Teaching is the Core grant informs instruction
Schoharie Central School District has been working to implement the action plan developed through the Teaching is the Core (TiTC) grant, a $399,946 State Education Department grant that aims to support improvement of assessment practices in regional schools. The grant has provided SCS educators with added perspective as the district continues to develop Common Core curriculum.
Through the grant, led by Capital Region BOCES, Schoharie is collaborating with Learner-Centered Initiatives consulting group to review and improve testing practices in participating districts.
District teams have conducted reviews of current district assessments, learned to develop high-quality assessments and scoring rubrics and created action plans to begin to implement improved testing practices.
In 2015, district teams participated in all-day professional development, focused on the creation of high-quality tests and consistent scoring rubrics and how test results can be best used to meaningfully inform instruction.
Consultants from eDoctrina then met with district teams to review the capabilities and use of the software system, which can be used to streamline curriculum planning and learning goals, support meaningful analysis of student assessment data and implementation of targeted interventions.
All consortium districts, including Schoharie Central School District, met individually with LCI consultants to review and strengthen the district action plan and collaborated through peer review sessions to share feedback on plans and address challenges and successes of putting them into action.
The TiTC grant period has ended, however, the knowledge gained through the grant will allow Schoharie Central School District to sustain the ongoing review and improvement of testing practices to strengthen instruction and student learning for years to come.