Dupage Policy Journal

During a recent meeting, the Hinsdale School District’s Academic Success Committee discussed the district’s successes in the most recent academic year as well as changes to the assessment schedule.

During a livestream of the session; Tracey Miller, director of Assessment, Instruction and Evaluation at the district; offered updates on the district’s assessment calendar, which was approved during the session. She also discussed the review of the calendar process and how changes are enacted. 

“So, I bring this information calendar to our principals and our PSAs every year,” she said on the livestream. “We talk about what went well during the current school year and what changes or shifts we might need to make. And then each building principal, with their PSA support, takes it to their building leadership team and they seek support and information feedback from our teachers who are in those leadership roles.”

During the livestream, the panel learned that calendar plans get the nod from principals in each building, PSAs, and a group of teachers and are then returned to the Assessment, Instruction and Evaluation group. The group reviews the dates set for assessments, checking against any holidays or other events that may also be on the calendar and present potential issues or detract from classroom instruction, while also making sure students aren’t overwhelmed with testing. 

Moreover, the group noted during the livestream that MAP testing for the upcoming school year will be moved from the fourth, 16th and 31st weeks of school to the fourth, 17th and 31st weeks, taking into account grading periods for the district.

April will prove to be the busiest month for assessments due to the IAR and ISA being included in the month and MAP testing being conducted at the end of the month, the 2022-2023 Assessment Schedule showed.

Only a few grades will overlap in the assessments: The IAR includes grades 3 through 8, the ISA includes grades 5 and 8, and MAP testing includes grades 1 through 7.