Assessment and accountability

Like curriculum and instruction, assessment—how progress is measured—determines what and how well students learn. Newton Learning provides school districts with something that few other AfterSchool and summer providers do: educational data concerning results. Reliable and objective, such information demonstrates to our education partners how well Newton Learning is delivering the results for which we are accountable. Careful assessment means real accountability. This section describes how assessment and accountability work hand-in-hand in the Newton Learning school design.

The Case for Better Assessment in Schools

To be effective, an assessment program should measure student progress toward meeting explicitly stated curriculum objectives and standards. When a curriculum has one set of goals and an assessment program has another, a school is not likely to satisfy either.

Most schools today are required by state or local authorities to administer standardized tests. In many cases, these tests reflect just a fraction of what good schools expect students to learn. Should a school downplay much of its curriculum and focus instead on that part which affects its test scores and its evaluation by outside authorities? The logical answer is no, yet logic often is not the most potent force in such decisions.

When Curriculum Moves Faster Than Assessment

Misalignment also occurs when assessment methods do not keep up with innovations in curriculum. As schools adopt curricular and instructional strategies that call for students to think creatively, draw knowledge from several disciplines to solve problems, work cooperatively or collaboratively, and produce multimedia presentations, these exciting developments require new methods of evaluation. Tests that gauge simple acquisition of traditional subject area skills and knowledge don't provide adequate reinforcement for these more sophisticated objectives.

A Fresh Approach to Assessment

All around the country, educators are working hard to bring assessment systems into alignment with new curriculum objectives. States are developing more broadly gauged instruments for monitoring student progress. Even individual schools are developing new approaches of their own.

Newton Learning schools have also taken a fresh approach to assessment. We view curriculum, instruction, and assessment as a coherent whole. Our instructional program grows naturally out of our curriculum. It is designed to measure student progress toward meeting the high standards that shape our curriculum.

Supporting National Standards, Too

Students who meet Newton Learning's academic standards also will meet—and, we believe, exceed—most of the country's new standards of excellence. We have designed our curriculum to support the national education goals—such as greater proficiency in science and math for all students—as well as educational standards developed by many states. We respect the concern of educators and citizens alike that all students acquire sound "basic skills," hence our requirement that all students be proficient readers by the end of the second grade. Students who perform well on Newton Learning's assessments will perform well on other assessments, too.