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Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together
Assessment Practices for 2020–21
Resources to support the data analysis to inform instruction by the numbers and beyond the
numbers can be found in the CSDE Sensible Assessment Practice.
As schools plan for reopening in the fall and integrating their learners back into school, it is
important to remember the following:
• Two-thirds of the 2019–20 school year was completed normally through in-person
classes.
• During the remote learning period, nearly 75 percent of students participated fully
though the quality of the learning experiences may have varied widely.
• Over 17 percent of students across the state experienced family, health, and trauma
barriers to greater participation in remote learning.
• There is no single, “magic-bullet” assessment — whether screening or diagnostic or
summative — that can meet the needs of all stakeholders and satisfy all purposes.
• For the vast majority of students who will enroll in Connecticut public schools in fall
2020, teachers already have a lot of longitudinal information available to them (e.g.,
annual state tests, universal screenings, early reading assessments, district benchmark
tests from fall and winter, IEP progress reports, English language proficiency test results
for ELs, student attendance patterns, disciplinary events, district and school mobility,
course grades/failures, etc.).
Guidance
The CSDE recommends the following approach that is designed to ease students back into
learning, fill any gaps, advance equity, minimize testing time, increase instructional time,
and empower teachers (also see infographic on page 31). These practices are intended to
apply to all students, including students with disabilities and English learners. The unique
needs of these learners must be considered in the planning of both assessment and
instruction, including the provision of supports, accommodations, and modifications as
required in a student’s IEP, Section 504 plan, or other intervention/learning plan.
Summer 2020 — Prior to the Start of School
• Review Available Information: This includes longitudinal data such as annual state
tests, universal screening, early reading assessments, district benchmark tests from
fall and winter, English language proficiency assessment results for ELs, IEP progress
reports, student attendance patterns, disciplinary event, district and school mobility,
course grades/failures, etc. Teachers can also learn a lot about their incoming class of
students by talking individually with peers from the prior grade or in vertical teams. To
assess means to evaluate or estimate. One does not need to administer a new test to
“assess” students in fall 2020. Using multiple measures in lieu of a single test will result
in a stronger “assessment” and better inferences. Students who are new to Connecticut
public schools in 2020–21 will likely need a screening and/or overall assessment.
• Plan the First Unit of Instruction: To reduce student anxiety and ease them back into
learning, educators should design the first unit of instruction for the start of the school
year to not only engage students but also ensure that students will have a high probability
of success with that unit. While the first unit is ideally an on-grade unit, in some
instances it may be necessary for this unit to review standards from the prior grade.
If a review approach is chosen for the first unit, then the selected content should emphasize
the important prerequisite standards for new learning in the current grade.
• Support Professional Learning: Teachers may need professional learning
opportunities on assessment/data literacy; formative assessment practices;
differentiated instruction and personal learning; learning progressions of the
Connecticut Core Standards; and blended learning (i.e., class that combines inperson
classroom teaching with online instruction) approaches/tools.