Board reviews pilot of short "evidence of learning" checks to guide classroom instruction

The Jefferson County Board of Education on April 8 received a report on a pilot program of short interim assessments—called "evidence of learning checks"—designed to give teachers quicker, unit-level feedback on student learning.

District leaders said the checks are 8-to-10-item, multiple-choice assessments aligned to the district's high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) and intended to sit between daily formative checks and longer standardized tests. "We've created evidence of learning checks, which are quick 8 to 10 question, multiple choice questions that are aligned," Dr. Greenwell said during the presentation.

The nut graf: district staff described the checks as formative, lightly timed measures that provide rapid feedback to support small-group instruction and to help teachers identify standards students have or have not mastered. The pilot used a third-party vendor, Cognia, for item development and vetting and the Otus platform to administer assessments and report item-level analytics.

Program details and pilot scope: district staff said 17 schools took part in the pilot. Reading checks were piloted in the fall and math checks in the spring; district figures cited about 700 students in the reading pilot and 429 students in the math pilot. Staff said the checks can be administered up to four times a year per course module but, to avoid overtesting, have been given once in the fall and once in the spring for the pilot cohort. The district plans to expand the pilot next school year and expects to determine readiness for a broader rollout by December, with a possible full-district implementation in the 2026–27 school year if results support that step.

How the checks are used: presenters said the checks are aligned to grade-level standards and HQIRs so results map directly to classroom units. Joy Phillips, principal at Greenwood Elementary, told the board the checks are "very relevant and they are very timely," and that item analyses tied questions to specific standards helped teachers plan reteaching and small-group instruction. Eighth-grade teacher Jessica Sutherland described the Otus platform as "streamlined" and said teachers could access student results quickly, which promoted student ownership when pupils saw immediate feedback.

Validity and next steps: staff said Cognia is conducting psychometric analyses to set cut scores and to review item performance before the district adopts any permanent proficiency thresholds. The district also plans to continue gathering teacher and student feedback and to refine question length, passage length and item types in response to pilot feedback.

Board action and timing: Board member Patricia Lister moved to receive the goal-monitoring report on interim goals 4.3 (third-grade evidence of learning checks) and 5.3 (eighth-grade evidence of learning checks); the motion was seconded by Miss Duncan and approved by voice vote.

Implementation details and teacher time: presenters said setup in Otus generally took five to ten minutes and that most students completed the short checks within a single class block. Staff emphasized that these checks are intended to supplement, not replace, other district assessments such as MAP Growth and MAP Fluency.

Ending: District staff said the pilot remains iterative; Cognia's psychometric review and teacher feedback will inform any larger rollout decisions and proposed cut scores. The board asked staff to continue reporting pilot findings as they refine the assessments.