Last month, the Oregon Department of Education released statewide test
results for reading, writing, math and science for the 2012-13 school year.

Welches Middle School showed improvement over the previous year’s results
in math, science and reading, while Welches Elementary School saw lower
results in those three subjects.

All schools in the state are in the process of transitioning from the Oregon
Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (OAKS) test, used to create Adequate
Yearly Progress reports as part of the federally mandated No Child Left
Behind, to the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC), part of the new
Common Core State Standards (CCSS), a more rigorous set of standards with
higher expectations. The Oregon State Board of Education adopted the CCSS
in 2010, and the Oregon Trail School District implemented the new standards
in elementary schools during the 2012-13 school year and in middle schools
and the high school this year. However, the SBAC test will not be
implemented until the spring of 2015.

“Both Welches schools are adjusting to the changes in expectations not unlike
other schools around the state,” wrote Debbie Johnson, the district’s director
of teaching and learning, in an email to The Mountain Times. “The staff is
committed to their students’ success. A strength of the Welches schools is the
academic growth of students.”

Johnson noted the new test will offer a “snapshot of deeper understanding of
concepts and application of skills by the student” by posing problems that
require more than a literal answer, but rather having the student apply their
understanding of the material.

For the moment, however, students are still taking the OAKS test while trying
to meet the new standards. Johnson said the district is focused on CCSS,
while admitting it is difficult “to keep your feet in both worlds.”

She cited math as the most difficult area, as many concepts were moved from
upper grades to lower grades, creating a disconnect between the test and the
standards.

“We know that it will be a short term challenge, but feel it will be better for
our students in the long run,” Johnson wrote.

The district has implemented workshop classes at the middle schools and
Sandy High school and tiered intervention programs at elementary schools,
while offering parental outreach on the new standards and expectations to
help with the transition to the new standards.

“Oregon Trail educators have been working hard to align their teaching
practices with the rigorous Common Core State Standards,” Superintendent
Aaron Bayer said in a press release. “I’m seeing exceptional teaching
occurring in our classrooms.”

For more information about CCSS and the SBAC, visit
oregontrailschools.com/essentialskills or ode.state.or.us.