
Cornerstone Prep assesses each incoming student with age-appropriate,
standardized assessments tools so the teachers are aware of the student’s level
of performance. Students who enter Cornerstone Prep after kindergarten are
given the previous year’s TerraNova Test to measure mastery of standards.
These
assessments enable teachers to identify students who need extra help to reach
mastery including those students with unidentified special needs.
After students are accepted into Cornerstone Prep,
standards-driven assessments are used to measure student progress.
Norm-Referenced
Testing, as well as interim testing using Terra Nova Achievement tests, are
used to provide a standardized measurement of student mastery. The first
interim test is given shortly after the beginning of the academic year to
provide a baseline for teachers. The last interim test, to be given at the end
of the academic year, provides data on the efficacy of curriculum and
instruction.
The teachers administer the standardized tests and the answer
sheets are sent to the testing agency for a quantitative analysis that is
assessed during a designated Professional Development day.
Students will demonstrate advanced proficiency or proficiency
in subjects on Norm-Referenced Tests national testing such as the Terra Nova
test (for students in grades K-5) as well as the Tennessee Comprehensive
Assessment Program (TCAP) for students in grades 3-5.
By grade 3, Cornerstone
Prep students perform at or above grade level in major subject areas and by
grade 5, students have the academic skills necessary to succeed at demanding
middle and high schools.
Cornerstone Prep’s goals are discussed in greater
detail in the school’s Accountability Plan.
Cornerstone Prep will begin with
the K-5 educational standards as mandated by the Tennessee Department of
Education and then will infuse the K-5 educational standards for the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as Massachusetts has some of the strongest
educational standards in the United States[1].
Furthermore,
Cornerstone Prep synthesizes standards from the Terra Nova national aptitude
test to ensure that students are competitive on the national level.
This assessment program is specifically adapted from the
assessment program at North Star Academy in Newark, New Jersey, and the program
at Roxbury Prep in Boston, Massachusetts.
In addition, a review of high-performing urban charter schools in the
Building Excellent Schools Fellowship found that every high-performing school
uses a variety of testing and other measures to make data-driven decisions and
evaluate student performance.
[1] Recent work by the State University of New York
indicates that many urban students desire to be challenged by their teachers
and their school environment. Researchers found that students wanted teachers who pushed them “to complete their work.” Several
student respondents stated “I prefer a teacher who makes sure that I do it
right. If they know I can do better, I want someone who will push me.” “It is
not that I’m lazy, but I like a teacher to push me to learn [sic]. I might not
be that confident at first, but then I’ll get it.” Bruce L. Wilson and H.
Dickson Corbett, Listening to urban kids:
School reform and the teachers they want, (2001), p. iv, 70.