A Journey of Best Practice

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1 Choosing and Using the Best Assessment for Your School and Students: A Journey of Best Practice With so many competing priorities -- and seemingly never enough time in the day--it can be difficult to dedicate the necessary resources to not only select--but more importantly use--the best assessment for your school and students. These four schools, members of ERB (Educational Records Bureau) did just that. They identified the need for a change, found the best assessment product for them, and put that product to full use. The schools share their journey and impart their lessons through this best practice roadmap. REASONS FOR MAKING A CHANGE: Realizing you want to (or need to) make a change to your assessment strategy is the first step in the journey. Simply arriving at that conclusion can be a journey in and of itself; or the decision can come more suddenly. The reasons to consider a change can be singular or many. According to Kim Grigg, Counselor of the Upper School at Liberty Christian Academy in Argyle, Texas, her school had concerns that their old assessment had become outdated. At Regents School of Austin, Texas, the situation was slightly different. Their students had received exceptionally high scores on their former assessment, and as Doreen Howell, Assistant Head of School, shared, that did not give the school reliable information. Similarly, the Head of the Middle School at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas, Scott Berthel, had concerns that their old, less rigorous assessment provided inflated test results, which seemed inconsistent with the students true level of achievement in relation to fellow independent schools. Thus, one of their motivations for making a change was the desire for results to be truer to their competition among independent schools. This sentiment was echoed by Jessica Gombert, Grammar School Headmaster at the Geneva School in Boerne, Texas. Trinity Christian Academy had another interesting component to their consideration. As Scott Berthel told us, his school uses ERB s ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) for admission. Relative to their former achievement assessment, they were interested in having a better match between ISEE scores and achievement scores, as students progressed through the school.

2 INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS: Once a decision to consider a change is made, there are many aspects to conducting due diligence as you investigate alternative assessment organizations and tools. Several key elements resonate as best practice : Clearly define your own goals as an organization, and those you seek from your assessments. This seems obvious, but without having this at the start, any future efforts are compromised. As an example, Rod Gilbert, Head of School at Regents School of Austin, and Doreen Howell describe their purpose in using ERB s CTP4: to maximize the teacher s ability to understand each individual child s strengths and weaknesses that can be detected by testing, so that the teacher is equipped to respond with confidence and make every effort to see that the child s needs are being met; and to demonstrate to the teacher their own strengths and weaknesses through multiyear trend analysis. Reach out to other schools you respect and consider competitive (for example, those with good rigor and a strong curriculum.) Ask what assessments and assessment organization they are using, why they use them, and ask them to describe their experience using them. Interview people you consider key constituents and critical users of the assessment you are considering, such as the testing and curriculum team, teachers, and administrators. Engage these people as companions on your best practice journey. Align with an assessment organization that is stable, and shares your philosophies on things such as commitment to service, excellence, and student success. Ask yourself if you are looking for a straightforward vendor, or a true partner that embodies the belief of service as a differentiator. Leverage the resources available at the assessment organization, such as consultants, development staff, operational staff, and the company s own referral network, to answer any questions you may have. Consider value, not simply price; and be sure to understand all-in pricing, which encompasses every feature, report, data download, etc. you will need. Understand not only what assessment results will be provided, but also how data and results will be reported, and what norming populations are available for comparison of results. Ask yourself whether these norming populations are meaningful for your school.

3 For example, Scott Berthel found tremendous value in the variety of reports available with CTP. He found that the intersection point of these overlapping and complementary reports provide greater insight by looking at something (data) from different perspectives. MAKING THE SWITCH: Once the decision is made to make a change, there seems to be consensus on one thing: it s all about managing expectations! We all know that change can be difficult, and switching assessments is no different. Helping people through the process from parents and students, to teachers, administrators, and even board members makes the transition easier. Most schools conduct teacher training; some also offer sessions for students to practice the mechanics of assessment-taking, such as bubbling in an answer sheet or using the navigation buttons on an online assessment. This allows students to focus on answering questions instead of how to use the assessment. The following are additional tips from the ERB member schools who shared their journey for this article: Stay connected to the schools you spoke with during the investigative process, and with the referral network of your new assessment partner. There is much experience and learning out there, and people are generally willing to share. Take advantage of the tools and training made available by your new assessment organization. User conferences are a great place for a deep dive into new tools, as well as to connect with peers who use the same assessment and are willing to share their experiences. Bring a colleague! It s easier to learn together! Go easy at first. Rolling out an assessment in phases--assessing just a few classes or grades to begin with, and then adding more during subsequent years-- is a common, and thoughtful, approach. GAINING THE BENEFIT: THE KEYS TO SUCCESS! Now is the time when all that thoughtful planning and preparation really bears fruit. You ve now mastered the basic administration of the assessment and are in possession of data.lots of data!! Here s where the magic really happens, if you fully commit to the process. Kim Grigg, along with her colleague Debra Cook, the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, work hand-in-hand with teachers at the beginning of each year to review the data from the previous spring s CTP results. They note what worked/what didn t at

4 the class, grade, and individual student level. This information allows teachers to impact classroom learning by targeting specific areas identified in key CTP reports. According to Kim, (teachers) could see a difference in a very short time frame (after) making adjustments to their curriculum. Similarly, Doreen Howell helps teachers become data detectives and overcome the smile and file syndrome with which many of us suffer. Doreen notes the insights that teachers gain by comparing a student s CTP results with ERB s Independent School Norm (or ACCS Norm) to see how he or she is doing compared to these relevant norming populations. Jessica Gombert and her team use the detailed reports available in the CTP portal to find patterns in both student performance and curriculum. That information enables them to create a plan to address their concerns or questions. Without a test like this, how would we know that (information)? asked Ms. Gombert. In fact, they along with Kim Grigg and Debra Cook are sharing their experiences as speakers at ERB s conference in October, 2015 ( With respect to the assessment as an analysis tool for teachers, Rod Gilbert and Doreen Howell (in an article originally published in a fall 2014 ACCS newsletter and prepared in part from an audio recording) offer these three tips to make data more helpful for teachers: 1. Show teachers how their contributions usher students through their educational journey 2. Teach teachers to read reports and find information about their current students 3. Help teachers see their own strengths and weakness in multi-year trend analysis as they strive to be the best educators they can be This rich information is even helpful when your board asks are we doing what we say we are going to do? Pinpointing areas of strength and weakness, as well as tracking progress over time, provides enlightening insights. As Scott Berthel said, it s like a diamond with many facets you see colors from one direction that you may not see from another direction.

5 In summary, these schools offered the following advice to other schools embarking on this journey: If you want to take a serious look at your curriculum, identify gaps, and improve instruction, it is worth the time and investment to consider a change in your assessment strategy and partner. Work with a highly reputable, stable company that has proven itself over time, is responsive, service oriented, and is focused on the unique needs of independent schools. Ensure that the end goal for all involved including a new assessment partner is to help students achieve throughout their whole lives, increasing their opportunity for success. For questions or more information, please contact Susan Limoncelli, Executive Director, Member Services, ERB. slimoncelli@erblearn.org or ERB (Educational Records Bureau) is a not-for-profit educational service organization providing admission and achievement assessments, along with instructional services, for PreK-Grade 12 to over 2000 independent, faith-based and select public schools worldwide. For over 85 years, ERB has been a trusted source and partner to its member schools, helping them to build their communities, guide instruction and curriculum by putting assessment insights into action, and supporting student learning. ERB would like to give special thanks to the following Members for their contributions to this article: Kimberly Grigg, Counselor, Upper School, Liberty Christian School Debra Cook, Director Curriculum and Testing, Liberty Christian School Doreen Howell, Assistant Head of School, Regents School of Austin Rod Gilbert, Head of School, Regents School of Austin Scott Berthel, Head, Middle School, Trinity Christian Academy Jessica Gombert, Headmaster, Grammar School, Geneva School of Boerne