Illinois District Touts "Authentic Accountability"

By Rebecca Salon

“How is data like bread?” This was one of the many thought-provoking questions posed by Deip Nguyen, assistant superintendent for instructional services in Des Plaines, Ill., in a session on balanced assessment systems for diverse schools. The hour-long session focused on improving student outcomes through the development and implementation of a student-centered comprehensive system of assessments. (The answer to Nguyen’s question is below.)

In the session, which a snow-bound co-presenter turned into a solo performance, Nguyen shared her district’s 10 years of experience building a multi-level assessment system at the classroom, school, district and state levels, starting before standardized assessments were required by No Child Left Behind.

Nguyen, who has been a school administrator since 1994, shared her experiences working with children with diverse learning needs – English language learners, students with disabilities, students who have been in the juvenile justice system, refugees from war-torn countries, and others who require individualized or extra support. She quickly arrived at the conclusion that, for many students, common core standards aren’t good measures of their learning and growth.

A theme throughout Nguyen’s session was that what we value is what we should assess, noting that NCLB requires that we assess many things that most educators don’t value.

“What we expect our children to learn will dictate the assessment systems we develop,” Nguyen stressed. Specifically, at the classroom level, assessments must be based on the belief that all students can learn, by focusing on student growth, achievement and, most importantly, proficiency. She also noted that, “If you build an accountability system for the child with the most diverse needs, you’ll have built an accountability system that will work for all children.”

Nguyen is a proponent of “authentic assessments,” using “pivotal portfolios” to track students as they progress over the years, to guide professional development, and to report accomplishments to the community.

She places a high value on classroom-level data to measure the effectiveness of curricula and instruction. Therefore, she encouraged administrators to ensure that most of teachers’ time be spent on planning for and delivering instruction, not on assessment-related activities.

And given the importance of data, how is it like bread? They both get stale very fast. Nguyen cautioned school leaders to be selective, only collecting data that they’re planning to use while it’s still fresh and meaningful.