2623 - STUDENT ASSESSMENT

The Board of Education shall, in compliance with law and rules of the State Board of Education, assess student achievement and needs in designated subject areas in order to determine the progress of students and to assist them in attaining District goals.

Each student's proficiencies and needs will be assessed by staff members upon the student's entrance into the District and annually or more frequently, as required by law, thereafter. Procedures for such assessments will include, but need not be limited to, teacher observation techniques, cumulative student records, student performance data collected through standard testing programs and/or diagnostic reading assessment systems, student portfolios, and physical examinations.

The Superintendent shall develop a program of testing and assessment that includes:

1. the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP), the Michigan Merit Examination ("MME") (or other readiness assessment program approved by the State Superintendent) the PSAT and MI-Access Alternate Assessments administered each year in accordance with the schedule established by statute and the State Department of Education;

   M-STEP includes summative assessments designed to measure student growth effectively for today’s students. English language arts and mathematics will be assessed in grades three (3) through eight (8), science in grades four (4) and seven (7), and social studies in grades five (5) and eight (8). It also includes the Michigan Merit Examination in 11th grade, which consists of the SAT with essay, ACT WorkKeys, and M-STEP summative in science, and social studies.

2. a valid and reliable screening, formative, and diagnostic third grade reading assessment system from the assessment systems approved by the Michigan Department of Education;

3. criteria-based written and oral examinations which include use of alternative questions, demonstrations, writing exercises, individual and group projects, performances, portfolios, and samples of best work;

4. selection of assessment instrument, data, and other District criteria that will be used to assess educational achievement of each student in grades one (1) through five (5);

5. assessment tests;

6. aptitude tests;

7. achievement tests;

8. vocational inventories;

9. tests of mental ability.

The Superintendent is responsible for the District's assessment and testing program and shall implement the program in accordance with the provisions of the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) and the reporting requirements of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). The Superintendent will appoint an individual to act as each assessment’s District Assessment Coordinator. All staff members who participate in a state assessment must be fully trained in proper test administration procedures pertaining to their role in the assessment.

The Superintendent shall require that all appropriate staff have knowledge of the prescribed standards of ethical assessment practice and shall monitor the assessment practices for compliance with these standards. These duties shall include:

1. communicating standards of ethical assessment practice;
2. communicating security procedures for assessment;
3. establishing procedures for reviewing assessment materials and procedures and assessment preparation materials and procedures;
4. establishing channels of communication that allow teachers, other educators, students, parents, and other members of the community to voice concerns about assessment practices;
5. establishing written procedures for investigating complaints, allegations, and/or concerns about assessment practices, protecting the rights of an individual, the integrity of an assessment, and the results of an assessment.

The Board requires that:

1. any assessment tests used shall not be a psychiatric examination, testing, or treatment; or a psychological examination, testing, or treatment in which the primary purpose is to reveal information concerning:

   1. political affiliations;

   2. mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student or the student's family;

   3. sexual behavior and attitude;

   4. illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, and demeaning behavior;

   5. critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;

   6. legally-recognized, privileged and analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;

   7. income without the prior consent of the adult student or without the prior written consent of the parent;

2. any personality testing complies with Department of Education guidelines.

The Board also requires that:

1. tests be administered by persons who are qualified under State law and regulation;

2. parents be informed of the testing program of the schools and of the special tests that are to be administered to their children;

3. data regarding individual test scores be entered on the student's cumulative record, where it will be subject to the policy of this Board regarding student records;

4. the results of each school-wide, program-wide, and District-wide test be made part of the public record.

All eleventh grade students shall participate in the Michigan Merit Examination, unless excluded under the guidelines established by the State Department of Education.

A student who does not qualify for a Michigan Promise Grant, and who wants to repeat the Michigan Merit Examination (or other State approved readiness assessment) may repeat the Examination in the next school year on a designated testing date. The first time a student repeats the Examination shall be without charge to the student, but the student is responsible for paying the cost of any subsequent repeat.

The District shall administer the complete Michigan Merit Examination to a student only once and shall not administer the complete Michigan Merit Examination to the same student more than once if the student has valid scores in some or all MME components. If a student does not take the complete Michigan Merit Examination in grade eleven (11), the District shall administer the complete Michigan Merit Examination to the student in grade twelve (12). If a student chooses to retake the college entrance examination component of the Michigan Merit Examination, the student may do so through the provider of the college entrance examination component and the cost of the retake is the responsibility of the student unless all of the following are met:

1. the student has taken the complete Michigan Merit Examination;

2. the student did not qualify for a Michigan promise grant based on the student's performance on the complete Michigan Merit Examination;

3. the student meets the Federal income eligibility criteria for free breakfast, lunch, or milk;

4. the student has applied to the provider of the college entrance examination component for a scholarship or fee waiver to cover the cost of the retake and that application has been denied;

5. after taking the complete Michigan Merit Examination, the student has not already received a free retake of the college entrance examination component paid for either by the State of Michigan, or through a scholarship or fee waiver by the provider.

Revised 8/10/09
Revised 1/14/13
Revised 7/11/16
Revised 6/12/17

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