I had the chance to catch up recently with our Director of Student Achievement and Strategy, Marzia Mauffrey. Marzia and her team lead Student Support Services at the International School of Denver. Here is a bit from our conversation:

Q: Marzia, we often speak about “differentiation with the classroom” and “teaching each student within context” but how are you actually able to do that? 

A: We are extremely fortunate to have the most modern adaptive assessment technology at ISDenver: the Measure of Academic Progress, (including the MAP Growth and MAP Reading Fluency). This tool has been utilized by ISDenver since 2016 and while its purpose and importance prior to the pandemic was undeniable, our recent experience reinforced how positive the MAP has been to ensure accurate measure and monitoring of our learners’ experiences and level of understanding during a “stressful” period.

Q: How do we know where each student is?

A: During the month of September, we assessed all students during an entire week period. This adaptive assessment provides a clear understanding of each student's strengths and weaknesses. We test students in math, reading, and language usage, each of those subjects providing us with a specific score that can be compared to a norm for the specific grade of that student. In addition, the scores can be broken down into specific areas within each tested subject, enabling the teachers to implement specific strategies designed around learners’ strengths and weaknesses.

Q: How do results inform learning at grade level, classroom level, and individual level? 

A: Grade-level:

We identify within each grade weaknesses and strengths and adapt the curriculum to those specific needs. As an example, we identified in the English section, across many grades, that students were excellent at reading/comprehension, but had opportunities for growth in the area of language usage. This resulted in the implementation of the IXL diagnostic, which is an individualized tool that targets grammar and vocabulary skills.

Classroom-level:

We use the data to differentiate instruction within the classrooms as well. In mathematics, we used the data to identify three levels of work for each class and each task to cater to all types of learners. In English, we used the data to assign students in appropriate small groups at their level or place students in different reading levels in Newsela. As some of you may have seen, this online program provides the same article in terms of content with a different level of complexity that is adapted to the skill of the reader.

Individual-level:

Our detective work allows us to tailor educational needs down to each learner within a classroom and help develop tailored education plans. We are able to understand which kids require additional support and which ones require a more challenging environment. As an example of scaffolding instruction, to help students understand abstract concepts in maths, we have encouraged the use of manipulatives at each grade level. 

Ultimately, MAP testing has made our environment at ISDenver learner-centric. We have been able to make radical changes to the way we teach and the way we learn. The combination of such testing with novel teaching strategies and techniques will enable our school to strive for excellence and provide our learners with the best possible skill set for their future.