Wisconsin's Strategic Assessment Systems (SAS)
A New Balance: What is a Strategic Assessment System?
Strategic Assessment Systems (SAS) measure progress towards college and career readiness across classrooms, schools, districts, and the state. Strategic Assessment Systems - including formative, interim, and summative measures - lead to improved student outcomes.
Strategic Assessment Systems emphasize:
- The purposeful alignment of assessments and their use in the data inquiry process
- The primary role that formative assessment plays in driving teaching and learning
- The importance of identifying high quality assessments to produce information with the least amount of testing
Strategic Assessment System Explainer Video
What purpose does assessment serve? To whom is it important? Why does it factor into discussions about teaching and learning? In this 2-minute introductory video, meet Andre, and learn about how schools use strategic assessment systems to ensure he and his classmates graduate college and career ready.
This video can be used to build awareness among interested stakeholders and support educators' professional learning. Consider using this Video Supplement to support conversations with parents/community, and promote data and assessment literacy as part of ongoing professional development and PLC activities.
Designing Strategic Assessment Systems
Ed First’s Playbook helps schools and districts use Achieve’s Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts to understand and evaluate the quality of the assessments students are taking, determine the minimum testing necessary to provide results that serve essential diagnostic, instructional and accountability purpose, and ensure the assessment results are used to support student learning.
The Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) Assessment Inventory Resource provides suggested questions and data collections for states and/or districts to consider as they review their assessment systems.
Strategic Assessment Resources
Our goal is to provide support to schools and districts as they build capacity for assessment literacy, effective data inquiry, and collaborative professional communities committed to processes of continuous improvement.
Strategic Assessment Charts
This resource supports the deep understanding that educators have regarding the role of assessments within a strategic system and how that data is used to drive the teaching and learning process.
Top 10 Terms Data and Assessment Literacy
The work around strategic assessment systems has led to defining a "Top 10" list of key terms and to clarify critical messages from the WI Department of Public Instruction.
Ms. G's Year In Assessment
This resource follows Ms. G and her students as they engage in assessment throughout the school year within different grade levels. Accessible versions of the tool are available below.
WISExplore
WISExplore partners help educators to actively discuss the data available through WISEdash portals and other sources. The partners help school staff grow internal capacity for data inquiry, and to design and implement a thoughtful school improvement action based on their analyses.
Culture of Data Use Framework
This framework outlines strategies and the five key elements schools and districts should use to create a culture of data use.
Strategic Use of Data Rubric
The SDP Strategic Use of Data Rubric is a resource that provides direction and support to education organizations to transform their use of data. The rubric establishes a common language and framework to more clearly illustrate what effective data use at the system-level looks like.