Using Assessment Results: 

Assessment results drive instruction at Chipeta.  Prior to the start of each school year, state assessment data (CSAP) is analyzed and trends in achievement are noted.  During the first weeks, baseline assessments are given.  Based on data, teachers decide which students need additional support, utilizing the RtI process, and which may need enrichment and acceleration with the Gifted Resource Teacher (GRT).           

The disaggregated data forms the basis for the School Improvement Plan for the academic year.  Curriculum-specific teams set annual school goals, with quarterly benchmarks and research-based methods to support instruction.  Using a Plan-Do-Study-Act process, with the goal of all students making significant gains, ongoing assessment data is reviewed quarterly. Successful strategies are continued and ineffective strategies are changed.

Teachers and students collaborate to set individual short and long term goals.  Student progress is documented in data notebooks; progress is examined and goals revised on a continual basis.  The notebooks contain the results of formative and summative assessments. Weekly meetings ensure teachers compare student work and share instructional strategies.

Chipeta is an identified exemplary site for the Response to Intervention (RtI) process.  When data reveals the need for intervention, the RtI process begins.  Students scoring below proficiency levels at any time receive necessary research-based interventions with continuous monitoring to evaluate progress. For example, an Individual Literacy Plan is implemented for students at risk in reading.  Conversely, gifted students receive an Advanced Learning Plan and daily instruction guided by the GRT.

Due to the collaborative culture at Chipeta, student achievement has soared.  Since state mandated testing has begun, CSAP proficiency levels in reading have increased from 81% to 94%; in writing, from 63% to 93%; and in math, from 75% to 96%.  Additionally, there has been an impressive 30% gain in students scoring at the advanced level in math.