To: All Instructional Staff
From: Bruce K. Messinger, Superintendent
Deirdre Pilch, Deputy Superintendent
Von Sheppard, Assistant Superintendent, K-8 and Middle Schools
Sandy Ripplinger, Assistant Superintendent, Elementary Schools
Ron Cabrera, Assistant Superintendent, Instructional Services and Equity
Jonathan Dings, Chief of Planning and Assessments
Date: October 3, 2013
Subject: Transitioning to New Content Standards and State Assessments
The new school year brings many transitions for students and staff as we align instruction with the content standards and revised curriculum. BVSD is striving to achieve full implementation of the Colorado Academic Standards this year. There will be new state assessments implemented in 2014-15 in Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. New elementary and middle school science and social studies tests begin this spring.
There have been some questions brought to our attention as we shift instructional focus to the new standards.
“How do teachers reconcile the TCAP expectations with the new standards and materials?” Are teachers expected to teach the new content standards and also address content assessed by TCAP that is not included in the new standards/curriculum?
To address this concern, we recommend the following:
· Focus on teaching the existing curriculum.
· Focus on best instructional practices.
· Focus on rich student learning.
· Avoid focusing on the specific items from the TCAP assessment that are not part of our curriculum in the grade level or course you are teaching.
The instruction you provide will address gaps in student learning; you are not expected to suspend learning of grade-level concepts in order to address TCAP content items that are out of alignment with the standards. It is better to focus on the Colorado Academic Standards and support student success with your high quality instruction.
Thank you for all that you do for our students.
