Curriculum and Assessment

Who we are

The Curriculum and Assessment (CA) unit of District and School Services (DSS) is comprised of consultants and project assistants focused on the work of building and supporting curriculum materials in the content areas of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. The curriculum materials we produce are strengthened by ESL resources, library media materials, and a full range of professional services for assessment development, data analysis, and data reporting. The Curriculum and Assessment unit also builds educator capacity in having a deep understanding of curriculum and assessment, as well as aligned instructional practices.

What we do

The CA unit works to ensure that every student, educator, and family in Oakland County has access to a high quality curriculum. We do this in the following ways:

• Support the development of exemplar curriculum units of study and ancillary materials.

• Support implementation of curriculum and effective practices through professional learning.

• Partner with districts to build local capacity to implement effective cross-content curriculum.

The CA Unit works to ensure that every student, educator, family, community stakeholder, and policy maker in Oakland County is literate in K-12 assessment. We do this in the following ways:

• Support the development and implementation of district/school balanced assessment systems

• Support the implementation of quality assessment practices, inclusive of formative assessment.

• Support the development of exemplar classroom assessment

As with all units in DSS, CA services are delivered through regional and site-based professional learning such as workshops, referent group meetings, district/school-based consultation, technical assistance, and resource development.

What is Curriculum & Assessment?

“Curriculum” and “Assessment” work hand-in-hand to define what students should learn, and helps all school stakeholders understand whether or not students have learned the content and skills associated with the curriculum.

Broadly speaking, curriculum is the set of skills and knowledge students are expected to learn. The student learning experience is shaped by a well defined scope and sequence of units of study, aligned to academic standards. The exemplar units of study the CA unit produces are primarily warehoused in Atlas Rubicon.

Assessment refers to a variety of techniques and tools used to measure evidence of student skill and knowledge. The purpose for the intended use of assessment results informs the appropriate assessment technique or tool to be used. The CA unit supports the use of Illuminate DnA in Oakland County to advance quality classroom assessment practices.