How Oracle Uses Data to Drive Great Instruction

How Oracle Uses Data to Drive Great Instruction

Interim assessments are a hot topic in the American education system. As a parent, though, you may not even know what they are – or why they’re so important for your child. But it’s essential to have a basic understanding so that you too can monitor your child’s performance and help to ensure they’re fulfilling their potential.

Interim Assessments Defined

First, interim assessments are mid-term exams that help us gauge where each student is in terms of understanding the material being taught. In other words, they help us check student progress. However, unlike unit tests, which are given at the end of every unit, interim assessments cover 10 weeks of instruction.

How the Process Works

Our first round of interim assessments is coming up in early November. Assessments are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, November 2nd and 3rd, and will be given in four core areas: Math, Science, Social Studies, and English.

Once students complete these assessments, the Oracle teaching staff will begin grading them immediately. In fact, we turn around grades within 48 hours so that teachers have access to critical data by Monday morning. If students are struggling, we want to know as quickly as possible.

Armed with this data, our teachers can discuss what students misunderstand, why they misunderstand it, and how the material can be taught more effectively. Our teachers can then plan specific re-teaching efforts to focus on areas that need additional work. Students who are already proficient in these areas are given extension and enrichment activities.

If a student is still struggling, even after the material has been re-taught several times, we take further measures to intervene. For example, Oracle offers access to extra help outside of classroom time, including tutoring before and after school, as well as tutoring during lunchtime.

Why Interim Assessments Are So Important for Students

At the end of the day, interim assessments help us pinpoint weaknesses. As a result, we can shore them up and then narrow the achievement gap along the way.

Grant Wiggins, President of Authentic Education, summed it up best when he said:

“The more you teach without finding out who understands the information and who doesn’t, the greater the likelihood that only already proficient students will succeed.”

In many classrooms around the country, the typical approach to teaching is to assess, determine a grade, and then move on to the next topic, regardless of the results. Here at Oracle, we take a different approach. We believe it’s what the students actually learn that is most important, not what the teachers taught. And it is through continuous interim assessments we are able to evaluate what students learn and then create a practical plan of action for achieving better performance.

And the results speak for themselves.

For instance, in 2009-2010, Regents test scores in English were 59%. In 2010-2011, after a year of interim assessments, they jumped to 76%. Likewise, in Algebra 9, test scores for 2009-2010 were 53.7% and increased to 70.5% in 2010-2011.

While interim assessments aren’t solely responsible for the vast difference in test scores, they certainly played a vital part. Not only do assessments enable us to verify that students understand the material, but it is through the assessment process that students are repeatedly exposed to the kinds of questions they will face on the Regents exams. As a result, our students are far more prepared – and more confident – going into Regents week in June.

What You Can Do

As a parent, you might be wondering where you fit into this process. Your child’s interim assessment grades will appear as comments on his or her report card. Should you have any questions, please speak with your son or daughter’s teachers. They will be happy to work with you and offer guidance and ideas on how you can help your child at home if he or she is struggling.

Together, we can help our students to achieve more.