Assessment During the Pandemic: District Perspective

• In Event: Assessment During the Pandemic: Perspectives From the State, District, and Teacher Levels

Abstract

The third presenter will provide the perspective of Kentucky’s largest school district. The presentation will focus on how the district supports a large diverse population of schools, teachers, and students. This presenter will discuss the rapid shift from in-person instruction to NTI and how the district supported teachers in making the transition. The presenter will touch on the infrastructure necessary to make the shift and how it was brought to bear quickly, and how teachers have continued to facilitate student learning and assess that learning remotely. Again, the focus will be on a frank discussion of what worked well, what did not, and how the district will respond in the uncertain future.
When the pandemic struck, many, if not most, teachers were unprepared to conduct their classes remotely. Most did not study remote learning during their teacher preparation. This represents a huge training challenge for a large school district. The presentation will begin with a discussion of what was already in place (e.g. a parent portal and online gradebook) and the major remaining challenges to support successful implementation of NTI.
Next, the presenter will discuss challenges educators in the district faced and how the district helped them address those challenges. We will focus on challenges in assessing students, but other challenges will also be discussed. A large district represents an excellent test case, where we can see the range of issues that arose during early implementation of NTI, and we can gauge how effectively those issues have been resolved. A problem experienced by a few teachers might not be considered a major issue at the state level, but if the problem remains unresolved, it may impact the district, and the teachers and students therein, substantially. The presenter will describe district policies that have helped ensure effective teaching, assessment, and learning.
The presenter will conclude with a discussion of the differences between the district’s approach to NTI in 2020-21 compared to the initial phase in spring. During the 2020-21 school year, Jefferson County made a resolute shift to what they called NTI 2.0 to emphasize that learning and assessment opportunities for students would be deeper, more consistent, and rigorous. This will include a discussion of changes to district expectations and flexibilities for assessing students in 2020-21 and in the future (e.g. how those assessment results might be used differently in NTI versus traditional classrooms). It will also include the district’s plans for assessing and addressing any learning losses that might have occurred in spring 2020, especially for fragile student subpopulations, and how those issues were addressed for 2020-21.

Author

• Dena Dossett, Jefferson County Public Schools