ISDenver takes a long-term view of educating our students. While many primary schools focus on preparing the best high-schooler, we focus on preparing the best life-long learner. This involves assessing students' progress in a variety of ways, as well as evaluating how they learn best. We are proud to show our learners' progress using a variety of assessment tools; specifically, the results from this year’s MAP testing show an impressive improvement in reading and math skills across students from Grades 3 through 8. The aggregate scores of each grade exceeded the national and international norms, and every grade showed demonstrable growth between the fall and spring trimesters.

"Thanks to these test results, we are evaluating our programs and strategies to further meet excellent standards. Our immersion language programs and our English program are working collaboratively to ensure all learners will be prepared with solid foundations," stated our Head of Student Services, Marzia Mauffrey.

"Our hope is that students become more involved in their learning as they analyze their strengths and weaknesses. We will help them set their own goals from one assessment to another," added Kyra Gailis, Deputy Head of School and Director of Learning.

MAP is a particularly compelling assessment tool, as it provides live feedback that teachers and students alike can use to inform their lessons, and support our goal of challenging each student. "Even more important than knowing how our results compare with the world outside of ISDenver, is the fact that we now have more granular data to help our teachers differentiate within the class, and with each individual student, to fill in any gaps in learning. The immediate access to this information provides teachers with a clear road map for the future," Mauffrey adds. “Additionally, this information serves not only to affirm the strength of our academic programs, but allows us to continue to improve our instruction methods, and inform our own curriculum changes.”

These results also reinforce the benefits of our powerful combination of language immersion and International Baccalaureate studies; students who attend ISDenver from K1 through Grade 8 exhibit remarkable achievement, particularly in their final years with us. Our students continue to accelerate their learning from the national and international norms as they grow and instruction in English increases to 50% of the day. For those who attend our Middle Years Programme (MYP), when instruction in English further increases to 80%, the ISDenver scores are significantly above the norm. Our 8th grade results show that 78% of them are above 61% of grade average in math; in reading, 83% of our 8th graders are above the 61st percentile as well. 

“What’s important is that our students are really hitting it out of the park across academic subjects - and they are doing it all while studying both in and through two languages,” Head of School Bob Carignan added. “That’s the ISDenver difference.”

Congratulations to our students, their families, and our faculty on a very successful Measure of Academic Progress assessment at ISDenver!