Balanced Assessment Systems in Action at Rincon Valley USD

Based on this data, RVUSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals, and surveying of teachers completed in 2023, their focus landed on formative assessment in the area of math. This decision was due to a few factors. One is that nearly 100% of teachers surveyed indicated that they used formative assessment on a regular basis in their classrooms. Another reason was that the use of formative assessment can be a powerful tool for teachers when it comes to informing next steps in instruction. Finally, the district knew that formative assessment practices would directly impact learners right away, and they wanted to ensure that this work had positive classroom impacts as quickly as possible. With this in mind, RVUSD seeked to strengthen universal math instructional practices and improve learner outcomes and began by piloting at two elementary sites, Douglas Whited Elementary Charter and Madrone Elementary.

Elevating Professional Development with Reflection & Coaching

In partnership with the Center for Assessment, RVUSD provided professional learning sessions throughout the school year embedded into the work day. Teachers received direct professional development sessions from the Center for Assessment every other month, totaling four sessions within the school year. The content of these sessions were directly informed by the initial teacher survey, which showed that there was a lot of variability in type and use of formative assessment data, with the weakest area being in learner self-reflection and peer feedback. 

These sessions led by the Center for Assessment were supplemented by additional check-ins facilitated by RVUSD during the intervening months. Leaders would spend this check-in time with teachers going over what they had learned the previous month with the Center for Assessment, and how implementing the formative assessment practices had gone in the time since the learning took place. Teachers also had time to work on their action plans (documents for planning and reflection) and connect with grade-level colleagues to look at learner work and determine where the learners were in the mathematical learning progressions. 

Developing Common Language & Understanding

Strategically Scaling Formative Assessment Practices District-wide

At the close of this school year, RVUSD asked pilot teachers to fill out an end-of-year survey to gauge growth in formative assessment practices based on the professional learning and walkthroughs. The survey results, as can be seen below, indicated that there was an increase in the use of formative assessment practices, especially in the areas of peer- and self-assessment. 

Given this positive change, RVUSD is ensuring that this work continues into 2024-25. However, due to a shift in initiatives, a new LCAP cycle, and other district-level changes, they are now asking the question: How do we achieve buy-in? In order to do this, their next steps involve:

• Creating alignment to new initiatives

• Knowing where people are

• Strengthening leadership capacity, ownership, and commitment

• Building urgency around the current reality of our learners (an authentic “Why”)

• Anticipating and eliminating barriers to the work

• Ongoing professional learning cycles to maintain momentum

Lessons Learned

With all of this in mind, RVUSD will continue its partnership both with the CCEE and Center for Assessment, but with a focus on building leadership capacity at the site level and aligning the work the district has done within the Data Research Learning Network (DRLN) to our new initiatives moving forward in the 2024-25 school year and beyond. The two representatives from the Center for Assessment who worked with RVUSD throughout the 2023-24 school year will join the RVUSD Leadership Team (consisting of principals, directors, and program specialists) on five separate occasions to provide professional learning on the four domains of formative assessment that the pilot sites received in 2023-24. These professional learning sessions for the site leaders will occur in advance of a district-wide professional learning session on each of the domains of formative assessment in order to ensure that the site leaders can speak to the information and address any questions that occur during and after the learning. 

Additional Resources

• Learn more about RVUSD's Data Research Learning Network (DRLN) Project!

• Learner Surveys (Grades 3-4 & Grades 5-6)

• Teacher Survey

• Formative Assessment Resources (curated in partnership with the Center for Assessment)

• RVUSD Open Door Session: In this webinar, RVUSD shares their learning journey in fostering formative assessment practices by leveraging the mathematical learning progressions from the Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP). RVUSD leaders will also share the role of progress monitoring tools such as teacher and student surveys as well as classroom walk-throughs in the implementation of balanced assessment systems.