Curriculum
At the direction of the Board of Education, a comprehensive review process of curriculum review occurs every 5 to 7 years. A District Curriculum Council (DCC) District Curriculum Council comprised of a representative body of K-12 of teachers and administrators across levels and subject areas is responsible for receiving the recommendations of the ad hoc committees as they review and update the curriculum.
The ad hoc curriculum committees review the curriculum by conducting a thorough study of the research in the field, and align the curriculum to the standards at the national and state level. The committees develop a set of guiding principles and K-12 grade level standards as well as an assessment package.
The curriculum ad hoc committees present their curriculum revisions to the DCC and to the Board of Education. The Board of Education reviews the revised curriculum at one meeting and acts on the curriculum product within 1 month.
The implementation of the curriculum occurs at the leadership of the curriculum teams and the leadership and teaching faculty. Professional development to support the curriculum and instruction revision as well as materials to support the curriculum are also designed at the time of the curriculum review.
Assessment Information
"The more you teach without finding out who understands the concepts and who doesn’t, the greater the likelihood that only already-proficient students will succeed."
Grant Wiggins, 2006
In West Irondequoit, we believe that assessment for learning is a critical component within a teacher’s instructional cycle. Teachers collect daily information, both informal and formal to measure student progress and to inform planning and differentiation, so that they are best able to support students in reaching learning goals.
Across each classroom in West Irondequoit, assessments are developed to evaluate reading, writing, thinking and problem solving, linked directly to teaching practice. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive assessment packages, developed along with our local curriculum, by our teachers.
NYS Assessments provide one small component of our assessment package. 3-8 Assessments measure students’ progress on the NYS Learning Standards, and significant shifts over the last 2 years have strengthened them. Teacher evaluations are no longer linked to Grade 3-8 Mathematics or ELA assessments, nor are “local assessments” mandated to fulfill APPR requirements. Data from these assessments is used, in conjunction with other data sets, to measure the viability and fidelity of our curriculum across our six elementary buildings, our two middle schools and our junior high school.
Test refusal of 3-8 Assessments is a parent/family choice. NYS Graduation requirements (Regents Exams) cannot be refused. If more than 5% of students refuse to take NYS 3-8 assessments, this refusal could result in a loss of federal funds to local districts. We encourage you to talk to your child’s classroom teacher, your building principal, or the Directors of Instruction to gather more information.
Listed below are documents to inform your decision:
Student Evaluation, Promotion and Placement (Policy #7210 may be viewed on the BoardDocs Policies tab)
The ABC's of Assessment
NYS Diploma Requirements
NYS Elementary and Intermediate Testing Schedules