Excelling Teaching & Learning : S.I.M. & A.R. : Message from the Director

It is the mission of the Scottsdale School's Research and Assessment Department to provide the schools and the public with information that informs and directs decision-making. To reach this goal, the department promotes the use of data from varying sources in making decisions about curriculum adjustment and changes, as well as plans for meeting individual student need.

As educators, we are acutely aware that academic data show only a snapshot of student growth and achievement. Daily classroom performance, emotional health, and work and leisure habits are all important parts of any educational picture. These important variables are not ignored, but lend themselves to non-test measures.

Our state legislature dictates the administration of the Stanford 9 Achievement Test (SAT 9) and the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). These two sources of data give us information on how our students compare to other students nationally and to those within our state. To round out the educational picture, our District Assessment Program (DAP) helps us identify weaknesses in our curriculum and allows us to identify students at risk of failing to meet Arizona State Standards.

The schools in the Scottsdale Unified School District do exceptionally well on both the Stanford 9 and AIMS, often posting some of the best scores in the state. With a continued focus on using data to improve our curriculum and our instruction, and a goal of keeping our local standards high, we can expect improvement in our performance on these measures of district, school and student academic success.

Our Web site will change from time to time as new data arrives and as our electronic capability to investigate and present variables affecting student achievement improves. In the meantime, should you have any questions, contact me at the Research and Assessment Department: 480-484-6197.

Ildi Laczko-Kerr, Director of Research and Assessment