CPS Instituting Assessment Tools at the Principal Level *UPDATED*
“You’re given the freedom, but you can’t make those decisions based on hunches,” Huberman explained at an editorial board meeting at the Sun-Times before the principals’ meeting Tuesday. “You have to make them based on the analytical framework we’re providing.”
Huberman emphasized that the assessments, now in development, are not “tests” that students will be graded on, but a way to find out what students need. He said he wants to create a “data-driven culture,” so the schools can know “how every student is doing, how is every teacher doing, and how is every school doing, with the goal of constantly improving.”
The assessments will be taken by students online to allow for quick results. Huberman plans a large technology investment for the coming school year.
The assessments would not be like the big annual tests of student progress, like the ISATs, and would be short — 30 minutes to an hour. Some assessments would be universal and given quarterly. Others would be geared to specific curricula, recognizing that schools teach math or science in different ways.
I’m generally for this sort of innovation, but the real question is are the principals going to have the time and training to use the assessments effectively. Too often, pressured principals under current NCLB regulations use these tools to beat faculty over the head leading to faculty viewing them as penalties and not tools to assess students’ abilities. Changing that sort of usage and ensuring principals can effectively use the tools is a huge challenge of leadership. It’ll be quite a test for Huberman.
Update: Catalyst has more on the initiative which does include data analysist being available to crunch the numbers. A very good sign.