D.C. schools chancellor plans to expand use of standardized tests
By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff WriterThursday, July 8, 2010
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee plans to significantly expand the use of standardized tests so that, eventually, every D.C. student from kindergarten through high school is regularly assessed to measure academic progress and the effectiveness of teachers.
The plan, to be phased in beginning in the spring, is certain to reignite debate about what some D.C. parents and teachers already regard as a test-happy culture.
The federal No Child Left Behind law requires that all public school students in grades three through eight be tested annually for reading and math proficiency; high school students are required to be tested once. Every April, the District administers the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS). Students in grades five and eight and in high school also get DC CAS science or biology tests. Four times a year, students in grades three through 10 take the DC Benchmark Assessment System (DC BAS) to track progress. Children in kindergarten through third grade receiveDIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy). And, every two years, fourth- and eighth-graders take the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) in math and reading.
Principal Dwan Jordon checks on students at Sousa Middle School before classes begin (Susan Biddle For The Washington Post).
The federal No Child Left Behind law requires that all public school students in grades three through eight be tested annually for reading and math proficiency; high school students are required to be tested once. Every April, the District administers the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS). Students in grades five and eight and in high school also get DC CAS science or biology tests. Four times a year, students in grades three through 10 take the DC Benchmark Assessment System (DC BAS) to track progress. Children in kindergarten through third grade receiveDIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy). And, every two years, fourth- and eighth-graders take the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) in math and reading.
Relentless principal transforms Sousa Middle
Sousa, which used to have some of the lowest test results in the city, has become a model for reform.
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Principal Dwan Jordon checks on students at Sousa Middle School before classes begin (Susan Biddle For The Washington Post).