HCPS strives to deliver a balanced assessment platform that gives our teachers the tools, resources and assessments to guide student instruction and gauge mastery. Understanding why we are collecting the data and how we will use the results is crucial for identifying where additional intervention, remediation or enrichment is needed.
The information below helps to answer two questions:
- How is my student performing?
- How do we know this?
Digital resources at your fingertips
Are you ready to help your child reach for the stars? Do you want to get a closer look at the digital resources that support your child’s pre-K through grade 5 virtual classroom? If you answered yes to any of these questions, join us for an up-close look at Henrico’s digital resources.
Tiered Levels of Instruction
To build a strong instructional foundation, HCPS keeps the learner at the center of the work.
In Tier 1, all students receive high quality curriculum and instruction in the general education classroom. Tier 1 instruction provides a window into each student’s strengths and needs. When data indicate a need, differentiated instruction should be planned for students needing remediation support as well as for those needing advanced instruction.
In Tier 2, interventions are implemented when assessment data indicates that a student is not making adequate progress from universal instruction (Tier 1) alone and requires more specific, targeted support. Tier 2 Intervention is typically accessed by 10-15% of all students.
In Tier 3, interventions offer a student highly individualized, systematic and explicit instruction in an area of assessed need. This intense instructional support is for a very small number (5-10%) of students that have not responded with an acceptable rate of improvement in Tier 2.
Types of Assessments
Below are brief examples of the diagnostic, formative and summative data which comprise our balanced assessment system.
Diagnostic data helps teachers identify the starting point for instruction. Fountas and Pinnell data, for example, helps teachers identify the appropriate leveled text to ensure just the right amount of rigor for individual students.
Formative tools are used for the purpose of immediate feedback and allow teachers to adjust instruction in real time to meet the needs of learners. For example, this can be as simple as an end of class exit ticket used to document mastery of a concept or reviewing the latest data points from a digital resource to determine instructional modifications needed to support learning.
Finally, summative assessments are used for the purpose of determining overall mastery of a skill or specific standard within a given duration of time. This can include a teacher generated test at the end of a unit or the culminating presentation of a project-based learning task.
HCPS Digital Data Opportunities 2020-21
Digital Formative Resources
Imagine Math/Smarty Ants/Lexia
CORE 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PreK
Lexia CORE 5 ELA . . . . . . . . . . . K-5
Achieve3000 ELA . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Smarty Ants ELA . . . . . . . . . . . . . K-2
Dreambox ELA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K-5
NoRedInk ELA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Imagine Math Math . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Digital Tools for ELA and Math
In fall 2020, additional digital resources were integrated with our curriculum. The resources highlighted on the left have been instrumental in helping identify strengths and weaknesses and provide data to drive instruction within the classroom.
As real-time data is reviewed, teachers have adjusted their daily or weekly instruction. Using digital tools, various assessments and screeners to identify students in need of support or enrichment is another way of meeting the needs of all our learners.
Feedback
Feedback is an ongoing process embedded in daily instruction, used to validate student understanding and to clarify misconceptions. Providing feedback during instruction enables students to adjust learning in real time. It also helps students understand if their performance is meeting expectations, in what areas they need to make improvements and how to make those improvements.
