MONROE - Monroe School district staff have been working to align existing curriculum with new state standards in English, language arts and math.
Cory Hirsbrunner, Monroe School District director of curriculum and instruction, said the new standards currently concentrate on the math and English areas, but will include science and social studies in the future.
They are being adopted statewide, Hirsbrunner said.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led, volunteer effort coordinated by the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards are developed in collaboration with various school administrators and teachers to provide students for college and the workforce, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
Progress has been made, especially in elementary schools, officials say.
"Through the work that has been done thus far, we are noticing that curriculum at the elementary level is more closely aligned than at the secondary level," Hirsbrunner said. "We need to make the largest adjustments and changes in grades 6-12 as it pertains to curriculum and instruction."
The skills needed at the secondary level, Hirsbrunner added, will be addressed in future.
"The rollout plan for the standards is to have them all implemented by the 2014-15 school year, in time for the new state test to replace the now Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam," said Hirsbrunner.
The district received results from that exam in March.
"There are pockets of areas we are really proud of and areas we need to work on," Hirsbrunner said.
For example, in math, 6.6 percent of Monroe students tested were ranked as having minimal performance, 6 percent were ranked basic, 43.1 percent ranked at the proficient level; and 44.1 percent ranked advanced. That's out of 1,210 students tested.
Monroe High School principal Rick Waski said that the WKCE tests are based on curriculum content. But other forms of testing are part of the overall assessment picture. Educational Planning and Assessment System tests and EXPLORE tests also are given to students in the eighth and ninth grades.
Such tests are better at assessing students skills, Waski said.
"We certainly want (test scores) to be a little stronger," Waski said of the district's WSAS scores.
To help improve, a number of initiatives will be added next year, officials say.
"The various forms of testing will appropriate place students in skill placed programs," Waski said. "Testing will begin with freshman next year in English and social studies."
Cory Hirsbrunner, Monroe School District director of curriculum and instruction, said the new standards currently concentrate on the math and English areas, but will include science and social studies in the future.
They are being adopted statewide, Hirsbrunner said.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led, volunteer effort coordinated by the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards are developed in collaboration with various school administrators and teachers to provide students for college and the workforce, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
Progress has been made, especially in elementary schools, officials say.
"Through the work that has been done thus far, we are noticing that curriculum at the elementary level is more closely aligned than at the secondary level," Hirsbrunner said. "We need to make the largest adjustments and changes in grades 6-12 as it pertains to curriculum and instruction."
The skills needed at the secondary level, Hirsbrunner added, will be addressed in future.
"The rollout plan for the standards is to have them all implemented by the 2014-15 school year, in time for the new state test to replace the now Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam," said Hirsbrunner.
The district received results from that exam in March.
"There are pockets of areas we are really proud of and areas we need to work on," Hirsbrunner said.
For example, in math, 6.6 percent of Monroe students tested were ranked as having minimal performance, 6 percent were ranked basic, 43.1 percent ranked at the proficient level; and 44.1 percent ranked advanced. That's out of 1,210 students tested.
Monroe High School principal Rick Waski said that the WKCE tests are based on curriculum content. But other forms of testing are part of the overall assessment picture. Educational Planning and Assessment System tests and EXPLORE tests also are given to students in the eighth and ninth grades.
Such tests are better at assessing students skills, Waski said.
"We certainly want (test scores) to be a little stronger," Waski said of the district's WSAS scores.
To help improve, a number of initiatives will be added next year, officials say.
"The various forms of testing will appropriate place students in skill placed programs," Waski said. "Testing will begin with freshman next year in English and social studies."