week 3 assigment 1 :Fountain Essays
Imagine that your locally elected school district board has commissioned an Assessment Task Force to improve the overall standardized test scores of the students within the school district. The superintendent (a role played by your professor) has asked you, a member of the Assessment Task Force, to research a specific topic relevant to improving the standardized testing. Your research will be combined with research from other team members to create a comprehensive report on the district’s assessment program. The superintendent will review the parts of your proposal as you develop each part and provide you feedback. This feedback needs to be incorporated into subsequent parts of the proposal for presentation.
Your part of the report needs to include:
- A summary of the local school district’s established assessment goals.
- A report of the research you have found on your chosen topic.
- Proposed recommendations for changes to the district’s K-12 assessment strategy based on your research.
The superintendent would like to see research on these topics in the final comprehensive report.
Research the assessment strategies and current assessment results from the school district in which you currently reside or teach. You will need to find information on the types of assessments used, when students are assessed, the policy for student accommodations, the test results for the past few years, and anything that the district is doing to address improving student scores and achieving state standards.
Use the Internet and Strayer library at research.strayer.edu, to research one (1) topic from the list of recommendations the superintendent provided or your own approved topic. Justify your topic selection by highlighting its relevance to your chosen district being able to successfully meet its K-12 assessment goals. Your research should also focus on locating current issues, applications, assessment strategies, and tools related to your selected topic. Once you complete your research, submit this portion of the white paper to your superintendent for review and feedback.
Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:
- Explain your research topic in which you detail its relevance to meeting one (1) or more K-12 assessment goals in your chosen school district, focusing on a specific grade level, discipline, or target student population (gifted students, students with special needs, traditionally underserved students, etc.).
- Examine at least three (3) key political, legal, and / or current issues related to your chosen topic.
- Describe at least three (3) specific needs of the students in the school district including students with special learning needs.
- Propose at least three (3) applications your topic has to K-12 assessment in your chosen school district.
- Provide atleast four (4) sources that document detailed information about your proposed topic. The sources must be written within the last five (5) years.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides
- Citations and references must follow APA format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
- Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
- Assess various measures for assessing learners’ progress, including formal, test-based measures, and informal and observational measures.
- Analyze traditional theories of assessment.
- Evaluate strategies for using a variety of assessment instruments and the theories behind them.
- Utilize a methodology for linking assessment practices to learning objectives.
- Evaluate alternate forms of assessment for special populations.
- Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment.
- Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.
