A network of Wisconsin public charter schools, the Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, adopted the Illustrative Math curriculum and was looking for a rigorous assessment solution that aligned with the curriculum, common core standards, Wisconsin state standards, and end-of-year state testing. Kyra VandeBunte, the Director of Teaching and Learning at Carmen Schools, explained that before implementing Cognia Interim Assessments, they were using mostly teacher-created assessments. With these assessments, they struggled to ensure that they were providing the correct level of rigor to make them reliable and valid measures of student performance. They needed better interim measures for how students were performing against curriculum, standards, and end-of-year goals.
After adopting the Illustrative Math curriculum and consulting with various stakeholders, Carmen Schools adopted Cognia Illustrative Math curriculum-aligned interim assessments. Cognia Interim Assessments fulfilled the need for a more rigorous assessment solution that aligned with both curriculum and grade-level standards. Using an assessment system developed by assessment experts ensured the consistency and quality of their assessments and a closer alignment to end-of-year testing.
Implementing Cognia Interim Assessments in conjunction with the Illustrative Math curriculum led to the creation of a new data cycle for the school district. This new data cycle included professional development days for staff, deeper dives into the interim data, and instructional planning based on the data. Early results are promising. Since the 2021-2022 school year and across all schools and grades, the number of students scoring in the “Does Not Meet” range has decreased, while the number of students scoring in the “Meets” and “Exceeds” range have increased. A sixth-grade cohort achieved a 31.7% increase in the percentage of students in the “Exceeds” category!
Meaningful assessment has the power to transform student learning.
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