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Evaluation of Student Progress:
Montesssori De Santa Cruz
“
A
High Performing School”
Arizona Department of Education
Cited by the Arizona
Department of Education (ADE), Montessori de Santa Cruz (k-6th)
is a highly performing school and has met the goal of achieving the
student academic performance marker or the “Annual Yearly Progress”.
Our curriculum is carefully structured and sequenced to offer the child
the opportunity to discover and succeed in his or her academic
endeavors. The classroom directress maintains careful records of each
student’s academic progress. As a charter school, the Kindergarten
through Middle school (tentative date for middle school is 2009)
curriculum is fully aligned with the standards set forth by the State of
Arizona.
Because Montessori
Schools do not compare students against an arbitrary standard or the
performance of their classmates, but rather focus on the students’
mastery of skills. As such, we understand that parents may be more
familiar with letter grades. To give parents an accountability measure
of student achievement, we send home written reports xe "narrative reports" twice a year and
discuss how the Montessori program is contributing to their growth.
Unlike traditional reporting methods, conferences are an opportunity for
parents, teachers and students to review their progress and plan for
their continued academic development.
Citizenship as a Measure of Academic Success
Montessori
de Santa Cruz believes that the purpose of education is more than in
academics but also to lead the child into good citizenship. We feel
that a standardized test or other measurement that has as its sole
purpose revealing what a child has mastered in academics reveals only a
small portion of what is really important in educating our students at
MDSC. A test will provide very little information about how the child
has mastered the skills needed to participate in a healthy community. A
primary focus of Montessori de Santa Cruz is to build the child’s skills
of civility and communication as well as his ability to build and
sustain relationships.
Parent Conferences
Parents can expect
to attend parent conferences and receive written progress report twice
during the school year. It is very important for teachers and parents
to establish and maintain close communication. Please feel free to ask
questions or discuss anything related to your child's progress.
Standardized Tests
As a public Charter school, Montessori de Santa Cruz must administer
state required standardized tests to children beginning in the second
grade. Testing or “assessment” is an important tool for measuring
student progress and helping students succeed from year to year.
Although one academic test cannot account for all of the students
learning at Montessori de Santa Cruz, test results can help identify
subject areas in which students need extra instruction. Our teachers
will use this informative tool to focus on those areas in the classroom
that can be improved to ensure academic success.
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