Welcome to the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Department for Urbana School District 116.  The Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Department’s primary focus is to support the achievement of the District’s Strategic Planning Beliefs, Mission, Objectives, and Strategies.

The Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment directly supports and plays a significant role in the following strategies and initiatives related to the District’s Strategic Plan:

• Development, alignment, and implementation of curriculum areas for Pre-K – grade 12
• Planning and coordination of district-wide professional development and implementation of effective instructional practices
• Planning and coordination of district-wide student and analysis of student achievement information
• Other programs related to curriculum, instruction, assessment and student achievement.

If you have questions about this information, please contact your child’s teacher, your school’s Principal or Director of Curriculum and Instruction at 217-384-3655.

Curriculum

The curriculum identifies WHAT is taught in our classes. The Urbana School District #116 curriculum is based on the Illinois Learning Standards and is aligned with the Common Core Standards for English/Language Arts and Mathematics, which were adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education in June of 2010. The Standards help us identify what a student should know and be able to do by the end of Grade 12. Illinois Learning Standards 

• Please note, USD has not adopted the National Sex Education Standards (NSES). Further inquiries should be directed to the Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

Instruction

Instruction refers to HOW the curriculum is taught. Teachers strive to put students in active roles during learning activities. Examples include paraphrasing information, problem-solving, hands-on activities, writing activities and critical thinking. Lessons include direct experiences with concrete examples to help students connect their current knowledge with new knowledge. Students are expected to take responsibility for their learning and are supported to set and achieve personally challenging goals.

Assessment

Guidelines for a Comprehensive Assessment System: These school district assessment guidelines address the philosophical base, focus, roles, and responsibilities for all engaged in assessment in Urbana School District 116.

Assessment Philosophy Assessment is central to instruction and is used to enhance student learning.  The purpose of assessment is to help students be motivated to learn, reach achievement targets and take responsibility for their own learning.  Assessment methods will be appropriate and purposeful, resulting in information that will drive teaching and learning. Students will be full partners in assessment and will come to understand how assessment and evaluation affect their academic success.

Key Terms: In this policy, three key terms are used extensively.  They are defined below to promote complete understanding:

• Assessment – the process of gathering information that reflects levels of student achievement
• Communication — the process of transforming assessment and evaluation results into information for decision-making
• Evaluation – judgment regarding the quality of assessment results, set against desired standards; usually based on many sources of information

Comprehensive Assessment System

District Vision: In USD 116, our Comprehensive Assessment System is standards-based and vertically aligned from EC through graduation, and includes national, state, and local measures. All teachers use the data from these measures to differentiate instruction, systematically provide ongoing feedback that guides the teaching/learning process, and communicate common learning goals and progress to students, families, and other teachers. The Comprehensive Assessment System values student goal-setting and self-reflection and supports high expectations for all students.

Focus of Assessment: The focus of assessment in Urbana will be student mastery of content knowledge and skills, use of knowledge to reason and solve problems, creation of valued products, and development of positive attitudes. Those successfully completing our program will be able to do the following, and more:

• Communicate both verbally and in written form in school, work-related, and social contexts;
• Read proficiently;
• Solve problems that arise in everyday school, work, and personal life;
• Make safe and healthy choices regarding school, work, and personal lives;
• Learn and contribute productively as individuals and as members of groups;
• Recognize and apply connections of important information and ideas within and among learning areas;
• Appreciate the arts as instruments for human experience;
• Understand and appreciate cultural, ethnic and social diversity.

Faculty and Staff Responsibility

The development, administration, use, and evaluation of assessments in this district shall be guided by these basic tenets: (1) Instruction and assessment will be integrated at all times, and (2) Students will be involved in classroom assessment, record keeping, and communication of assessment results.

All assessments used in this district will meet given standards of quality: (1) Arising from and reflecting a clear and appropriate target, (2) Serving a clearly articulated purpose, (3) Using an appropriate assessment method, (4) Sampling the target appropriately, and (5) Controling for extraneous factors that can cause the mis-measurement of achievement (bias).