charter schools and testing

[Anonymous]

Perhaps a dumb question, but do charter schools have the same testing as DCPS. My local DCPS has PARRCC, unit assessments (officially in preparation for PARRCC), and iReady in math and reading. Do charter schools have similar testing regimes?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Charter schools have to do the same statewide (citywide) assessments as DCPS. So PARCC now (in past DCCAS). But other tests for reading etc will vary from school to school.

[Anonymous]

PARCC is the state mandated (OSSE) assessment. I-ready is something purchased by DCPS for District-wide math assessments three times a year- beginning middle end. All DCPS elementary schools also use DIBELS/TRC testing three times a year, as do many charter schools. Unit assessments were developed by DCPS and correspond with the teaching Scope and Sequence (can be found on the DCPS website: http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/What+Students+Are+Learning/Scope+and+Sequence+Documents)

[Anonymous]

Not only Charters and DCPS have the same testing but it's NOT proven that charters uniformly perform better than DCPS.
Beware of that.