Student Assessment System: Harmony Public Schools Model

A key component to any educational model is a strong assessment system.

An assessment system sets a common language for learning for all students, by determining how student performance will be evaluated … monitored … measured …. and communicated.

At HPS, we have developed a balanced assessment framework that consists of classroom assessments….

universal screening assessments (Amplify mClass, NWEA MAP)

common formative assessments…

curriculum-based assessments…

district assessments

…. and external summative assessments.

Each assessment type has its own purpose and supports our teachers’ ability to understand what students have learned, determine what they struggle with and how to best meet student needs.

Each assessment type has its own purpose and supports our teachers’ ability to understand what students have learned, determine what they struggle with and explore the best strategies to meet their needs.


For any assessment system to be useful, it requires data.

Lots and lots of data.

The collection of the data can take many forms –

….from a once-per-year tests that compares students to their peers around the country…

… to the daily observations a teacher makes about a child’s progress …

… and of course, the daily homework assignments, weekly quizzes and group projects in between.

Each of these data points has a unique story to tell up your students’ academic journey.

But which is most important?

What does each reveal about student progress?

And how do we use this information as educators to help all of our students grow?

In this program, we’ll show your school how to fit these individual puzzle pieces of data together to see the complete picture of student learning.

We’ll discuss a number of assessment types and talk about the individual and combined story that each tells …

… and provide a framework for implementation.

We’ll cover the format and frequency of data meetings and best practices for analytics.

We’ll also share our models for both Academic and Behavioral Response to Intervention programs…

… that will allow you to identify and support students who need extra help in academics or personal behavior.

For more information on Harmony’s best practices in student assessment, or to access these resources and more, please contact [email protected].