Fifth-grader MaryKate Kerrigan has always dreamed of having her artwork publicly displayed. This month, the Old Donation Center student’s wish was granted when she won a cover contest sponsored by the VBCPS Department of Educational Leadership and Assessment.
Kerrigan, ODC classmate Christina Liu, and Virginia Beach Middle eighth-graders Kaya Cortado and Enya Pfeiffer, all won the honor of having their artwork displayed on the cover of the Spring and Fall 2013 Integrated Performance Task (IPT) test booklets. The students’ artwork was selected from entries from fifth- and eighth-grade art classes at ODC and Virginia Beach Middle by members of ELA. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Donald E. Robertson visited the schools to present the students with the news.
“The level of talent we have in our schools is impressive,” Robertson said. “These young ladies are very deserving of having their artwork displayed in such a public way.”
All fourth- and seventh-grade students who take classroom assessments (including students with allowable accommodations) take IPTs in the fall and spring.
The fall IPT familiarizes students with a new type of assessment and provides teachers
with information about each student’s abilities in critical thinking, problem solving and written communication. The fall IPT results allow teachers to make instructional decisions. Because it is a diagnostic assessment, parents do not receive fall IPT results.
The spring IPT is summative and provides parents and teachers information about a student’s performance in critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication. Similar to the fall IPT, the spring IPT results allow schools to evaluate instructional effectiveness and make modifications. In addition, VBCPS uses the aggregate results of the spring IPT to determine if the division is effectively teaching and assessing some of the skills our students need to thrive as 21st century learners, workers and citizens.