Striking A Balance

Striking a balance

Georgia District Adds Assessments And Transforms Classroom Practice

Forsyth County Schools has recently finished a very successful year. In 2008, all 16 elementary schools and eight middle schools made Adequate Yearly Progress. In spite of the fact that Georgia administered new, more rigorous math assessments for grades 3-5 and grade 8, the district had an average of 22% more students passing the assessments than the state average. To what does this district attribute its success? Leaders and teachers believe that a new, intense focus on benchmark assessments combined with focused, collegial conversations contributed to this impressive growth. Forsyth County Schools, located 35 miles north of Atlanta, has designed a balanced assessment program that emphasizes classroom assessment and organizes data and resources to foster collegial conversations focused on standards and learning. The district’s focus

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References

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Stiggins, R. & Chappuis, J. (2006, Winter). What a difference a word makes: Assessment FOR learning rather than assessment OF learning helps students succeed. JSD, 27(1), 10-14.